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Xylian
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 227
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 1:48 am Post subject: The Credit Debacle Repeats: Sears Platinum MasterCard
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I'm in disbelief. I want to refuse to believe this. Did they learn nothing from the Sears Mastercard conversion disaster?
At our store today, we got the training materials and rapid credit forms for the new Sears Platinum Mastercard (SPM).
The SPM replaces the SGM, which is now officially discontinued. All SGMs opened in October will be converted to SPMs. Over time, ALL EXISTING SGM ACCOUNTS WILL BE CONVERTED TO SPM ACCOUNTS. According to the training materials, each SGM account will be converted to the new SPM account when a new card has to be issued, either from customer request (lost card, duplicate card) or from the card expiring. The store will be hyping the SPMs like crazy all Christmas, with associates taking customers to credit phones to convert their accounts when a customer inquires about the SPM promotions.
Interesting quirks that say something is very wrong with this picture:
1) Customers with a SGM can not open a SPM; this statement was reiterated many times in the training. We must call credit for the customer so that they can receive their "free upgrade".
2) From a functionality standpoint, the SPM behaves exactly like a SGM. There are no new features being offered on the SPM that were not being offered on the SGM.
3) I've only taken a cursory glance so far at the rapid credit applications, but they appear to be exactly the same as SGM applications. Rates and fees appear to be the same as the SGM.(Of note, no annual fees on SPM accounts).
This begs the question, why is both Sears and Citi desperately trying to retire all of the SGM account numbers and reissue them as SPM numbers? Is there some loophole in the new credit law that they are trying to exploit by issuing everyone new credit accounts? So far, details on the inner workings of the account are extremely elusive to obtain. The training material goes to great lengths to avoid any discussion about fees, rates, or hidden charges.
On a side note, Sears is getting into the "free credit report" business with the national rollout of the SPM. They are claiming that the service is "free" to any exisiting SC card holder. But again, the training materials go to great lengths to avoid describing what the customer must do to sign up for the "free" credit report.
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~fluffy~
Joined: 05 Dec 2007
Posts: 106
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:49 am Post subject: Re: The Credit Debacle Repeats: Sears Platinum MasterCard
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| Xylian wrote: |
I'm in disbelief. I want to refuse to believe this. Did they learn nothing from the Sears Mastercard conversion disaster?
At our store today, we got the training materials and rapid credit forms for the new Sears Platinum Mastercard (SPM).
The SPM replaces the SGM, which is now officially discontinued. All SGMs opened in October will be converted to SPMs. Over time, ALL EXISTING SGM ACCOUNTS WILL BE CONVERTED TO SPM ACCOUNTS. According to the training materials, each SGM account will be converted to the new SPM account when a new card has to be issued, either from customer request (lost card, duplicate card) or from the card expiring. The store will be hyping the SPMs like crazy all Christmas, with associates taking customers to credit phones to convert their accounts when a customer inquires about the SPM promotions.
Interesting quirks that say something is very wrong with this picture:
1) Customers with a SGM can not open a SPM; this statement was reiterated many times in the training. We must call credit for the customer so that they can receive their "free upgrade".
2) From a functionality standpoint, the SPM behaves exactly like a SGM. There are no new features being offered on the SPM that were not being offered on the SGM.
3) I've only taken a cursory glance so far at the rapid credit applications, but they appear to be exactly the same as SGM applications. Rates and fees appear to be the same as the SGM.(Of note, no annual fees on SPM accounts).
This begs the question, why is both Sears and Citi desperately trying to retire all of the SGM account numbers and reissue them as SPM numbers? Is there some loophole in the new credit law that they are trying to exploit by issuing everyone new credit accounts? So far, details on the inner workings of the account are extremely elusive to obtain. The training material goes to great lengths to avoid any discussion about fees, rates, or hidden charges.
On a side note, Sears is getting into the "free credit report" business with the national rollout of the SPM. They are claiming that the service is "free" to any exisiting SC card holder. But again, the training materials go to great lengths to avoid describing what the customer must do to sign up for the "free" credit report. |
Everyone that shops at Sears already has both. This is something I noticed when I used to work in the cac. They just want more people to open accounts. B.S
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Xylian
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 227
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:01 am Post subject:
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I would buy that argument except for the very explicit point that corporate is making that this is not a new line of credit, the SPM merely replaces the SGM. The point was reiterated that cardholders with SGMs can not apply for a SPM, they must be "upgraded" to the new account through a credit phone call.
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dictators_rule
Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:41 am Post subject: no opt out ?
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Eliminates the opt out and slips in new terms in fine print ? Will the upgrades go on the customer's record as voluntary ? And does it affect credit history ?
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Xylian
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 227
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:46 am Post subject:
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Very good questions, DR.
Poking around today, no one seems to know the answer. The general answer was that Citi was handling everything as far as the conversion of the accounts, thus the stores didn't need to know the details on the conversion except for the procedures on how a customer can "upgrade" from a SGM to SPM when they are in the store.
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vaugley_familiar
Joined: 02 Jan 2009
Posts: 35
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 2:19 am Post subject:
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Great...more credit to worry about...cause you know we are gonna have outrageous quotas for that too.
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unionabiel
Joined: 25 Nov 2008
Posts: 65
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:11 am Post subject:
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Im curious about the points reward program - if it converts from one card to the next if people will lose their points in the process
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