complaint

You would be recieving 2 Macy's bills, not a Macy's and a
Strawbridge's. Just look for the 2 different account numbers.

I read this with interest since I, too, have a Macy's account as a
result of the recent merger with Marshall Field. Macy's came through
and gave me a new card and all and so far so good.

As far as the due date goes, companies will tend to change the dates.
On my first Macy's Bill, it was five days earlier than what I was
accustomed to with Marshall Field, but I went ahead and made sure it
was paid. My due date does vary from month to month it seems.

As far as you getting two bills, that does not seem to make
sense....in the case of my bill, it all became Macy's. When you were
not getting your Strawbridge Bills, didn't you look at your Macy's
Bills to see if perhaps they transferred the balance over?

$200 is a little too much to ask for your trouble. I would settle for
an explanation of what happened with your bills and perhaps a grace
period where you could get the bill straightened out.

If you've had these accounts for about 40 years, why don't you know
the approximate due date for your Strawbridge's account?

I've had a Kohl's charge for about 15 years, and it's ALWAYS due on
the 18th. They don't send a bill if the balance is 0. If it gets
close to the 18th, and I haven't received a bill, I call the number on
the back of the card to make sure there isn't a balance due.

See, Kohl's has this terrific billing system: I pay my bill on the
18th. If I buy something on the 18th, it shows up on my bill the next
month. But if I go back on the 19th, it won't be due until the month
after next! There's no interest accruing.

To begin with, why is your letter started by a Peter P and signed as
Jeanne Pinkham?

As others have stated, if you knew you had the balance, why weren't
you dealing with when you didn't receive the statements. To ignore
the balance and not pay your debt would be extremely poor mitigation,
at best.

Simple debt collection is not harassment and not against the law in
any state of which I'm aware, especially whereas you agree you owe the
debt.

$200 for your "time, trouble and harassment"?! Give me a break. How
about you pay 20 plus percent in interest, for the time you haven't
made those payments, and if you don't it will damage your credit
score?

You knew you owed money on the account, so why didn't you give them a
call when you realized you hadn't received your bill?

What you are experiencing is not harrassment - - it's basic, simple
debt collction. Therefore, you are not owed $200 for your "time,
trouble, and harrassment". However, that brings a question to mind -
- have you paid off the balances yet?

Although you did not receive a bill, you still knew that you had a
debt to that company. I have had a such a situation. Simply find a
website or phone number for the company, most places have websites
these days. You contact them and ask how to send payment. They will be
more than happy to tell you.

You deserve nothing.

You knew you had a balance with them, why didn't you just pay
something towards it, with or without the bill ir call them when you
did not receive one.

I maintain all my monthly bills on a spreadsheet and just change the
figures based on the bill amount. This way, if I don't get a bill for
some reason, I either make a payment or call the company for an
amount. It's saved me a bunch of times when I either didn't get or
lost a paper bill.

Five letters and 3-5 phone calls in two weeks isn't harrassment, it's
credit collection.

I think you're overreacting a bit, well actually a lot. You let your
bill lapse for three months then expect the VP to do what?

When you didn't give the normal chain of command a chance to respond
or even see if there's a problem at all that needs to be fixed. Or
even a chance to respond even.

Contacting the local TV Stations? I'm in your zone and waiting to see
this one! I think Tracey Davidson on Channel Ten would be a good place
to start. (Come back and let us know what channels cover this story,
I'd like to see their take on it is/are. Would be interesting to
watch)

Anyway good luck getting 200 bucks and getting Mrs Colbert (and the
others) a commendation and raise for superior credit collection work.

I have a hard time believing that you have "an impeccable credit
history", given that you failed to pay your bill for three months and
seem to be hinting that you didn't know you had a bill and that I've
just seen another letter from you over in "Banks" complaining about
how your bank keeps charging you a late fee because you pay your bill
late.

But let's assume that as of the merge you did have perfect credit with
these two stores. You lost that perfect credit when you didn't pay
your bill for three months. And you clearly don't have perfect credit
aside from this bill.

I'd be interested in knowing just what consumer laws you believe
Macy's has broken, because I'm not all that familiar with New Jersey
laws. But regardless of the law, you aren't the victim here. I'm as
reluctant as anyone to side with corporations against people, but you
entered into an agreement with Strawbridge's, and then you violated
that agreement and showed no intention of making it right. You
clearly are capable of managing your life without shopping in
Strawbridge's or Macy's, because otherwise "I'll never shop there
again" would be an empty threat. In fact, as I said above, you seem
to be hinting that there was no possible way you could have known that
you even owed any money, which suggests that in fact you didn't have
any plan for making it right. And now you want money because they're
trying to get you to pay your bills.

If it weren't for that $200, I could maybe be convinced that you do
not in fact have any kind of budgeting or household management skills
and that you really can't tell whether you've gotten all your bills or
not or figure out how to be extra frugal for a month so that you are
ready to pay the month's installment on the personal loan even though
it's 2 days before your paycheck. But asking for $200 because they
have the nerve to expect you to pay what you have agreed to pay is too
much.

Here's the issue:

You know that you have two credit cards, with two credit card bills.
Whether or not you actually get a paper statement has no bearing here.
You have a bill to pay and didn't pay it for three months.

There is no harassment if you OWE them money. They are doing what
they can to get what is due to them. So, they could call you at
midnight, 12:05 12:10 and so on, for the length of ten days straight
if they wanted to. Its their job to get you to pay.

And even though you had impeccable credit with these creditors, that
is in the past. You have been delinquent with your bills, which has
now scarred your credit.


Simple fix, pay your bill off in full and close the card.