Household HSBC Watch

Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:24 am      

I bought a bridal gown at David's Bridal -- 90 days the same as cash. Little did I know the deal would be through a finance company . I paid the gown off a few days before the 90 days offer ended. Then, several months after the wedding, I got a bill from David's Bridal -- what? I had paid them off. Now, a year and a half later, Household has my bill up to almost $900. I was told that if I wanted to keep it off of my credit bureau, I could pay off the account and they would refund the money after they got to the bottom of it. Right! Today, I got a letter in the mail offering to allow me to pay off the account with my income tax return and get a bargain of just $635 -- but I have to send the money before April 15th.

On more than one occassion, I have sent them a copy of my original bill, a copy of the check front and back showing that Household processed it before the end of my 90 day contract. I have asked them to send me proof of any other contract I have ever signed -- if that is what they think it is. I hear nothing back from. For a time, the letters and phone calls stop, but then they begin again. Month after month I get a new David's Bridal bill.

I have been harmed by this. My credit card company took my interest rate up to 16.9% based on negative information in my bureau record. This David's Bridal thing is the ONLY negative I have in my bureau. I refuse to pay it; I do not owe them any money. Their suggestion that it would be worth it to pay and get this off of my credit bureau amounts to blackmail, in my opinion.

For 1 1/2 years, every month Household has charged me a $29 late fee and 25% interest on top of that. They also suggested the original bill (which they will not produce) was most likely from late charges I owed for not paying the gown off before 90 days was up -- it probably did not get to them in time. Interest on a $900 wedding gown, plus $29 a month late fee, plus 25% interest on top of all of that == I now owe Household more in interest and fees than I originally paid for the wedding gown!

MY cedit union knows of this problem with the David's Bridal account, and they ignore it if I want a car loan, etc. Master Card does not cancel my account, but they do impose a less than perfect credit rate on me because of the David's Bridal report. However, if I decided to sell my present home and attempt to obtain a new mortgage, this one black mark on my credit report would keep me from qualifiying for a mortgage!

So, now, the present offer of $635 to get this off of my bureau is on the table. Why should I have to pay anything to these people? All I did was buy a gown and make the error of choosing to take advantage of a 90 days same as cash promotion. I have the "promotion" paperwork; I have the processed check; I have the green card from the post office where it was sent to Household registered mail. They received it and processed the check before the promotional period ended. They have been given this proof, and still refuse to correct the error. They call, they threaten, they have a compter call me repeatedly with a recorded voice that talks to me like I am a dog, they send me bills month after month, they send me offers to "pay if off" and save my credit bureau report from any more damage. What they will not do is admit that they made and error and that I am not going to respond to their blackmail.

Frankly, other than paying a lawyer to get involved, I do not kow how to resolve this. Twice, going through David's Bridal, I thought I had it resolved -- only to find that it is still on my bureau and a few months later Household is back with their nasty phone calls, their threatening letters, and their insistance that I owe them money. Their "pay us first" and then we will get to the bottom of it and tell you what it is for is just ludicrous!

How many others have had their wedding gown experience turn into a nightmare? I had no problems with the service at David's Bridal or the gown we bought. Why does David's Bridal turn their innocent customers and all of their bureau information over to these people so that they can then use that to blackmail money? I have read other accounts of similar situations on the net -- is it possible that David's Bridal is not aware of what their "fianance team" is up to? Could they possibly believe that my situation is an isolated one? Why do they do business with Household?
It is on that one point that I do hold David's Bridal accountable for all of this.

Dr. Bailey
Nashville, TN