HSBC Watch News Release Forum Index
Forum Name: - Opinions
Topic Title: Duped and deceived by Household
Thu Aug 12, 2004 6:00 pm
Unfortunately I see that I am just one in a long line of consumers whom have duped and deceived by Household. It took me a while to figure it out, but after having several accounts over the past few years and month after month my payments were "mysteriously" always one day late, I soon realized that it couldn't be mere coincidence.
My last account had a $10 minimum payment and with a $29 late fee - at that rate I would never pay it off. It is very discouraging to know that these business practices can take place, but then again, who am I but just an average, everyday unwitting consumer.
Editor's Note: Shea v Household is the law suit and settlement, in which Household paid $11 million to resolve the issue. Did they discontinue the practice? We shall see. Did they make billions doing this to consumers? The answer is yes. What did the average consumer get? A $29 credit.
Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:02 pm
so did you ever thin in the years you paid an extra $40 bucks a month in fees to ask what was up?
Ya know... you could always use a)online banking - my bank promises ontime pmts or they pay all late fees 2) pay by phone (and don't do it the day it is due - how about before its due huh?) 3) online payments (before it's due again).
Why is it that just because a company charges a late fee the consumer is "duped"?
It seems to me a) the consumer needed the credit and CHOSE the company who extended it b) agreed to the terms of the agreement & c) never had a complaint until they were late with their payment.
What ever happened to the consumer living up to their end of the contract? All *beep* would break loose if the company extending credit broke terms but the consumer is upset when they are charged the late fee spelled out in the contract.
I wish I could see a real complaint with merit on this site not just whining.
Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:52 pm
Household acknowledged Shea v Household, and for a ten year period Household credited payments late. Shea brought suit against Household in state court for allegedly improperly charging cardholders "overlimit fees and/or other penalties. Household settled for $11 million.
The settlement specifically addresses payments credited one day after the due date. You are obviously an employee of Household, and you continue to degrade your customers and former customers.
We monitor consumer complaints for trends and report such trends as we find them. To date, almost every one of our findings has resulted in court action against Household because the trend analysis shows what is happening. Consumers continue to send us their reports, from cities and towns nationwide. Such reports are relative to Household's position.
For instance when Household tried to tell regulators and authorities in Washington state that the Bellingham office was a rogue office, and incidents leading up to your $484 million nationwide class action were localized in Washington, Household Watch knew that was a lie.
The Securities and Exchange Commission reported that HFC was renewing $1 billion of bad accounts PER MONTH. These were people that lost their homes or lost their equity and retirement money. The SEC issued a cease and decist order against Household.
Analysts determined that Household would have gone into bankruptcy had it not been for HSBC's purchase of the company. At the present time there are racketeering (RICO) charges against Household and H&R Block. There will be more charges in the future, and more RICO charges. We assisted attorney's general from two states this week.
Household does intentionally hurt the American consumer. While we are glad your bank guarantees electronic payments, they cannot and do not guarantee when a company will process that payment. Household intentionally processed the payments one day late.
You said a statement is a courtesy. I refer you to regulation Z. You are wrong.
A change of address, sent to Household, is treated like a cash cow. That's a trend, and hopefully the next suit. You are the new Melissa Rutland Drury, defending it like it doesn't happen. Why such analogies? Because the search engines are active here, and your comments are viewed by many, including authorities and regulators. Let the general public see another Household employee telling people to quit their whining. It only serves to infuriate.
But we will keep you around for a while. You are good for business. Be aware that all of your posts can be gathered by your IP address. If I publish all of them together as a feature it is my right. You are publishing on my website. But first I am working on the "Top 100 Best Buy Complaints" - complete with a trend analysis. Perhaps I will schedule you for the fall.
Sat Aug 14, 2004 4:40 pm
To "me":
Are you stupid or what? Defending a predatory company that paid to settle charges of posting payments one day late, and you are stupid enough, or in denial, as you ask "Why is it that just because a company charges a late fee the consumer is "duped"?
Because we were, you moron! We sent payments to Household and expected them to be handled by professionals. Instead, they were credited a day late by a company that didn't care who they hurt. Why are you trying to pretend like it didn't happen for 10 years?
Didn't you see the disbursement checks? Didn't you see the notices we received with our monthly statements? The notice was required under the settlement, so if a statement is only a courtesy, why wouldn't the notice have been mailed separately? Don't have an intelligent answer, do you?
Why did you say that statements are only a courtesy? Because you don't know the law, and just want to blast people that are rightfully critical of Household International, Retail Services, and the scams they pulled until they got caught!
Elsewhere you posted this: "Creditors can not control what is in your credit your report - it is entirely the responsibility of the CBA." Where do you think the information comes from? Household International, and if it is true to form, Household sends bad data all the time. They were sued for doing it when they were trying to hide their bad HFC loans, and they had to hide the fact that they were crediting payments one day late. Did they report everyone as "late 30" when the were secretly screwing them?
Your attitude shows what Household thinks of us.
Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:15 am
me wrote:
so did you ever thin in the years you paid an extra $40 bucks a month in fees to ask what was up?
Ya know... you could always use a)online banking - my bank promises ontime pmts or they pay all late fees 2) pay by phone (and don't do it the day it is due - how about before its due huh?) 3) online payments (before it's due again).
Why is it that just because a company charges a late fee the consumer is "duped"?
It seems to me a) the consumer needed the credit and CHOSE the company who extended it b) agreed to the terms of the agreement & c) never had a complaint until they were late with their payment.
What ever happened to the consumer living up to their end of the contract? All *beep* would break loose if the company extending credit broke terms but the consumer is upset when they are charged the late fee spelled out in the contract.
I wish I could see a real complaint with merit on this site not just whining.
Ya know... you could always use a)online banking - my bank promises ontime pmts or they pay all late fees 2) pay by phone (and don't do it the day it is due - how about before its due huh?) 3) online payments (before it's due again).
Why is it that just because a company charges a late fee the consumer is "duped"?
It seems to me a) the consumer needed the credit and CHOSE the company who extended it b) agreed to the terms of the agreement & c) never had a complaint until they were late with their payment.
What ever happened to the consumer living up to their end of the contract? All *beep* would break loose if the company extending credit broke terms but the consumer is upset when they are charged the late fee spelled out in the contract.
I wish I could see a real complaint with merit on this site not just whining.
You are an ignorant fool! How do you support this companies illegitimate practices and sleep at night. Excellent credit profiles are being ravished by the mafia style business practices that are being committed. All *beep* has broken loose and the victims are the uniformed/nieve people of America.
We monitor customer trends for possible violations of Regulation Z and other possible illegal actions.