The problem began 10 days ago when I placed an order for an in-stock item from Sears.com and put it on my debit card. Silly me expected it to ship within a day or two and arrive by the end of the next week, especially since nothing on the site at the time of the order said it would not ship “immediately”. That’s how internet orders are supposed to work, right?
Apparently not when it’s Sears. The email confirmation that arrived minutes after I finalized the order said otherwise. It would be 3 weeks before it shipped. I called the number in the email that is supposed to be usable 24/7 and got a recording to call back during business hours. Now I know why Sears went bankrupt. I sent an email to customer service and a person replied very quickly, saying she would cancel the order and I could expect a refund in 10 days.
Imagine my surprise when I got an email 5 days later telling me they couldn’t cancel the order! I checked online banking and discovered the charge to Sears was processed and paid. Why are they billing before shipping? That’s not how any other place I order from does business. They all bill the day of (or day after) shipping – which helps me know when to expect an item.
The fact that they decided 5 days later that they couldn’t cancel the order and then charged my card long before it’s going to ship pissed me off, so I contacted the bank and disputed the charge. My wonderful bank sent an email telling me they *might* have to cancel the card. They never said they *did* cancel the card. Three days later, I get an email from a company that my automatic payments are rejected. I called the bank. Yeap, the card was voided earlier in the week. At least they credited me back the amount Sears deducted. (I sent Sears a reply to their email before desputing the charge. I got a reply back hours later telling me they would try to cancel the order. I wonder if they knew I disputed the charge?)
I cut up the card and threw it out – then wondered if it would work in the ATM. I’ll never know. But I’m glad I found out this morning and not tonight when we go out for our usual Friday night dinner out. We usually use this card to pay for it.