Consumer complaint received 2017-09-29
Company: TD BANK US HOLDING COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Sent card you never applied for

Complaint:
I went to XXXX to make some purchases at the end of XXXX or beginning of XXXX. The person at the register offered me a rewards card. I said I rarely shop at XXXX so I didnt really need a card. She said I could get a certain percentage off of my purchases that day if I signed up for the rewards card ; so I sighed up. 
I paid cash for my purchase that day. 

After I made those purchases at XXXX, I was out of the country for a month and when I returned I received letters from XXXX. I receive junk mail from countless companies that try to get me to sign up for credit cards. I have one credit card that I havent used in over a year ; I do not like credit cards and one is more than enough for me. I generally put all of that junk mail in the recycling bin without opening it.

Then, when I kept receiving the same envelope from XXXX XXXX XXXX for a few months, I opened one of them to discover that I had unknowingly been signed up for a credit card. And, more importantly, the items I had purchased with cash that day were listed as charges on the credit card ; and there were multiple late fees and interest charges. 

The person at the register did NOT make it clear that she was signing me up for a credit card. She made it sound like a rewards card similar to the rewards cards I have with XXXX or XXXX grocery. I would have never signed up for a credit card because I never use credit cards. And not only did she not explain that it was a credit card, but she double charged me for my purchases : I paid cash that day. I obviously would have known that she was signing me up for a credit card if she had not taken my cash for payment. And I would not have signed up for the card if she had made it clear that it was a credit card. 

The person at the register was not doing her job. She did not explain that she was signing me up for a credit card. She took my cash as payment and also charged the same purchases on the credit card. This is a predatory credit card practice. 
I called the XXXX XXXX XXXX to explain the situation and they said that since I do not have proof that I paid, there was nothing they could do. No one keeps receipts for body wash, lotion etc. for months on end. 

Ive called multiple times to speak to the XXXX XXXX XXXX. The first time I called the represented said that I could pay the original cost of my purchases ( {$120.00} ) ; I did not want to do that because I had already paid the original cost. I then wrote the letter ( text above ) on XXXX XXXX, XXXX to explain the situation. 

I received a letter on XXXX XXXX, XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX that said that the claim was denied because I did not have a receipt of the transaction. As I explained in my first letter : very few people keep recipes for months on end for everyday purchases. 
I called again on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX, the representative spoke with on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, told me that multiple people have had issues with XXXX signing them up for a credit card in which the XXXX representative did not clearly inform the customer that they were being signed up for a credit card. At this point, I was so fed up that I had just decided to pay the original {$120.00} so that my credit would not continue to be trashed. I explained that I just wanted to pay the original fee and be done with it. He also said that he could see that I was offered by a previous XXXX employee and he would transfer me to pay the {$120.00}. The phone line was disconnected. I called back and spoke with XXXX and she informed me that there was no way that that offer could have been made because XXXX does not do that. 

I called again on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and explained the entire situation to XXXX, another representative. I told her I had read my credit card rights that state that After you notify your credit card company that you are withholding payment, they can not report the disputed amount as delinquent to a credit bureau until the dispute is settled or a court judgment is issued against you. The lender can not treat the dispute as settled or take collection action against you unless it has completed a reasonable investigation of your claim. I told her I did not want any of this reported to the credit agencies until it was settled ; she said that it was too late for that because the payment was four months late. I explaind that I did not know about the credit card or the payment as I explained in a previous letter because I ( 1 ) did not realize the XXXX employee was signing me up for a credit card and ( 2 ) I  recycled all of the XXXX XXXX XXXX letters without opening them because I thought it was just a credit card offer and I did not want a credit card. She said there was nothing she could do about that. 

I requested, again, that I pay the original {$120.00} fee as I had been offered multiple times. She said that they could not allow me to just pay the original {$120.00} fee because now the bill was ~ {$300.00}. Even though, she also informed me just as XXXX had that XXXX has had problems with people being signed up for credit cards unawares ; the people at the register do not always make it that clear they signing customers up for credit cards. This is not legal : this is a predatory lending practice. 

XXXX is no better than the recent fiasco from XXXX XXXX. XXXX has a policy of forcing all of its employees to offer credit cards to call customers as they check out. At best, this means there is ample opportunity for confusion employees not being clear that it is a credit card ; and, at worst, this is an opportunity for unscrupulous employees to scam both XXXX and XXXX customers by paying for the transaction with a new customer credit card while stealing the cash. 

After yet another lengthy conversation XXXX, she still said I could not pay the original {$120.00} fee. I asked her to review the recorded conversations from my prior phone calls because the other XXXX  representatives had offered that. I also read her the text from another letter I received on XXXX XXXX, XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX that stated : Your XXXX Credit Card account is four payments past due. If you cant pay the full minimum due of {$160.00} right now, we may still be able to help you get your account current by offering : Lower monthly payments, Reduced late fees, A lower interest rate or A settlement to completely pay off the account for less than a full balance. 

I was requesting exactly what the letter was offering, namely : A settlement to completely pay off the account for less than a full balance. I said that, since it clearly states that I have that option, that is the option I would like to take. I asked her to review the recorded transcripts of the prior conversations I had had with XXXX representatives to prove that the option of paying {$120.00} was offered to me previously. She said she would review those records and transfer me to the department to arrange settlement. 
I was transferred and had to, again, explain the situation to yet another XXXX employee, XXXX. After another lengthily conversation, he said I could pay the {$120.00}. I paid and was transferred to another department and spoke with XXXX, who said that everything would be expunged from my record. I still do not think I should have been required to pay the {$120.00}. I paid cash and was signed up for a credit card that I didnt know about. 

It should also be illegal for a company to sign people up for credit cards at the register and pay for the items that same day : this is a predatory lending practice.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief