Happy New Year Joe Albero From Sam's Club

While this is a long Post, it's well worth the time if YOU have a Business Account at Sam's Club and other locations including WalMart.

Boy, have I got a story for you that you're just not going to believe. Just when I thought I had told some of the best stuff ever heard, in comes a new one that just boggles the mind.

OK, I have been a Member of Sam's Club ever since the first day they opened their Annapolis Store. Over the years of doing business with them I held a Credit Limit of $2,500.00 for a lot of years. One thing I will tell you is when you own a Restaurant and Pool Halls, it didn't take long to ring up $2,500.00 worth of stuff at Sam's. Nevertheless, that is the limit I said I would go and that's what I did.

OK, so every month I would receive my Sam's Club bill and I would always pay off the balance. Without my even knowing and without any notice whatsoever, my credit limit was dropped down to $1,500.00 and I didn't even know it. So, believe it or not, I would usually have a monthly bill of somewhere close to that $1,500.00 and again it would always be paid off monthly.

Over the past few months I would go to use my Sam's Club Card to purchase gas and sometimes it would deny me? I started thinking, am I paying them slow? I didn't think so but nevertheless, since my Wife regularly relied on using that Card for Gas and other items around the house I would go home, write a check for $1,000.00 and go back up to Sam's and clear up our line of credit. I'd then go out and pump my gas and feel comfortable everyone was good to go.

Well, I have to be the first to admit that each and every month I'd give my Wife a hard time because the Sam's Club balance was always up there and since I wasn't in there buying things all the time, this was a lot, (in my mind) to be blowing in Sam's. Little did I know that they had now reduced my Credit Limit to $900.00 without my ever knowing it. You see, these Credit Companies DON'T like people who pay off their balances every month!

So Get This! A couple of weeks ago I had received a bill from Sam's Club and I took a check to the Store and paid it off right then and there. I owed Sam's Club NOTHING! The next thing I knew my Wife called me that evening and said there was something wrong with my account at Sam's Club. I said, what do you mean? She replied, I just went to charge $140.00 worth of stuff on my Card and they denied me. I said, that's impossible, I just paid off the entire balance the other day. She informed me that she had contacted the credit company and they said I only had $16.00 credit left on the account! She then also informed me that I only had a $900.00 credit limit on the card too.

Well, the $900.00 credit limit wasn't right but I thought, that's cool. This way no one can charge more than $900.00 a month on the card. I asked her if she explained how we had just come into the store and paid off the balance? Yes. Now keep in mind Folks, it's Christmas time and I simply figured my Wife had run up the account again SO I went back up to Sam's with another check for $900.00 I figured that would clear things up. When I spoke with Sam's Club while I was in there paying the bill they too hooked me up with their credit company and they explained what they had already told my Wife the day before. I shrugged it off and went on my merry way.

TONIGHT, we went up to Sam's Club again to get some dog food and so forth and we only had about $40.00 worth of stuff and I said, charge it. She attempted to do so but out of nowhere it came back rejected! I said, THAT'S IT, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP. I went over to Customer Service after paying cash for my items and I got everyone to listen to my story about what I had been experiencing. I just knew someone else had been charging to my account. So they called the credit company and explained how they absolutely knew I had been in there several times paying off my card in the past couple of weeks and the next thing I knew they were handing me to phone to explain. WAIT TILL YOU HEAR THIS BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE IT!

The Lady on the phone said, Sir, we are in receipt of your payments and you have overpaid on your account. I said, yeah, hello! I then said, would you like to explain how I have OVERPAID on my account, yet they're rejecting me for $40.00 worth of items? She replied, whenever you pay more than ONCE in one billing cycle, your account gets PUT ON HOLD for 8 days!!!!!! I said, WHAT? You have MY MONEY, I have OVERPAID on this account, all the while thinking and giving my Wife a hard time because she allegedly kept spending money on the account in which I knew I hadn't, all the while you put a hold for at least 16 days on my account because I had paid more than once in one month? YES SIR, that's our NEW POLICY!

I repeated everything she was saying to me so the three people, (including the manager) could hear me. They were all standing there saying, Uh UH! I said, would you mind explaining to the Manager exactly what you're telling me because this is illegal. You can't hold my money for 8 days, then 16 days and then a full month because I paid you more than once in a month! The Manager got on the phone and repeated what I said, word for word and she then freaked out! She said, have YOU told ALL of our business partners of this NEW RULE? The obvious answer was, NO. Would you like me to send this Customer something in the mail? She said, NO! She then said, you made this change and didn't inform Sam's Club? We have customers using a Business Account every week and paying it off the next time they come in. This is completely WRONG!

Now Sam's Club wanted to push it off saying, it's NOT US, it's the Credit Company. HELLO! In one breath I'm a business partner and in the next they're not responsible. I over pay on my account thinking we've maxed out our account and in GOOD FAITH I pay additional funds to make sure everything is cleared, all the while they're taking my EXTRA cash, pocketing it and then penalizing me for paying more than once in a billing cycle. I'm sorry Folks but this is absolutely crazy and more than likely VERY illegal. So I said to the Manager who was still on the phone with the credit company, when can I start charging on my account again to get back all the extra money we paid into the account. She replied, January 1, 2009. Happy New Year Joe from Sam's Club!

People with good credit get screwed because we pay on time or early and we pay off the balance every month. I'm sorry Folks but America Sucks any more! This is what I mean by NO ONE is regulated! There's so much crap going on in America with BILLIONS floating to companies unaccounted for and companies like the credit company at Sam's figures, what are you going to do about it, it's a new policy! How about I take my business elsewhere, that's what! The people at Sam's Club were not only pissed off, they too were floored by what they were hearing. One of the people standing there had seen me come into the store the last 4 times I had brought in checks and knew I was paying on the account. When I came up to the counter she just knew something had to be wrong because I was there for the third time now complaining.

I'm sorry for the long Post Folks but YOU deserve to know this. This is a NEW POLICY at Sam's Club. No one there until today was aware of this situation and or new policy and they were not happy campers! I hope Corporate is reading this message and comes down on the credit company in a BIG WAY. I will send this Post directly to them so they know it has been posted and viewed by thousands of people because I was never warned, nor were they!