Dumping on bankers and the banking industry can be great fun,
especially if you enjoy writing letters with a smart-alecky tone. This is my
version of a true tale about GE Money Bank, the people who issue credit
cards for Lowe's.
Our daughter and son-in-law recently bought a second house, a fixer-
upper about four hours from where they live. When Irene and I went to
see the place, we asked what they needed. Although they knew it was
expensive, a big lawn mower, the kind you sit on, was the answer.
Done, or so I thought. The four of us drove to Lowe's where Irene and
I applied for a store credit card that would allow us to make a major
purchase and pay for it over six months with no interest. After filling out
the form that included lines for our income and employment status, we
handed it to a young lady behind the counter who spent several minutes
on her computer and on the phone before telling us we had been rejected.
No Lowe's card for us.
Stunned is a strong word, but we were - stunned. Ticked off too. Our
credit rating is good, we had showered and put on clean clothes that
morning, and we like to think we have honest, if old, faces. I asked why we
were turned down, and the Lowe's lady said we would be notified in writing
within 30 days.
We bought the mower Julie and Lynn had picked out anyway - one of
the cheaper models - using American Express and MasterCard with the
hope that the bills would arrive weeks apart. Although it was the Sunday
afternoon before Memorial Day, Julie asked about the chances the mower
could be delivered that day. A phone call was made, and we were told no
problem. I was impressed but still annoyed.
A couple of hours later I took a turn on the mower, which did a
thorough job on a sprawling lawn that hadn't been cut in weeks. I had
never been on a mower before, and I really need to work on my posture.
I gather that when properly seated on this thing you're not supposed to
look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa with a baseball hat.
The next morning we did more mowing and a little raking - I was the
only volunteer with a rake in his hand - before heading home. A little over
a week later a letter from GE Money Bank arrived, telling us we didn't get
a Lowe's card because they were "unable to verify identity with
information provided when you applied." The letter, addressed to me, had
the right street address and zip code, but the wrong town. In fact I can't
find any evidence there is such a town in all of New York state.
I immediately fired up the computer and wrote a letter to GE Money
Bank, asking if perhaps they couldn't verify my identity because they
looked in the wrong place. I sent copies to two federal agencies, one of
which, the Office of Thrift Supervision, sent me a form letter that assigned
a ten-digit file number to my complaint. As we used to say in Indiana, I
was cooking with gas now.
Less than a month later GE Money Bank sent a second letter, again
addressed to that fictitious town in New York, claiming that while trying to
verify my identity they found "conflicting information and/or
irregularities." In my reply, I boldly suggested that perhaps thinking I
lived some place that didn't exist might qualify as an irregularity.
I asked whether the lady at Lowe's who typed our information into the
computer could have made a mistake when she came to the name of our
town. I gave my date of birth, Social Security and New York driver's
license numbers and my mother's maiden name and asked if some of that
information could have been incorrectly entered.
The most infuriating aspect of this second letter from GE Money Bank
was what I considered its "weaselese:"
"…in some cases, these types of discrepancies may indicate
potential fraudulent use of your personal identity information"
and "in order to help protect you from identity theft, your
application was declined."
I told GE Money Bank that last statement as a "fantastic claim" and
for good measure threw in "baloney" and "an insult to my intelligence."
I mailed the letter, sending copies to the Office of Thrift Supervision
and a second federal agency. For some reason I felt I had the upper hand
in this battle.
In early August, we heard directly from Lowe's, from the Customer
Service Department. They thanked me for the "recent inquiry regarding a
LOWE'S account, and the opportunity to be of service to you." The letter
from Lowe's also had the name of our town wrong, but it contained a new
credit card application form, one that didn't ask for my employment status
this time. I completed the form, sent it off and waited.
In less than three weeks an envelope from Lowe's was in our mail box.
In it, two credit cards. Victory!
Well, almost. Irene's was fine. The name on my card was "Larry
McCay." My first reaction was that maybe someone at GE Money Bank was
pulling my chain. I called the Lowe's Customer Service line the other
day, explained my name was misspelled and was promised a new card in
seven to 10 business days.
If and when I get a card with the right name on it, I'm not sure we'll
ever use it. I went to all this trouble because I didn't like the idea of being
rejected, and besides Home Depot is much closer to our house than
Lowe's.
The mower, by the way, doesn't work at the moment. The battery died,
and after it was recharged the mower still wouldn't start. Lynn thinks it
may need a new spark plug. The mower is a real pretty bright, shiny red.
Or at least it was the one and only time we saw it.
-0-
And here's Julie's account, on her website, of riding the mower, the
Troy Bilt. http://eathappy.net/index.php?pr=TRYING_NOT_TO_FALL_OFF_THE_LAWNMOWER
(Posted August 26, 2010)
