I confessed in my piece about Elizabeth Warren that I shopped on Panic Saturday (Dec. 21). Macy's was so happy to see me again that today I received a 14 page bill (some pages were blank) for spending $221.07 on Christmas gifts for my husband! I'm so old I remember when credit card bills were half a sheet of paper 2 sides.
But I was warned. On pg. 1 it referred me to pg. 7 for details on changes being made to my Credit Card Agreement. On pg. 3 it warned me about changes coming on 2/24/20 which it will do in detail on p. 7, and again repeats all the billing information on p. 1--Polo sleepwear, Hilfiger sleepwear, Hilfiger necktie, Tasso Elba neckwear, Alfani shirt, Perry Ellis neckwear, Clubroom shirt. BTW, the Alfani fabric felt cheap after I removed 105 straight pins and washed it. On p. 5 and 6 the only information was that the annual percentage rate is 26.74%, variable rate.
Finally the glorious p. 7 where I am told how much I am appreciated and how they look forward to serving me in the future. The changes revealed on p. 7 are
increased late fees,
returned payment fee and
returned convenience check fee.
The minimum payment due calculation is changing and
the Promotion calculation is recalculated beyond my ability to understand.
"For additional language regarding how and when these fees will be charged, please see the section called "Fees" in your Credit Card Agreement.
Then in a box the explanation of penalty fees--late payment and returned payment. I only have a master's degree, and couldn't decipher this even with the sentence diagramming I learned in 4th grade.
On p. 8 the good folks in Macy's advanced college English class explain making payments--
Minimum Payment Due,
calculated new balance
past due account,
excess of my credit limit,
amount due on each Club Plan,
adding in any amount required by
the Promotion Calculation
the calculated new balance, rounded up
applicable late fee
subtracted interest charges accrued during prior billing cycles
Special event balance
Calculated new balance = New Balance - any balances subject to a Club Plan or the Promotion Calculation
At this point I'm only half way through p. 8 and am worn out.
Page 9 explains who all can see my personal information. It's like Trump's tax returns. If Macy can do all this, why can't Congress? It clearly says, Macy's can share my personal information with anyone they damn well please. Honest. It does.
Social security number and income,
account balances and
employment information,
credit history and
transaction history,
anything they need to run their everyday business. . .
even court orders and
legal investigations or
credit bureau information.
Why do they need this private, personal information? According to Macy's p. 9 of 14,
for marketing purposes,
for joint marketing with other financial companies,
for their affiliates everyday business purposes, and
Macy's everyday business purposes so
they can market to me and
their nonaffiliates can market to me.
And when I am no longer Macy's customer, they claim the right to continue to share my information described in this notice.
DSNB does this, not Macy's. Department Stores National Bank. And on p. 10 there is a long list of what it collects.
Page 11-14 are math problems. 3%, 2% 1% rewards spent at restaurants which are stand-alone merchants in the U.S. that primarily serve food. If you accumulate 1,000 points, yada, yada. . .
But exclusive for you: free shipping from Al's family farms 18 lbs of Florida Honeybells for only $49.95 delivered with a bonus of Orange blossom honey.
Happy New Year. Capitalism is almost as much fun as taxes.
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