HRS Household Retail Services & Best Buy; Ripoff & Deceptive Billing Practices. City of Industry, California

After reviewing other posts on this board, I now know that there is a monster on the loose and it's name is Household Retail Services (HRS)!

I purchased some appliances from Best Buy in 11/2001 through their 12-months no interest financing plan. I use electronic banking services and have made regular payments since my initial purchase. I basically divided the total purchase price by 11 to come to my monthly payment so that I would payoff the account before the accrued finance charges were added. Simple enough, right? Wrong! I have impeccable credit and NEVER pay late. My FICO score is 780.

HRS began assessed a $29 late fee on my account several times without justification. The first time, they removed the fee no questions asked. After that, things became substantially more difficult. Their customer services representatives were anything but helpful in resolving the issue. They persistently told me that unless I could "control mail delivery" that I must send my payment 10 business days prior to payment due date (14 calendar days).

Their processing center is a whopping 27 miles from my bank's processing center and it takes 14 calendar days for a check that my bank generates to get there...give me a break! My bank has consistently generated the check 4 to 6 days before the due date and it has consistently taken HRS 11 to 14 days from the issue date to post payment. They are either inefficient, understaffed or purposely holding payments so that they can assess late charges on customer accounts. Any of the three is bad business.

Today was the last straw. I called to get yet another late fee removed and they rudely refused. They talked to me like I was a child and told me that I had been "sternly warned to make early payment" when they removed the initial late fee. I also asked to speak to a CS Manager. The CSR told me "they're just going to tell you the same thing". I was connected with a CS Manager who was equally rude. I told the rep that I wanted the account closed immediately. I issued an e-payment for the remaining balance minus the $29 late fee. I will be disputing that late charge in a written letter to HRS in addition to copying Best Buy, the FTC, the California Consumer Affairs Department and the California Attorney General.

I will never make a purchase from another retailer who sells their credit accounts to HRS or uses HRS to service their account. In my experience, Household Retail Services is a dishonest firm that cares little or nothing about quality service or their customers.

Best Buy better find a new financing arm soon or their reputation will be permanently damaged by their relationship with HRS.

Robert
La Palma, California