topic Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating in Credit Cards

Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Membersince2013 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 14:42:09 GMT

Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

s_haliz — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 15:01:46 GMT

@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...

Years back I was very rough with any Rep. specifically if I am right and some screw-up on their part. I am still somewhat rough. But I had noticed that "closing account" threat just don't fly at all. Why? The person on the opposite end don't loose any dime from his/her pocket! Sure company looses but the rep. is just trying to follow process. I believe that this situation could have been resolved better and you could have used your card and closing moment would not have been occured.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:12:42 GMT

@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...

Didn't you also have a big AMEX situation recently?

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

joedtx — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:39:09 GMT

@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...

Was the rep ever gruff, agressive, or unprofessional with you? Just an outside opinion but it sounds like they were just going thru their scripted security protocol.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

barbaralee — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:56:35 GMT

Sounds like you were a jerk, tbh. Maybe giving her straight answers instead of being a sarcastic *ahem* would have resolved the issue better.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Membersince2013 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:55:31 GMT

@joedtx wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...
Was the rep ever gruff, agressive, or unprofessional with you? Just an outside opinion but it sounds like they were just going thru their scripted security protocol.

It sounded like she was question my purchase. As if to say "why are you trying to purchase $600+ worth of items. Why does it matter how much i spend if im not spending over my credit limit and my credit report shows that i always pay back.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Membersince2013 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:57:35 GMT

@barbaralee wrote:
Sounds like you were a jerk, tbh.

Nope, i was very nice to her until it sounds like she was interrogating me. This the first purchase i was trying to make on the card too and it didn't go through.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Membersince2013 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:58:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...
Didn't you also have a big AMEX situation recently?

Yes, FR.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Membersince2013 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:59:54 GMT

@barbaralee wrote:
Sounds like you were a jerk, tbh. Maybe giving her straight answers instead of being a sarcastic *ahem* would have resolved the issue better.

Seriously, what kind of question is "what were you trying to buy at Walmart"?

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

jsucool76 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:10:52 GMT

@joedtx wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...
Was the rep ever gruff, agressive, or unprofessional with you? Just an outside opinion but it sounds like they were just going thru their scripted security protocol.

^^ this

The reps are told to follow a script, it may be irritating to us, but they're just doing their jobs. Now you're down your total rewards card, and they still did their job as well as they could. You lose a card, they lose nothing.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

joedtx — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:24:47 GMT

@Membersince2013 wrote:
@joedtx wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...
Was the rep ever gruff, agressive, or unprofessional with you? Just an outside opinion but it sounds like they were just going thru their scripted security protocol.
It sounded like she was question my purchase. As if to say "why are you trying to purchase $600+ worth of items. Why does it matter how much i spend if im not spending over my credit limit and my credit report shows that i always pay back.

Maybe the 'tone' that the rep had expressed was less than desireable, but couldn't you have concluded the business aspect of the call and then proceeded to address your 'experience' to someone at Total who could really impact seperately in the form of a another call, email or letter?

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:38:27 GMT

@Membersince2013 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...
Didn't you also have a big AMEX situation recently?
Yes, FR.

Were they related? You get a new CL recently? With the decreases AMEX gave you and the loss of this new line, is your untilization gonna take a good hit in about a month or two?

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

joedtx — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:53:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...
Didn't you also have a big AMEX situation recently?
Yes, FR.
Were they related? You get a new CL recently? With the decreases AMEX gave you and the loss of this new line, is your untilization gonna take a good hit in about a month or two?

Does the OP still have a chance to reverse her prior decision with Total as this could potentially have an adverse effect or is the closure final?

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

FinStar — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:53:52 GMT

@joedtx wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
@joedtx wrote:
@Membersince2013 wrote:
Tried to put $600+ on the card as a first purchase and it was declined. I tried taking some stuff out and charging $300, but it was declined again. i simply used my PRG and went back to my car to call Comenity. Spoke with a customer service rep that transferred me to an "identity protection specialist". The IPS asked me some basic questions and asked me "what i was trying to buy". I sarcastically shot back at her, "I don't know, what does Walmart sell". She didn't even chuckle or anything. She went on to ask "Why did you try to charge different amount twice". Again, i couldn't help myself and said "Well, if it had worked the first time, i wouldn't have to try it again with less amount of stuff". She told me to hold on and came back about 2mins later to say that she can't release my account at this time. That i'll be receive more "papers" in the mall soon. I simply just told her to cancel the amount immediately. She said "okay" and i hung up. I'm being told that i overreacted...
Was the rep ever gruff, agressive, or unprofessional with you? Just an outside opinion but it sounds like they were just going thru their scripted security protocol.
It sounded like she was question my purchase. As if to say "why are you trying to purchase $600+ worth of items. Why does it matter how much i spend if im not spending over my credit limit and my credit report shows that i always pay back.

Maybe the 'tone' that the rep had expressed was less than desireable, but couldn't you have concluded the business aspect of the call and then proceeded to address your 'experience' to someone at Total who could really impact seperately in the form of a another call, email or letter?

People get all worked about security breaches (Home Depot, Target, etc.) and for the right reasons. Yet, when it comes to verifying specific/questionable transactions on a brand new card to ensure it's not fraudulent the OP is like "I pay my bills so what's it to ya" attidute isn't going to work. Bottom line OP, you forget this is their loan on plastic to you! Therefore, if they need to ensure your account is protected why just not tell them what the transations were... oh wait, unless your transactions were questionable? Hmmmm

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 20:02:55 GMT

If I was a CCC, I probably wouldn't have processed the transaction either. Who makes their first purchase that big anyway..?

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

chalupaman — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 20:05:19 GMT

Over 600 dollars on a card like that? What on Earth were you trying to buy?

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

chalupaman — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 20:06:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If I was a CCC, I probably wouldn't have processed the transaction either. Who makes their first purchase that big anyway..?

With my first Amex card, I did make a big purchase as my first one but I told them ahead of time and it was completely fine. Was for a MacBook Air that I paid off pretty quickly.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 20:10:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If I was a CCC, I probably wouldn't have processed the transaction either. Who makes their first purchase that big anyway..?

A lot of people, depending on the card. Some people get a travel card to make a specific travel purchase, and their first one is big. I did a big first purchase on my Amex Blue Cash. Depends on the card, and on your belief (e.g. on the Blue Cash some believe you need to "tune" Amex to your transaction pattern, so start as you mean to go on)

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 20:11:16 GMT

@chalupaman wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
If I was a CCC, I probably wouldn't have processed the transaction either. Who makes their first purchase that big anyway..?
With my first Amex card, I did make a big purchase as my first one but I told them ahead of time and it was completely fine. Was for a MacBook Air that I paid off pretty quickly.

But you notified them beforehand. Making a $600 on a new card without telling them is pretty much asking for fraud protection to step in and to decline your transaction.

Re: Closed my Total Rewards credit card after the first attempted purchase. Comenity is irritating

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 20:12:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@chalupaman wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
If I was a CCC, I probably wouldn't have processed the transaction either. Who makes their first purchase that big anyway..?
With my first Amex card, I did make a big purchase as my first one but I told them ahead of time and it was completely fine. Was for a MacBook Air that I paid off pretty quickly.
But you notified them beforehand. Making a $600 on a new card without telling them is pretty much asking for fraud protection to step in and to decline your transaction.

Again, just not so! Maybe if you have a $1K CL, much less the case with a $10K CL.