Did a Macy's employee manipulate me into getting a AMEX card?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

At the point of putting in your SSN is where you should've gotten suspicious and said no. At this point what's done is done regarding how it impacted your credit, but I would still go back and speak to a manager to see if any compensation can be provided on the store's end for how the situation was handled. As someone who's worked in retail, cashiers are pressured to get credit card applications pretty heavily, but that's no excuse for taking the pinpad from the customer.

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Actually it’s only too late if you agreed to the terms which the OP didn’t get a chance to do. There is no contract unless you agree to the terms which means that this whole thing can be voided and that cashier can be fired. 

[zerofire]

The part of having the Macy's AmEx show up. It truly does sound like you got duped into an application. When someone asks for a SSN that should be the time that alarm bells go off. You can go ahead and contact customer service at the number on the back of the card for an explanation and any correction procedure for unauthorized account creation. I would double check if there is an HP yet on the reports and how long it has been. If it has been a few weeks and no HP then they gave you a card under SP which is rare. Also an AmEx is technically an improvement. What you really need to do is sit down and think if you want to let bygons be bygons or string up the lender/employee. I can understand that it might be an issue if you want to apply for Chase or any other conservative institution.

[Anonymous]

Employees get bonuses based on how many people they get to sign up. They will say anything to get you to do it.

But it is technically an upgrade going from the store card to the Amex but it is a new account on your report. There is no way around that. Since Macy’s iirc only let you upgrade after a certain amount of time and within certain windows many customers covet the upgrade. So I can see the salesperson thinking “of course you would want the “upgrade” to a card you can use anywhere not just in the store. They shouldn’t pressure you though and I would probably still complain to Macy’s about it.

[SBR249]

It might technically be an "upgrade", however if the OP's account is true, then the cashier lied multiple times during the interaction. First was when the OP specifically asked whether this was an app for a new card and the cashier confirmed it wasn't. Then the cashier promised a status upgrade to platinum and the card ended up being a downgrade to silver. 

It is basically a case of he-said she-said since there's no audio recording, but regardless there's a strong whiff of fraudulent conduct here. It's one thing to lie by omission and then later on point to some fine print tucked away and say that the consumer should have read this or that. But it's quite something else to straight up say something false to get the consumer to undertake a transaction. 

[AverageJoesCredit]

Actually it is not an upgrade if you get hit with a new account. Basically applying for new account that is different from store card. This isnt Synchrony where an upgrade results in a new account. With Macys/DSNB , an upgrade is offered snd no new account is created. Lol , like Wells Fargo saying you csn pc a card to another. In my case , i did the "pc" , they closed my one card, hp'd me, opened a different card and voila i got a new account that basically i applied for with my hp.

[Meanmchine]

Looking at this from a different perspective .....

Now is the perfect time to do that app spree you might have been thinking about

[Anonymous]

"It's shady the way they are pushy, but you have to really read everything as you do it and unfortunately you provided the info which gave them permission."


Sounds like some pro-**bleep** culture talk right here. OP never consented to the terms. The cashier took the pad and completed the application.

Asking for income/address/SSN does NOT mean the person consented to a credit card application.
(Mod cut-There will be none of this here on myFico its against the TOS)

[Anonymous]

Having worked retail jobs before in my younger days I can assure you that no cashier is familiar with exactly how the stores credit products work. They are told is "get $50 for every customer you 'upgrade' to an AMEX" and all they hear is "get $50".

More importantly Macy's calls it an upgrade even though its technically a whole new card. Exhibit A:

https://www.customerservice-macys.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/380/~/upgrade-to-a-macy’s-american-exp...

also saying the cashier completed the app is jumping to conclusions. Lets stick to what we know. In any case for future consumers who find this thread; if faced with the exact same situation just say "if you have any info I can take with me, I will be happy to but I am not filling out any apps in store before I have add time to sit down and review the terms". There is no advantage to app'ing in the store or going home and contacting Macy's about "upgrading".

[Anonymous]

cashiers are pressured heavily into setting up accounts, discounts, coupons and even upgrades, especially at Macy's during the holidays where I work during seasonal shopping, I cant recall why he took the pin pad from OP but sometimes it will tell you, the cashier, to click a command and if the register isnt a touch pad or has a mouse connected youll have to click it on the keypad. I myself have had cashiers take the pin pad to click commands when it says waiting for cashier because their point of sale machine issues or sometimes you'll have to click it on the pin pad as the cashier. I cant say if he did take it an accept the terms and conditions. Even though Macy's pushes it youre not penalized to the point that you need to commit fraud. You can call Macys and the credit line whomever runs the card and find out the whats up from some higher ups. If indeed it was fraud then you can have it elevated through Macys and theyll escalate it to HR. ive opened up Macys CC for my customers but ive no idea what is said after the intial entering of SSN, income etc. We do though have to ask for DL or State ID and passports. I work in the Biggest Macys here in NYC, thats my little take I wpuld deinitely keep calling and find out more info. 

[HighAchiever]

and there you have it from an actual Macy's employee!!!