harbour fright rant

[tractordriver]

As a side note went to harbor freight and they did not want by business.
I forgot my debit card so i asked if they took a check yes with ddl.
so i shopped picked up a few things went to pay bill came to 146.87
wrote the check then they had to call a number of some company certegy
they denied me i have never written a bad check for gods sake i have 11k in my checking account the asst manager refuses to do nothing even after i showed him my checking statement. meanwhile embarrassing me in front of the other costumers. Mind you I've done 1,000,s in business with them and the manger Knows it. I went for a 3 point quick attach so i bought it for 69.99 but i asked the manger to knock some of for my trouble says he can't do it. i told him i'll never shop there again. Then i corrected my self and said i'll be back for clearance at the going out of businesses sale. they clearly are having problems judging by the coupons Ive been getting lately. I did not want to buy the qh after that but i would have been punishing myself.
also i called certigy they say nothing was wrong with me or more credit or me having bad checks. It was just there computer model rejected it and it routinely rejects good checks my guess is because i don't write many checks.
Thankyou for the relief

 

[rox]

As a side note went to harbor freight and they did not want by business.
I forgot my debit card so i asked if they took a check yes with ddl.
so i shopped picked up a few things went to pay bill came to 146.87
wrote the check then they had to call a number of some company certegy
they denied me i have never written a bad check for gods sake i have 11k in my checking account the asst manager refuses to do nothing even after i showed him my checking statement. meanwhile embarrassing me in front of the other costumers. Mind you I've done 1,000,s in business with them and the manger Knows it. I went for a 3 point quick attach so i bought it for 69.99 but i asked the manger to knock some of for my trouble says he can't do it. i told him i'll never shop there again. Then i corrected my self and said i'll be back for clearance at the going out of businesses sale. they clearly are having problems judging by the coupons Ive been getting lately. I did not want to buy the qh after that but i would have been punishing myself.
also i called certigy they say nothing was wrong with me or more credit or me having bad checks. It was just there computer model rejected it and it routinely rejects good checks my guess is because i don't write many checks.
Thankyou for the relief

I think the people with good credit are the ones who rage the most when "stopped" and denied a transaction. I turned bbright red when Sears stopped my Sears charge from going through and the sales rep had to actually call them while I stood there. It turns out I was doing a lot of Christmas shopping and was charging big dollars very rapidly so the system flagged my account. The first time it happens it is a most embarassing humiliating experience but then you get kind of used to it, jsut realizing it is credit card security. I have always been suspecious of those check authorization companies that they have sme logic built into their program that red-lines people based on where you live. Can't proove anything it is just my gut, red-lining like the homeowners insurance companies do. You live in this zip code we don't want to insure in these areas.

After you cool down a bit you may want to pursue it further by re-contacting the check authorization company and finding out specifically what made you fail thier system. I would also want a letter of apology from them and for no other reason than my personal satisfaction, I would take my letter of apology and send it to the District Sales Manager for Harbor freight and ask him for a letter of apology as well. Yes it is excessive but there are so many deadbeats that I would feel very angy after spending my whole lifetime building up impeccable credit to be denied at a retail checkout line. Getting "stopped" is one thing, but then not having your transaction actually go through is another. You were not only stopped you were denied.

 

[mjarrels]

I when to a local tire store a couple years ago and bought two tires and had them installed... Went to pay using debit card, their computer was down so transaction could not go thru! Was not allowed to leave without paying for the tires... no checkbook on me, ended up calling my son who showed up with one check so I could pay and leave. Think I'm ever going back to that store! NO WAY!

mark

 

[SnowRidge]

What were you doing with your checking statement in Harbor Freight? Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but if I was running a business and a customer who did not have a credit or debit card and whose check wouldn't pass muster happened to have a checking statement on him, I would smell a rat.

It's your fault that you did not have an acceptable form of payment available, not HF's fault. Businesses are scammed for billions every year. All of us get to pay for that in higher prices. Harbor Freight did the right thing. You do not have a valid complaint.

My $.02.

 

[kthompson]

I don't agree with the last post on it was your fault. Maybe but probably not.
This morning stopped for gas. Debit card did not work at pump. Tried it twice and went in store. Oh, run it as credit card, our debit system may or may not work.

Went to one of the part stores chains a few years back, denied my check. Gave me a reference number to call and did so the next business hours. The clerk had entered my state incorrectly as North Carolina, which I understood for he happened to mention he was from NC helping out due to this store being short.

It did hit me as odd to have your bank statement with you but hey, the mail my wife has in her car at times she might would.

 

[Scooby074]

If they took checks and mine was rejected id be ticked. More importantly id be on the phone to find out exactly why. Id definitely be checking my credit report. In this day, you cant be too careful.

 

[tractordriver]

What were you doing with your checking statement in Harbor Freight? Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but if I was running a business and a customer who did not have a credit or debit card and whose check wouldn't pass muster happened to have a checking statement on him, I would smell a rat.

It's your fault that you did not have an acceptable form of payment available, not HF's fault. Businesses are scammed for billions every year. All of us get to pay for that in higher prices. Harbor Freight did the right thing. You do not have a valid complaint.

My $.02.

it actually was a teller machine statemeant most folks have one if not many in your wallet and i did have a valid payment method they accept checks all they require is a drivers license. They ran it through some checksys type thing. no social number just my drivers number. the reason they say is this code 2=although no unpaid check information is on file certigy did not have sufficient information available to approve the transaction or this transaction exceeded a preestablished limit.
I asked the manger prior to shopping and he said nothing of this included a reestablished limit others i would only have bought what i had cash for. I did nothing wrong. god forbid your in this situation you'd be psed to. And i do run a business.

 

[tractordriver]

as a side note there are a few business that i deal with that refuse to take cash.
also there almost no such thing as customer service these days. in this bad economy with every other business going under you'd think they'd learn something. Even the behemoth walmart is taking a small hit.

 

[ToadHill]

I believe it's a violation of federal law to refuse cash as payment for any debt.

 

[SnowRidge]

it actually was a teller machine statemeant most folks have one if not many in your wallet and i did have a valid payment method they accept checks all they require is a drivers license. They ran it through some checksys type thing. no social number just my drivers number. the reason they say is this code 2=although no unpaid check information is on file certigy did not have sufficient information available to approve the transaction or this transaction exceeded a preestablished limit.
I asked the manger prior to shopping and he said nothing of this included a reestablished limit others i would only have bought what i had cash for. I did nothing wrong. god forbid your in this situation you'd be psed to. And i do run a business.

I might have been PO'd, but it would have been at myself for not having my credit/debit card with me and possibly the check verification company. I have been denied a couple of times due to administrative error on someone's part, but I have never gotten angry at the retailer for something beyond their control.

By the way, I don't know about you, but I keep my debit and credit cards in my wallet, right alongside my driver's license. Not to sound too much like a Viking, but -- What's in your wallet?