During a recent purchase of a cordless drill I was asked if I would like to save $15.00 on my purchase. I replied that I indeed would and was asked to open a Sears Gold Mastercard account. I agreed to open the account only if there were no annual fees to which the associate replied that there were not. I inspected the application which indicated ANNUAL FEES... None. I signed the credit application and when asked to sign the electronic signature pad I noticed that the $15. Oo had not been applied to the purchase. I protested that I had understood that I would save $15.00 on the transaction. She began to explain the conditions of the $15.00 "credit" to my account at the time of activation of the Mastercard. I indicated that this was not what I had understood and that I wished to cancel the transaction and would not sign the signature pad. She informed me that the transaction had been electronically sent when I had put my social security number in to the PIN pad and that the signature was only a formality. I told her that she had performed a classic bait and switch on me and asked to cancel the entire transaction. She replied that she could not and called the floor manager. After discussing the matter with him and getting essentially nowhere, I retreated with my new cordless drill bruised but not broken. I inspected the application upon arriving home and luckily found that there was no annual fee however that the disclosuers were accurate to 07/01/08. A quick call to the credit department verified there was no fee. I think this is an intentional DUPE by Sears sales associates and that they are aware of the fact when they offer the savings. I will be okay in this as I will be able to pay the unpaid balance with no additional fees however, there remains the anger of allowing myself to fall prey to this scheme.
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