Shopsmith Forums

A few months ago I posted something about Sam's Club notifying that my membership expired in 30 days and I needed to renew. It doesn't expire until June. Now they've tried another tactic. I've noticed some subscription services, magazine, etc. do this.

This is why I never give any place like that my credit card number. I write a check for the membership and mail it to them. When that is used up, they can wait for my next check IF I choose to renew.
Credit cards are poison when used with automatic payments. People should figure that out before they lose everything.

Things like this send a signal to me that this company is struggling to make ends meet so they stoop to things like this to stay afloat.

I cannot think of a reason Sam's Club has a legitimate reason for " keeping anyone's credit card info on file", ever!!!!!

garys wrote:This is why I never give any place like that my credit card number. I write a check for the membership and mail it to them. When that is used up, they can wait for my next check IF I choose to renew.
Credit cards are poison when used with automatic payments.

Things like this send a signal to me that this company is struggling to make ends meet so they stoop to things like this to stay afloat.

I didn't give them a credit card for the membership nor do I do anything with automatic payments. I use it when I check out just like at any other store. They pulled it out of their data base (like hackers do).

I have no way of knowing if this is correct but COSTCO is set to start building here this/next year. I think they may want to lock in some members for another year. Oklahoma has always been a Walmart state and some really good employees at Sams have told me they have already completed an online application at Costco.

The bad thing about using your personal checks to pay things is it has your account number on it. Companies can "take" money from your account for reoccurring charges just like using a credit card. With the account number someone can clean out your account and there is no limit on liability for losses like there is on credit card fraud. My wife works for a credit union (the largest in Oregon) and sees fraud all the time. If you are going to use checks to pay, see if your financial institution has a bill pay service where they send a check to pay your bills that does not have your account number on it. We use this service and it cost little to no money for the service depending on the financial institution and the accounts you have with them.

As for Sam's Club notify them that you are NOT renewing and not to charge your credit card. Do this in writing and keep a copy. If they still charge you for a renewal report them to the credit card company. In the mean time you could have the credit card company change your card number for security reasons. That would be a red flag if Sam's Club tried to charge the old number later.

If you watch your credit card bills, why care if someone charges something they should not. If something appears on the bill that should it be there, dispute it. The credit card company will take it off and there is no charge to you
Also by law you are protected from fraudulent credit card charges.
Right now the safest form of payment is credit card. Anything else can be lost or stolen with a small chance of recovery. With a credit card one call to the credit card company refunds all your money and shuts down the card.

And if the only thing you have ever done is charged stuff on you credit card at Sams I seriously doubt they have your number. The credit card company goes to great measures to protect that number since they are the only ones that stand to lose anything.

I think Sams is doing a bluff, not a very smart one I might add. I would call them and demand to know how they have your number. Again if it is only through charges I would call the credit card company and see what they think of Sams capturing your card and using it for unsolicited sales.

Ed in Tampa wrote:If you watch your credit card bills, why care if someone charges something they should not. If something appears on the bill that should it be there, dispute it. The credit card company will take it off and there is no charge to you
Also by law you are protected from fraudulent credit card charges.
Right now the safest form of payment is credit card. Anything else can be lost or stolen with a small chance of recovery. With a credit card one call to the credit card company refunds all your money and shuts down the card.

And if the only thing you have ever done is charged stuff on you credit card at Sams I seriously doubt they have your number. The credit card company goes to great measures to protect that number since they are the only ones that stand to lose anything.

I think Sams is doing a bluff, not a very smart one I might add. I would call them and demand to know how they have your number. Again if it is only through charges I would call the credit card company and see what they think of Sams capturing your card and using it for unsolicited sales.

I agree with you on that Ed. I only have 2 credit cards. One is a Chase card that I don't use very much and the other is with America First Credit Union. I do all my banking there and use that card all the time along with their debit card. They have a very pro active fraud department. Back in the "old" days before the internet became what it is today they would call me sometimes if they saw something suspicious. Now they have an app for your phone called Card Guard. Whenever a charge hits your card (charge or debit card) your phone beeps and you get a notification of the amount and who charged it. You can also turn your cards off and on any time, set dollar limits, transaction type limits, location limits and merchant type limits. Very safe in my opinion.