If you truly have applied (or joined, basically) for their offer of a $500 MERCHANT CREDIT, that requires a separate CREDIT CARD, as in, Visa MasterCard, American Express, or discover that can be a recurred payment, to pay for shipping, a $25 fee/payment each month (FROM YOUR EXISTING BANK ACCT OR CREDIT CARD) in exchange for a monthly report to Equifax. And thought you were gonna be getting one of the credit card brands that I listed before, then I wish you the best of luck in life because you are gonna have a difficult time navigating it as you missed the damn description, terms of agreement, etc. God bless the ignorant.
ANYWAY-- I joined THO (the horizon outlet) after reading all the terms and conditions, all the FAQs, and even spoke with an agent. Here's what transpired: I joined after my research. I paid the "one time only $60 fee." Immediately I had a gut feeling that what I just did was gonna f*ck me. I had a deep sense that when something seems too good to be true, it usually is. I contacted the company by phone and here's a short version of what was said (I talked to dude for like an hour):
**THO Rep guy, will hereafter be referred to as "Dude" and the horizon company as "THO"**
Dude: can i help you?
Me: Yes, I just joined and I want to cancel. According to your website, it's a no questions asked, instant refund upon my request, cancellation.
Dude: You don't have to tell me why, but may I ask what changed your mind? Do you understand how the system works?
Me: You offer a program that can help people rebuild their credit by using a credit line that can be spent only on THO. As long as you keep this acct open and make the $25 payments on time, your reports of positive credit gets reported to Equifax, helping to raise my credit score. However, I do not like the fact that I've already made the $60 payment and I can't access the site that I'm supposed to be able to shop from. It's shady.
Dude: Hey, it seems like you understand the program very well. And I'm sorry, but you can't access the site until your card arrives, but I can give you a link to a "preview" site so you can know what to expect from our big inventory. It's blah blah blah.com.
Me: okay, I'm going to take a look at it and at least wait until the card comes. I will still be able to cancel then, yes?
Dude: yes. And think of it like this, instead of opening a credit card and allowing yourself to not make payments, you can use your THO card to purchase the same things thru THO. However, as long as your acct is open, we take a $25 payment from your preferred payment method that you supplied when you made your one time fee. So you build your credit. Blah blah blah.
I went to the "preview" site which looked very promising. Great brands, wide range of sizes, beautiful shoes and even Coach and other designer apparel & purses! The "preview" site is "www.shopping.com". I saw that I was at a site named "shopping.com" and it also seemed a little bit strange that every item I clicked on to find out more about rerouted me to another site (kohls.com, target.com, macys.com etc). Knowing I still had time to cancel, I awaited the card at this point as a sort of curiosity and an opportunity to warn others, as I'm doing now.
I received my card today. HOLY SH*T. First red flag was the giant "cancel" leaflet in the envelope. All new cards and accts generally mail their card or information with other "exciting" things about their company. This envelope enclosed my card stuck to a piece of paper congratulating my joining THO. Another paper had a punch out card with the road side assistance, Rx discounts, etc. A third paper said CANCELLATION across the top and in about a 22-24 size font, BOLD print, outlined how to cancel. They weren't even specialized instructions. Basically, call the number to cancel and be refunded! It was almost like THO wanted me to cancel. So then I finally got to log in to THO. I was let down, but not surprised. Everything is ridiculously high priced. Almost everything is sold out in one size or another. If you read my last review, I am so careful with this kind of stuff. I only got this deep into it because I have the refund window. I am going to attempt the cancel tomorrow... well, later today. I will update and let everyone know if the cancel is true or has ten thousand hoops to jump thru.
P.s. Just to make sure the beginning of the post wasn't lost in my lengthy review, MERCHANT CREDIT CARDS AREN"T CREDIT CARDS THAT CAN BE USED ANYWHERE> THEY ARE ASSIGNED TO THE OFFERING MERCHANT. REGULAR CREDIT CARDS WILL HAVE A "VISA," "MASTERCARD," "AMEX," or "DISCOVER" logo in the bottom right corner. Visa starts with 4, MC starts with a 5, Amex starts with 3, and Discover starts with 6011. KNOW what you are doing before giving your info out.