Wal-Mart Ending Its Layaway Program

[valkyrie]

Originally Posted by AGDee

As for using a debit card for online purchases, it's more dicey. All the protections built in for regular credit cards are not always there for debit cards. Someone gets that debit card info and you could lose every penny of cash you have. With my debit card info, you can transfer every penny I have in savings, my kids' entire savings and wipe out my checking account in one fell swoop. With credit cards, you can only be held liable for $50 if the card is stolen.

Holy crap, you should get a better bank, or at least move some of your accounts to a different bank.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by valkyrie

Holy crap, you should get a better bank, or at least move some of your accounts to a different bank.

That information is from the ftc website itself. You can be liable for a lot more if your ATM or Debit Card is lost or stolen than if a credit card is.

ATM or Debit Card Loss or Fraudulent Transfers (EFTA). Your liability under federal law for unauthorized use of your ATM or debit card depends on how quickly you report the loss. If you report an ATM or debit card missing before it's used without your permission, the EFTA says the card issuer cannot hold you responsible for any unauthorized transfers. If unauthorized use occurs before you report it, your liability under federal law depends on how quickly you report the loss.

For example, if you report the loss within two business days after you realize your card is missing, you will not be responsible for more than $50 for unauthorized use. However, if you don't report the loss within two business days after you discover the loss, you could lose up to $500 because of an unauthorized transfer. You also risk unlimited loss if you fail to report an unauthorized transfer within 60 days after your bank statement containing unauthorized use is mailed to you. That means you could lose all the money in your bank account and the unused portion of your line of credit established for overdrafts. However, for unauthorized transfers involving only your debit card number (not the loss of the card), you are liable only for transfers that occur after 60 days following the mailing of your bank statement containing the unauthorized use and before you report the loss.

If unauthorized transfers show up on your bank statement, report them to the card issuer as quickly as possible. Once you've reported the loss of your ATM or debit card, you cannot be held liable for additional unauthorized transfers that occur after that time.

[deltanupsigurl]

I know I'm responding a little late to this..but oh well. I actually work at walmart and in Layaway...I have been for 5-6 years..I have to say at our store in nh most of us are shocked. Plus I don't think I can count the times I've gotten the same response from customers: "it's the reason we don't shop at Target...they don't have Layaway, so that's why we do all our shopping here!!" In my many years of working there I don't quite understand where the company is coming from...yes 1/4 of all layaways are cancelled, but you still have 3/4 of them that aren't! Christmas and Back to school time are huge for us.....plus not everyone has a credit card, wants to get one, or even has the credit for it, yet this is what walmart is trying to push.

Now customers still have till Nov. 19th to put on layaways, and then till Dec 8th to pick them up by, before all stores shut their layaways down...still i wonder if they will change their minds in these next two months since only a few days after us getting the news of WM losing Layaway...another thing popped up that Target will be starting Layaways in November. I haven't seen anything yet to confirm that...but I would have to see that as a slap in the face for Walmart, since part of their excuse was "well no one else has layaway anymore, so why should we..." So if Target decides to open up Layaway again, they might want to rethink their decision. Because with that news going around, customers and even associates were saying "well if Target has layaway then I will go and shop there....because I just can't afford everything without layaway."

I guess we'll just have to wait and see this outcome. I find it interresting how some stores haven't done anything to let their customers know about this..unless they've of course heard it through the news...since today I went to my old store and mentioned it to their cashiers..and they had no clue about this, neither were there signs letting customers know about this either, unlike at my store...where I even had to rip all our new layaway signs down.

Hopefully things will work out for the best. Okay I'll stop with my babble..i felt I'd just say something. ^_^

- Jen

[xo_kathy]

Originally Posted by Kevin

She turned down the child support, so I guess she's at least partially at fault, yes? Also, could she not have tried to find a better job?

Credit cards are not a must, but a bank account/debit card? Not too hard to come by. Yes, if you write hot checks, that could become a problem, but writing hot checks is pure mismanagement, don't you think?

Yes, that's why I clarified it about the child support. But the point is, your original comment seemed a bit "you mismanaged so suck it, idiot". I was pointing out that it's not always over-spending for the hell of it.

And she acutally had a good job. But considering she had never had to put her college degree to use becuase she and dad married right after college - as was the norm in those days - you can't exactly walk into Goldman and say "Hey, I'm a smart person with a college degree. Hire me for 100K a year". Seriously, that was a dumb comment.

And thanks, 33, for realizing that debit cards did not exist when I was growing up. And, Kevin, my mother did have a checking account (her good job was at a bank actually), but at that time a lot of places refused to take a check if you didn't have a credit card.

And whoever said, "Can't you just move to where things are better?" Another dumb comment. If you don't have a decent amount of money coming in, how the hell are you supposed to pack up all your stuff and haul to somewhere new? It takes money to put down for rent and things like that.

Seriosuly people, there are people in the world who don't have an upper middle-class influx of cash coming in. Things aren't always as simple, or easy, as your life is.

[shinerbock]

Alright, so we've established that some people in the world do go to wal-mart, some use layaway, and some do it for reasonable purposes...while this is all nice, I really don't see why we should criticize a company for making a business decision. I mostly only go to target anyhow.

[Exquisite5]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Alright, so we've established that some people in the world do go to wal-mart, some use layaway, and some do it for reasonable purposes...while this is all nice, I really don't see why we should criticize a company for making a business decision. I mostly only go to target anyhow.

I agree- I personally hate wal-mart. There are always too many snotty nosed, wailing children running around with parents who refuse to discipline them.

Yet and still, if we are going lamblast wal-mart for ending layaway and its insensitivity to the poor, lets applaud for its efforts to lower prescription drug costs. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214935,00.html At least this is something that helps those who earn lower wages to get necessities. Hopefully, they will soon expand the program.

[KSUViolet06]

I hate WalMart. Target is way better anyway.

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I hate WalMart. Target is way better anyway.

Ditto times INFINITY.


Okay dumb question alert....
What exactly is layaway? I know it's a way of deferring payment, but how does it work? I've heard of it but I've never actually seen anyone use it (or the process...or whatever it is???) and since really only shop at Target for my necessities I've apparently never been exposed to it.

[Drolefille]

You take your stuff to the counter, and say, i'll put it on layaway, you may have to put X% down. Then each month you pay a certain amount until you pay it off. Often used for Christmas presents. The toy store I worked at would wrap all of the presents and keep them, ready for pickup. It's kind of like having store credit, but you don't get the item in advance.

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

You take your stuff to the counter, and say, i'll put it on layaway, you may have to put X% down. Then each month you pay a certain amount until you pay it off. Often used for Christmas presents. The toy store I worked at would wrap all of the presents and keep them, ready for pickup. It's kind of like having store credit, but you don't get the item in advance.

Ohhh, okay. Thanks!