Salesforce, a Pillow Maker and a $125k AmEx Bill 228
itwbennett writes "Salesforce.com, pillow manufacturer My Pillow, and an employee of My Pillow are caught up in a complex three-way legal battle. At issue is an allegedly failed software implementation and a $125,000 charge on a personal card. In short, there was an aggressive go-live date, a demand for immediate payment, and a system that was ultimately 'not functional'. Now, AmEx won't remove the charge, Salesforce.com is suing My Pillow for breach of contract and wants $550,000 in damages, My Pillow denies it owes anyone anything and is seeking unspecified damages from Salesforce.com, and the employee with the big bill wants his account credited. Still unclear is why My Pillow had no choice but to use the employee's personal credit card — and why the employee was naive enough to hand it over."
What? (Score:5, Funny)
Clearly news for nerds, a boring legal battle in a slightly incomprehensible summary.
Re:What? (Score:5, Funny)
This story sponsored by: Dice.com
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Summary says "complex 3-way legal battle" so expect the summary to gloss over the details.
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I think a car analogy is in order.
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Dacia
(Yes, that IS a perfectly valid car analogy)
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I read and reread the article then decided I'd read the replies to the summary to see what it was all about; Nerds have a way.
It wouldn't seem complex if someone had bothered to write a comprehensible summary, instead of chucking together a few sentence fragments with no attempt to link them into a cohesive description of the dispute.
This is the way I read as well; but it's not the posters fault, the article itself is confusing as hell;
It was the next to the last line that threw me: MyPillow made (apparently) ~$147 million off of the infomerical.
Re:What? (Score:4, Funny)
I'm hoping for hot 3-way legal action!
Re:What? (Score:5, Funny)
I'm hoping for hot 3-way BARELY-legal action!
FTFY
Re:What? (Score:5, Funny)
We have a simple term to describe "barely legal":
Legal.
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There'll be plenty of pillow talk, that's for sure.
Re:What? (Score:5, Informative)
it's a threeway bullshit throwing battle.
salesforce.com selling the work of some 3rd party consultant to the client for sum X and day Y, just shoveling bullshit for money. said consultant(or company or whatever, some entity) then delivered the thing late and held the project hostage until got payment roughly doubly the original estimate, said product wasn't "ready". the company buying the service actually paying that is the amazing part but not so amazing after you hear what the product was for: tracking effectiveness of every single 15-30sec tv advertisement, so their product request was bullshit as well.
but why would someone spot their company 125k of cash on a credit card? why is salesforce asking 550k for breach of contract when they didn't deliver? how come the pillow company is saying that their advertisement campaign failed because they lacked tracking? did their sales go up or not? how the fuck is salesforce getting away with saying to amex that a contract they have with my pillow allows them to charge a card they already refunded once and a card that's not my pillows card? why didn't he just cancel said card?
the only thing to take home from it is that you shouldn't do business with any of these companies. oh, and never ever loan your employer money.
Re:What? (Score:5, Funny)
"it's a threeway bullshit throwing battle."
Well, technically it's a pillow fight.
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The request wasn't bullshit, but going to Salesforce for this is. There are media and marketing companies that can do this for you (Neilsen for one, but there are other, lower tier companies that can as well), and it doesn't require some custom solution to do it. It's like having a ceramics factory built because you need some new toilets.
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did their sales go up or not?
How the hell would they know? The thing they paid for to tell them didn't work!
Re:What? (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:What? (Score:4, Informative)
For any corporate account small that GiganticCo, when you as an employee accept an Amex corporate card it has your name on it and you agree to be liable to Amex for all charges on the card, whether or not your employer pays through their direct-bill account. If the employee was direct to use his "corporate account" card as a p-card to pay for a major purchase, and his employer then failed to pay the invoice, well, he'd be in a heap-o-trouble.
sPh
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A *lot* of Worldcom employees got burned by that seeming technicality. They made business trips during the company's final days with their Worldcom Amex card, then when the company declared bankruptcy, all reimbursements were frozen, and there were rumors that employees might even have to pay back expenses that were previously reimbursed over the previous 5 months.
In the end, the court had mercy on the non-executive employees who were at risk of getting laid off with an unreimbursed $5-10k Amex bill to boot
Re:What? (Score:5, Informative)
The real story here is that American Express, unlike Visa and Mastercard, rarely -- if ever -- sides with a cardholder over a merchant, even in situations where it's blatantly obvious that a charge is wrong. It's how they're able to get merchants to accept higher swipe fees and transaction charges.
For the most part, if a cardholder files a chargeback with Mastercard or Visa that looks even slightly reasonable, they'll freeze the funds from the merchant account within a matter of minutes. They might not issue the refund to the cardholder immediately while they're investigating if there's a dispute, but the burden at that point is overwhelmingly on the merchant to prove the charge was legitimate and correct. And if there's still any doubt, Mastercard or Visa will issue the refund, furnish documentation to the merchant, and tell them to sue you in small claims court if they think payment is owed.
In stark contrast, American Express will demand copies of the receipt from YOU (the customer), demand nothing from the merchant until they're 100% satisfied, and will still probably side with the merchant absent overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
In my life, I've had two chargeback disputes with Amex... and lost both. One was careless stupidity on my part (though still blatantly wrong), the other was Amex showing just how anti-cardholder they really are.
The first time it happened (circa 2000), the clerk accidentally hit '0' twice when entering the amount into the credit card terminal, and turned my $13.90 purchase into a $139.00 purchase. I had a receipt showing that the price was ~$13.25 with ~$0.65 in sales tax, but because I didn't notice until a month later & signed the receipt, Amex refused to budge. When I challenged American Express to have the merchant produce anything resembling an itemized receipt showing PRECISELY $139.00 in purchases with a timestamp within an hour of my alleged $139.00 purchase, they refused. As far as they were concerned, all that mattered was the 2x4 inch nearly-illegible receipt printed by the credit card terminal with something that resembled a blue smudge of a signature on it that I admitted to having (in addition to the itemized receipt for 1/10 the amount). I cancelled my card over it in rage, and refused to do business with them for about 10 years.
Fast forward a decade. My employer required me to get an Amex corporate card as a condition of getting reimbursed on business trips. One morning, the cashier at a Waffle House ran the card through, then somehow screwed up the machine between the moment the charge went through and the moment the printer produced the receipt. She insisted that the charge didn't go through. I argued with her for 3 minutes (I heard the printer start, before the power cord short or whatever rebooted it), then gave in because I didn't have much of a choice. Sure enough, I got charged twice, about 3 minutes apart, for the same amount. This time, I was sure Amex would take my side, because the restaurant obviously didn't have a signed receipt from me for the first one, and there was no sane reason why somebody would have two ~$6.00 charges approximately 3 minutes apart. Goddamn if they didn't do it to me again, and refused to reverse the first charge. Their official excuse? I didn't have an unsigned copy of the first receipt. What. The. FUCK. That really, REALLY pissed me off. Yeah, my boss signed off on the override and told me it wasn't worth fighting with them over $6, but it was the moral principle of it.
So, if you're an AMEX cardholder, be warned: if anything goes wrong, American Express WILL NOT take your side. In fact, they won't necessarily even lift a finger to make the merchant defend the charge. They'll press YOU for receipts, and will disqualify your chargeback on the slightest technicality, but will let the merchant get away with almost anything short of blatant, systematic intentional fraud.
Re:What? (Score:4, Informative)
My AmEx experience has been the opposite.
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Same here. I use my Amex as much as possible and got return protection, damage protection and free extended warrantee to kick in more than once. In the past 3 years I got credited over $1000 back with very little hassle.
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I've had fraudulent charges refunded (each over $1000) for Amex and Visa. Amex was far, far easier and less stressful to deal with.
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Re:What? (Score:4, Funny)
Apparently you suck at reading the second page of articles:
Re:What? (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, my bad. I do suck in this case.
Mod me down! (Score:5, Insightful)
You guys really need to mod me down instead of up. I was totally wrong. I didn't read the second page.
Re:What? (Score:5, Informative)
The summary was beyond awful. I actually had to read the article to figure this out:
My Pillow - A company that makes pillows
Salesforce.com - A company that makes software
Personal Credit Card - A My Pillow employee's credit card
My Pillow spent $60k-70k to have software delivered by June 1. It didn't make the date and Salesforce.com said they would have it done by Aug 1 for $125k. Salesforce.com didn't take checks so apparently credit card was the only/best option at the time.
Salesforce.com delivered a product on Aug 1. My Pillow says it wasn't done. That's the dispute. Salesforce.com still charged $125k, but they want $550k more for some reason??? One of the many things not addressed in the article is the contract between Salesforce.com and My Pillow on what Salesforce.com has to deliver. Why did My Pillow think it wasn't complete? If those requirements were outlined in the contract, then Salesforce.com is at fault. Who cares what AMEX will or will not refund. Salesforce.com would be in breach of contract...and I think that is case here, unless My Pillow is stupid and didn't put specifics in the contract.
Re:What? (Score:5, Insightful)
This sort of contract dispute is something I deal with daily. Not in that I deal with disputes, but I'm continually trying to teach my management how to write a contract that is actually enforcable.
IF (big if) the contract is worded as "tracking effectiveness of every single 15-30sec tv advertisement" then both sides failed.
That sort of statement is why this situations happen. MyPillow.com told salesforce.com thats what they wanted. Salesforce says 'okay' because they can do that. MyPillow.com sees the final results and then only at the moment do both of them start to realize that they have TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ideas about what that statement actually means.
Then you end up in court while a judge sits there and thinks 'both of you are fucking idiots for being so vague' then eventually figures out which one of them is the bigger douche and makes a decision.
Theoretical Example:
MyPillow.com was expecting to know exactly how many sales came from each advertisement right down to which ad made which person (by name) buy a pillow from them. This is certainly doable from a technical stand point.
Salesforce.com was thinking that an average based on industry standard formula that they've been using for years based on Neilson ratings was what MyPillow.com was expecting, as it is technically correct as well.
When salesforce gives mypillow some aggregate averaged/projected data, and not a break down of customer names related to commercial airings ... then shit starts to hit the fan and both sides start talking about not paying. Neither side was technically 'wrong', but both of them clearly didn't do their due diligence did they? In this particular scenario, Salesforce would likely win as well because it DOES meet that CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS to the letter, unless the judge decides that salesforce, having done this many times before, should have known better and in their roles as consultants they were legally obligated to inform them of the potential confusion, so maybe not!
You can rest assured that the contract's specifications are so vague that this cause is not going to be an overnight thing.
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I actually had to read the article to figure this out:
I feel your pain, brother.
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^^^ The problem is, you really don't have any choice in the matter. Most MegaHuge Corporations won't reimburse you for purchases not made with the official corporate card, so if that card is Amex, they can pretty much rape your ass any way they feel like doing, and you really don't have any choice in the matter besides quitting your job or getting fired for being unable to travel and refusing to cooperate.
In a way, it's even worse than the usual form of corporate serfdom, because you can be required to run
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Miles (Score:5, Informative)
I'm sure the employee wanted the miles.
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That's what we do. Corporate credit cards are a real pain in the ass to get if you're a small company. We (small business) use personal cards and have the bill sent to the office. The employee gets to keep the airline miles or whatever bonus is attached to the card. Given that I have about $4k/month in expenses that flow through there, it adds up fast and it's a win/win all around.
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Corporate credit cards are actually no different that personal credit cards. The company has no obligation to pay it and it's your credit that gets f'ed if the decide to renig on what they said they'd pay for.
My prediction of who will win this (Score:5, Funny)
The employee is a chump? (Score:2)
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On Aug. 1, Salesforce.com "attempted to take its systems live for My Pillow" but more than 100 components "were not functional," his suit adds. Furlong subsequently disputed the $125,000 charge with American Express, and Salesforce.com credited back the amount, the filing states
I know, I know... Reading the actual story and all...
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Also found in the story:
Furlong's card was subsequently re-charged for the $125,000 but this time American Express refused to credit his account, saying that Salesforce.com had provided "authorization for the charge and a signed contract and order form stating that no cancellations or refunds would be allowed," according to his suit.
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I know, I know... Reading the actual story and all...
Yea, you might try reading more than the first page:
Furlong's card was subsequently re-charged for the $125,000 but this time American Express refused to credit his account, saying that Salesforce.com had provided "authorization for the charge and a signed contract and order form stating that no cancellations or refunds would be allowed," according to his suit.
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Amex cards used to not have a limit when I had one. If you have good enough credit they just let you run up whatever bill you want. My father bought a house with one a long time ago due to some legal/work issues similar to this case. His employer was buying his previous house from him as part of an employee move, but the paperwork was taking too long and the new house had a 2nd offer. So he dropped it on his Amex and then paid off the bill a week later when the paperwork cleared. How he got money from the
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AmEx products vary. Blue is not the same as the classic card.
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LOL about the vendor not taking a check. They lost a bunch of money on going through a credit card transaction.
Why? Easy! (Score:5, Insightful)
For the same reason I'd do the same, in a frickin' heartbeat - $2500 in rewards dollars (and AmEx gives "real" dollars creditable to your account; not "miles", not "bux", not "flooz"). And in general, legit companies not on the brink of bankruptcy don't usually flake on their bills. Though sometimes... They do.
It does surprise me that AmEx wouldn't reverse the charge, though - They have one of the most consumer-friendly (and practically merchant-hostile) dispute policies out there. You ask, they reverse it and ask questions later, with the burden of proof on the merchant.
Re:Why? Easy! (Score:5, Informative)
It does surprise me that AmEx wouldn't reverse the charge, though - They have one of the most consumer-friendly (and practically merchant-hostile) dispute policies out there. You ask, they reverse it and ask questions later, with the burden of proof on the merchant.
An article I once read about this case stated that that was exactly what happened:
Furlong subsequently disputed the $125,000 charge with American Express, and Salesforce.com credited back the amount
It wasn't until later that the questions were asked and proof provided by the merchant:
Furlong's card was subsequently re-charged for the $125,000 but this time American Express refused to credit his account, saying that Salesforce.com had provided "authorization for the charge and a signed contract and order form stating that no cancellations or refunds would be allowed,"
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AmEx did reverse the charge after it was initially disputed. It wasn't until Salesforce went back to them with the contract that stipulated no refunds under any circumstances that AmEx reinstated the charge.
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That seems hinky as amex does not allow merchants to stipulate that for amex transactions. Now salesforce may be big enough to have a one off agreement with amex.
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murky fandango mired in presumption (Score:2)
Every time this kind of slashdot story passes editorial standards, somewhere a cluestick dies.
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This is common practice at startups, where they don't have rules in place against it like most (or all) larger companies. Employees can build up a really good credit rating, and get the rewards, by charging things to their card that the company reimburses.
Salesforce is stealing SAP's business plan? (Score:5, Funny)
>> there was an aggressive go-live date, a demand for immediate payment, and a (Salesforce.com) system that was ultimately 'not functional'.
Wait, is Salesforce is stealing SAP's business plan?
Summary (Score:5, Informative)
1. My pillow contracts sales force to give them a custom solution
2. Salesforce agrees & begins work that was due by June 1st
3. Work isn't done by June 1st and SF rep asks for 125k to do it by Aug. 1st that gets paid by employee card cause check "wouldn't work"
4. Aug 1st. SF does not deliver
5. My pillow refuses to pay SF, SF re-instates credit card charges to employee's card
6. SF sues My pillow for 550k stating substantial advertising efforts, employee disputes charge in court.
So this isn't a 3 way law-suit...
Before you go denouncing SF as being the anti-christ remember, we don't know what the requirements were, or how they were manipulated by either party. The employee's card being charged doesn't make my pillow look good either.
Personally, if I was that employee I'd maybe try to sue the sales rep for misrepresentation in the overall grey light of this case.
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The employee's card being charged doesn't make my pillow look good either.
It says that SF held the project hostage, they demanded that payment right then and there and My Pillow tried to cut them a check but they refused. Apparently their corporate card had less than $125k limit and the employee was happy to make a couple thousand dollars or so in rewards.
If it is true that SF missed the deadlines twice and yet charged also twice the original estimate, I can't see how they could be suing for "damages"...
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my main point there is that My Pillow could've changed up the requirements several times, or scope creeped significant new features in. We just don't know. SalesForce is a big company that I haven't heard a whole lot of negative about, while My Pillow used an employee's credit card.
As far as credibility goes, I am very inclined to lean towards SF, though the article makes it sound like My Pillow is completely getting f'ed.
And as far as the amount of 550k goes, it does seem excessive, but I think it may be
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at what point does oneself have to assume responsibility for their actions?
Whenever I see someone talking about "personal responsibility" its never the executive making decisions being asked to take responsibility. I'm guessing you figure that point comes after whatever point the boss thought it would be a good idea to use the employee's card.
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"My pillow contracts sales force" is a set of words that don't make for particularly good reading.
The vague nouns and verbs and homonyms make my head hurt...
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Contracts 101 (Score:3)
Same goes for self-employed independent contractors. If your contract just says you'll be paid $x upon completing the specific work, you are screwed. They can delay paying you for months without consequence. At the very least you need to put accruing penalties for late payment in the contract. Ideally you'll also have dates after which you can take the contract to a court and immediately get a summary judgment instead of having to go through a trial. Without a solid contract, once you hand over the money (for prepaid work) or the work (for post-paid work), all your leverage is gone. You are completely at the mercy of the other party.
Sounds like a poor contract is what happened here. Salesforce.com promised a lot and didn't deliver. My Pillow's contract didn't specify penalties or discounts/refunds for non-completion of work. Consequently all they could do was offer Salesforce.com more money to finish what they were supposed to have finished under the original contract. The opposite is possible too - that Salesforce.com did its beset to fulfill the contract, but My Pillow kept changing the requirements. In that case, the contract should've specified how many revisions to the requirements could be made, limits on how much they could change, and by what date they'd be finalized. Either way, it was a poor contract.
Whenever a startups tries to abuse your credit (Score:2)
You just need to claim that you are a Mennonite, and for religious reasons you do not own a credit card. Generally employers know so little as to be unable to verify the check, and are usually too scare of state and federal laws around religious discrimination to mess with someone who has an education and a moderate level of affluence. (sorry to get all political, but people still take advantage of the poor on the assumption that they won't do anything about it)
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oh?
http://www.themennonite.org/public_press_releases/Federal_laws_require_a_few_changes_for_Mennonite_Financial_credit_card_holders [themennonite.org]
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You miss his point.
Just because I can't name a denomination that 'for religious reasons refuses to stand in judgement of any man' doesn't make that phrase any less of a get out of jury duty free line.
Obviously geeks can't be Mennonites. They are barely allowed to drive cars. Sort of half breed Amish.
It's a pure Chutzpa move. Fuck the boss, and his zero interest loan.
IF you..... (Score:2)
Use your personal credit card for your company's expenses, you are a complete and utter moron.
If your boss ever says, "So can I use your credit card to buy this expensive product for the company?" you say.... "Here is my resignation, good luck."
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Depends.
It would give you a good case to claim partial ownership.
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Owning a unsecured debt against a company in bankruptcy is just about as far from partial ownership as you can get.
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I'd probably just say "No" or "Why don't you use your card?" -- how the employer responds would inform my decision on what to do next.
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For expenses of this sort, absolutely.
Minor use of the "Hey, can you pick this up at Staples?" sort isn't unreasonable.
Sigh (Score:3)
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"..anyone but the developers set the completion date for software. "
no, that doesn't work either. Unless you have a highly motivated staff working on something they love, you need to set some milestone and delivery dates. Naturally you listen to the developer and use it as a guide line.
For example see: why this very case where the developer said he could get it done by Aug 1st.
Sometimes the market or market windows determines finish by date, becasue is usually about money, not about solid code.
Sadly.
crappy employers require amex accounts (Score:3)
Back in 1998, I was pushed into applying for a corporate AmEx card by my employers, a consulting company of moderate repute. The idea was that I would use this for expenses related to travel. When I read the agreement in full, and understood that it was my responsibility, rather than my employers, to pay the bill I declined to apply. Shortly thereafter, I heard from other people in the company that it was expecting them to charge various IT related expenses to the card, and was taking a very long time (over four months) to pay. This was clearly a credit-kiting scheme cooked up by corporate finance to support the company's cash flow. When I told my boss that not only had I not applied for the Amex card, but that I had no credit cards (true: I tore them up about a year before), I was treated with disdain. A few weeks later, I was asked to resign under the pretense of some irregularities in my job application (which I had been forced to fill out after I had been accepted by the company and switch coasts). For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is an NDA, I can't reveal the name of the employer. I can say that they were swept up in one acquisition after another, and few people remember the name fifteen years later. But I still remember how much I came to distrust them, starting with an employer trying to force loans from its employees. Beware!
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that's not so big. add two zeros and call me.
Re:$125K 'personal' limit (Score:5, Funny)
$125,000.00; What's your number?
Re:$125K 'personal' limit (Score:4, Insightful)
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$31.205M, on a green card. Several in the $12M range.
How fortunate it's $31,205,000. Imagine if it was only $31,200,000?! How could you cope at the end of the month?
Re:$125K 'personal' limit (Score:5, Informative)
People who aren't poor.
And old-school AmEx cards have no limit (in theory). And the balance on those old style accounts is due in full when the next statement is presented. Back in the day, it wasn't a credit card so much as a way for rich folks to pay for things while travelling without carrying a bunch of cash around or get businesses to accept personal checks. They'd pay the month's bill in full immediately, not carry a balance like poor people do with a regular credit card.
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The old AmEx were great if you had to travel for your job.
Fly,
expense report,
get reimbursed,
pay Amex,
done
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The old AmEx were great if you had to travel for your job.
Fly,
expense report,
get reimbursed,
pay Amex,
done
More like
fly
expense report
wait
wait
ping accounting, offshore data entry error, correcting
wait
wait
ping accounting again, find out it's been on boss's desk for last three days
ping boss for sig
Explain why roll of Rolaids on expense report (high stress meeting over unreasonably hot tandoori)
wait
wait
wait
get reimbursed
Forget what the check is for
Remember what check is for
pay Amex plus late fee
done
There's an alternate path that involves fighting with the hotel over a charge for six mini-bottles of Cuervo Gold, but
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I've been dunned for pay per view also, and have successfully had the charges removed, but it's a hassle.
These things, spurious mini bar and PPV charges, have me wondering whether the staff is having a party at my expense while I'm in meetings. I mean really -- pragmatically, if I wanted to drink, I'll go someplace where I can disguise it as food expenses. And if I wanted to see porn, there's the entire internet to draw from. There just isn't any reason to touch either the overpriced minibar, or overpric
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Not strictly true. The term used was (is) 'no pre set spending limit'. What this means in practical terms is that every charge authorization request goes through a complex decision tree based on many pieces of financial and fraud data before approving or denying the request. If your financial assets do not support your ability to pay for a charge, it won't go through. These products are charge cards, not credit cards. The 'no limit' misconception is fairly common though, just ask any of their call center em
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not carry a balance like people who live beyond their means do with a regular credit card.
FTFY.
Im sure there are cases where this isnt true, but in general if you are carrying a balance because you cant afford something now, and it isnt a 1-off emergency, youre making a mistake and exercising poor judgement.
it was a charge card (Score:2)
Back when credit cards were still charge cards too. When revolving credit cards (where you don't have to pay each money) changed their names to credit cards (credit is a positive, charge is a negative), AMEX kept the charge card description.
AMEX reminded me of this twice when I didn't pay in full at the end of the month. They said they didn't work that way and I wouldn't be able to charge anything until I paid it off. I replied that I didn't mind because I only used it on corporate trips and I didn't have a
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People who were consumers in the 90s?
Re: $125K 'personal' limit (Score:2)
People with a good credit history?
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As a grad student I was pretty close. With grad student earnings, no less. First five years of this century were quite crazy, and if you played your cards right and had a bit of luck, you could in fact get that kind of a limit, even if it was many times your yearly gross salary. Many banks would let you consolidate the accounts into one, so that credit limits would simply add. Over time, those many banks were all acquired and joined the big bank. Ergo a humongous limit.
Re:$125K 'personal' limit (Score:5, Informative)
Having has to suffer for a time working for a company that had something of a scam going regarding employees and AmEx cards (Litton Industries, absorbed by Northrop-Grumman in 2001) I have some insight into how the story might have unfolded.
Litton Industries had AmEx cards issued to employees. It had your name on them, you were required to activate and use them, you were solely responsible for paying the balances, but the limit was set by AmEx based on Litton Industries' financial situation and thus were effectively unlimited. You were required to pay all company travel expenses with them (even charging airline tickets to them) and file for re-embursement when the trip ended (or monthly is it was long-term). Thus the employee could be on the hook for quite substantial amounts of money at the direction and for the benefit of the company.
Something like this could have happened to the poor employee.
But back to Litton Industries. They could not process a reimbursement claim (which required multiple sign-offs) within a week, it often took two (or even more). And they had a "payment cycle" that cut a check only once a month, if approval came in by the cut-off date. So if you took a one-week trip, filed immediately upon return, it was almost impossible to get the check in hand before the monthly bill was due, and thus you either had to pay the balance off out of your own personal funds, or you were hit with a late fee that the company would not reimburse for.
I did not stick around there for long.
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AmEx cards don't have a pre-set limit.
My AmEx card begs to differ.
You probably have an Amex credit card, rather than an Amex Charge card. The latter has no preset spending limit, however, the balance must be paid off within 28-30 days or you get dinged with a 30% interest charge and lose any points that your purchases would have earned for that month. You are considered not in good standing if you leave a balance on it past the interest free period.
If you had a platinum charge card, it would have arrived in a leather bonded portfolio.
Re: (Score:3)
This is entirely correct. I have a corporate Amex. The card is mine. My debt, my responsibility.
All that is different is that it is conveniently integrated into the company's expense reporting system, so rather than fiddling with receipts, I can just click on the charges and they get dropped into my expense claim with all the necessary details transferred.
Re: (Score:3)
True. And when the company doesn't reimburse you within the set limits, you are also responsible for the late fee.
Re: (Score:2)
*shrug* I wouldn't loan somebody my card to buy a coffee just because of the surrounding risks to its security, as well as the principle.
Re: (Score:2)
$20K. My choice. Large enough to get back from wherever in the world I am that has gone to hell and small enough to manage if it goes bad in some other way (like in TFA).
Re: (Score:2)
My total credit card limit (across multiple cards) is somewhere in excess of $100K.
That's a couple in the mid 30's then a few more in the 10 - 15 range.
The cards actually in my wallet total maybe $30K, not counting the company "green AmEx". I have no idea what limit might be on that. It hasn't been used in years.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Come On Man (Score:4, Informative)
Because, "Furlong's card was subsequently re-charged for the $125,000 but this time American Express refused to credit his account, saying that Salesforce.com had provided "authorization for the charge and a signed contract and order form stating that no cancellations or refunds would be allowed," according to his suit."
Re: (Score:3)
You fail at reading.
Because, "Furlong's card was subsequently re-charged for the $125,000 but this time American Express refused to credit his account, saying that Salesforce.com had provided "authorization for the charge and a signed contract and order form stating that no cancellations or refunds would be allowed," according to his suit."
Re: (Score:2)
More likely the employee offered it up as a way to get the ball rolling, hoping to play hero and score some points with the company brass at the same time.
Unfortunately, the company decided to screw him, since it gets them out of a bad deal (what's personal bankruptcy?), and the courts get another headache to sort out.
I used to wonder why humanity needed the courts...now I wonder how a judge can walk around without facepalming all day.