Complain about a product or service

J.C. Penney Life Insurance

Arthur of Zebulon GA (08/18/08)
I was an employee of J C penney For more than 30 years an carried a life policy for that time and through retirement last week I reached 70 years old. The day before my birthday I recieved a notice that my insurance was canceled I had been paying $57 A MOUNTH FOR now Im an old man and no life insurance thanks to J C Penney I could have put all those prem. in the bank for those years and had enough for burial at least.

Old and no burial insurance.

Paul of Mississauga OTHER (01/28/08)
J.C. Penney Life Insurance offered me disability insurance for $11 per month and told me that it will be charged on my bank account. They also told me that I have 60 days to review and reject the policy without being charged after I receive it in mail. I never received any info from them, and they are charging my bank account every month. I cannot find any info about them in Canada or USA. I do not know how they have my banking info. I had to close that bank account.

They charged me $11 for over 6 months.

Brenda of Athens GA (01/16/08)
My mom paid $44.00 a month for this insurance for over 10 years. When she passed in April of 2002, I was told that there was a record of the insurance, but it had lasped. Who would allow a policy to lapse after investing in it for ten years? She paid $50,000.00 or more over this time period but, I as her sole heir, received nothing.

I'm still paying for medical expenses that occurred during her five-year illness through a bank loan. This has been a difficult hardship.

Omar of Royal Oak MI (12/10/07)
My mother has paid JC Penney Life Insurance for years. I tried to inquiry as to the policy after her death and they have no clue as to the policy number. A dead end and I cannot get anywhere with them.

The only life insurance my mom had has been lost.

Ofelia of Chino Valley AZ (08/20/07)
My 05 Jeep Cherokee's dashboard lights have been flashing on and off. At times all gauges shut off. It stalled once while in a traffic jam, but I was able to restart it back up again. It has been serviced once 2 1/2 months ago for similar problem. Dealer unable to find source of problem. So far I have been fortunate, and vehicle has not left me stranded somewhere. I need some answers.

I

Gage of Kansas City MO (03/26/07)
March 2, 2007- My wife placed an order over the phone with JC Penney. After she placed her order, she was asked if she wanted to take part in a program JC Penney offers their customers called Plan Plus, which is a type of supplimental health insurance discount program. My wife said she wasn't interested and the woman said that she did not have the ability to decline the service because membership is automatically generated by the computer and not to worry about it.

Well, my wife received a letter in the mail the other day with her membership cards and plan number. What troubled we was that I took the time to read the letter and it stated that the first 30 days of membership are free, but then your JC Penney card will be charged $9.95 a month for the service. I called Plan Plus first chance I got and when I tried to cancel it, the person continued to try to sell it to me. Finally, they cancelled it and I asked for a confirmation letter.

My reason in writing this is to warn others who place phone orders with JC Penney to not take their offer lightly, even if you decline and they say it isn't any big deal and not to worry about it. Had I not read the letter, I would have had $9.95 charged to my JC Penney card each month, which quickly adds up. I have fallen victim to a scheme like this before and refused to have it happen to me again.

Linda of Forrest City AR (04/17/06)
I paid a balance in full and closed my JC Penneys account, I then recieved letters asking if I wanted to keep the insurance, if I did I needed to send payment with the enclosed statement. If I no longer wanted the insurance I needed to do nothing. I did not return the statement with payment yet JC Penney applied the charges for insurance to an account that had been closed. I called JC Penney and the woman I spoke with told me she did not know why they were charging the insurance but would take care of it. later I received a letter from a collection agency. (Nice way to take care of it!)

I called JC Penney, I wrote letters to them, I wrote letters to the collection agency and to this day nothing has been done and I have been dealing with this since 2001! I am contacting an attorney to find out what my options are legally. Needless to say, I no longer do any kind of business with JC Penney. I recently reeived a threatening letter from a collection agency stating that I now owe JC Penney over 300 dollars even though in July of 2001 I paid the account off in full and closed it!

I applied for a loan from my bank and was denied because of the negative mark from JC Penney on my credit. The damage has been much worse than what I can mention here.

Linda of Henderson NV (07/23/05)
I was paying into a life insurance policy to JC Penney Life Insurance Co. for years. Suddenly, they stopped taking my payments and I do not know what happened to the policy. It was to be reimbursed by age 59 or 60 and I do not know what to do.

Mary of San Antonio TX (06/10/05)
My mother had life insurance policies with J.C. Penney Insurance Company and had been paying on the policy for many years through her credit card. When I called to get a written explanation of benefits I was told that the policy had been canceled. Then I was told that I did not qualify for any benefits because the cause of death did not meet the policy guidlines. I have contacted the Texas Department of Insurances and they stated that this company has defrauded many people the same way. I would like a written explanation of beneifit or denial of benefits from the compant to provide to the Texas Department of Insurance.

I have had to pay for my mothers funeral arrangements out of my own pocket as most of the insurance companies that my mother had no longer had records of her coverage. I live on a fix income as my husband passed away last year.

Danica of Burlington WI (06/08/04)
In 1997, as recently married grad students, we were contacted by First USA / JC Penney for a trial of JC Penney life insurance to be billed at $9.95/month to our (only) First USA credit card. We thought that sounded okay, and agreed. At the end of the three months, we had decided against it, and contacted them in the stated manner to cancel (documented). Our next three credit card statements were blank. The third month, we had three $9.95 charged, plus two late payment charges of $39.95 for the first & second months. We called JC Penney. We called First USA. We called a lawyer. The charges were eventually removed from our card, our credit report was corrected. However, not until we had threatened a major lawsuit via our attorney. We've since learned that this was the subject of a class-action lawsuit. We've canceled that card, and hold both companies at the highest contempt.

William Saltzer of Audubon N,J, (09/13/02)
I discovered a charge on my mortgage payment for 9.95 a month under optional products When I called my mortgage company they told me that it was for an insurance policy with J.C. Penney , when I contacted them by phone they claimed that I had agreed to a 90 day free trial over a year & a half ago. Because I did not cancel it we have been paying 9.95 per month for 18 months. I have no memory of agreeing to such a thing, in fact I usually hang up on telemarketers.

We have lost $180.00 through their very sneaky tactics and we feel ripped off and very angry, I also feel like an idiot because I did not scrutinize our mortgage staement.

A class action lawsuit charges that JCPenney Life Insurance Co. routinely bilked consumers like those below, drafting their bank accounts without proper authorization.

Shayne of Cherokee AL (4/18/05):
I took out life insurance with J C Penney thru my Sears charge card. I had the insurance for over 3 or 4 years and they canceled it without a notice until a bill was sent individually from Sears on Feb 2, 2005. They have on the letter is was canceled in October. This was the first I had heard of it until I went back to look at my online payment notice on the Sears Website.

Usually, JC Penny would take out every other month for the month before and the month of the bill. I am angry because of this. I have paid close to $1800.00 to $2000.00 over these past few years and now I'm having to find more life insurance. The was I look at it, the least JC Penny could have done was paid my bill from the time it was canceled until now.

Danica of Burlington WI (6/8/04):
In 1997, as recently married grad students, we were contacted by First USA/JC Penney for a trial of JC Penney life insurance to be billed at $9.95/month to our (only) First USA credit card. We thought that sounded okay, and agreed. At the end of the three months, we had decided against it, and contacted them in the stated manner to cancel (documented).

Our next three credit card statements were blank. The third month, we had three $9.95 charges, plus two late payment charges of $39.95 for the first and second months. We called JC Penney. We called First USA. We called a lawyer. The charges were eventually removed from our card, our credit report was corrected. However, not until we had threatened a major lawsuit via our attorney. We've since learned that this was the subject of a class-action lawsuit. We've canceled that card, and hold both companies at the highest contempt.

William of Audubon NJ (9/13/02):
I discovered a charge on my mortgage payment for $9.95 a month under "optional products." When I called my mortgage company they told me that it was for an insurance policy with J.C. Penney. When I contacted them by phone they claimed that I had agreed to a 90-day free trial over a year and a half ago. Because I did not cancel it we have been paying $9.95 per month for 18 months. I have no memory of agreeing to such a thing, in fact I usually hang up on telemarketers.

We have lost $180.00 through their very sneaky tactics and we feel ripped off and very angry, I also feel like an idiot because I did not scrutinize our mortgage statement.

Frederick of Gouldsboro PA (11/30/01):
I found out that I have been getting billed, to my mortage payment, for "optional insurance" that I never heard of nor never dealt with in my life. Apparently they sent a letter informing me that they were giving me this insurance and that I had to cancel it, but I never read anything nor accepted anything.

Timothy of Redondo Beach, CA writes (2/1/01):
I first received a promotion for AD&D insurance ($7.95/month) in my Dec 1997 bank checking statement. It was ignored (I just found it, as a matter of fact). JCP claims a telemarketer got me to agree to a free 90-day policy (with confirmation of continuation to be sent) which never, in my knowledge, occurred. They have a contact date (April 12, 1998), but no further information - time of day, person credited with the sale, etc. They have cancelled the policy and claim they can only refund 3 months worth until they review my dispute form.

They are trying to blame me for all this, as I very seldom read all my statement details. I am aware within a few dollars of what my balance should be, so I just check general info -- balance, cleared checks. The fact remains that I was never notified of this charge by either BofA or JCP. JCPenney claims they mailed a policy statement. I have all my mail from 1998, and there is NO mail whatsoever from JCPLife. This is a blatant violation of sharing of my financial info by Bank of America, and possibly fraudulent behavior on the part of both JCPenney Insurance and Bank of America. I never provide any checking account info over the telephone, except to Bank of America customer service reps when there is a check order placed or a question concerning my account.

Damage Resulting: $250 in unauthorized charges to my checking account, which BofA allowed (this promotion was a joint venture between them and JCPenney Insurance). JCPenney wants me to fill out a dispute form - they have taken the attitude that I have to somehow prove I didn't agree to this policy.

Tawanna of Woodbridge, VA, writes (5/31/00):
In May 2000 I requested a copy of my credit report. I received my credit report with a charge on it for $34. The report also stated that the account was 120 days past due. I called GE card services because I knew that I had paid the balance that was owed 6 months ago. Come to find out it was life insurance from JC Penney, they say that this was purchased in August 1999. I then called to let them know that I had not requested insurance. They informed me that my husband had, I then asked them how can they charge that to my credit card without my consent especially when he has no access to my cards. Their response was he's your spouse. I knew that this was not right because they had the wrong birth place and date of birth.

Even if this was true, I have yet to see a statement from JC Penney since this request for insurance (so they say). I think that someone should look into the business practices that this company has.

Chalann of Sterling Heights, MI (4/6/00):
One day, I got my credit card bill and it said I had to pay $9.99 for life insurance. I didn't know anything about it, I didn't get any call from their company, and I never signed a contract.

When I called them, they said someone in the house over the age of 21 gave them the information and if I wanted to cancel, I had to wait for their information packet so I can look over what was being covered. When I got the packet, which was 3 weeks later, I called and still wanted to cancel, they said I still had to pay because of the amount of time I was being covered. I didn't even know about it and I had to pay for 3 months, October-November 1999.

Jay of Zeeland, MI, writes:
After a "free" trial of three months, $22.90 a month has been tapped off of my credit card. In October of this year I noticed that JC Penny was taking out an additional $12.95 per month on another credit card for which I had not authorized. I called them to cancel both accounts but have still been getting bills as of December. I have a hard time making ends meet the way it is. I don't need a life insurance company (or Hospital Accident Protection Plan) to skim off without authorization the hard earned money that I have made. Credit is all that I seem to live on, and companies that steal the capital that I have to work with need to be stopped.

Beatrice of Tuskegee, AL, writes:
My daughter noticed that an amount of $7.95 had been withdrawn from my bank account one month. She asked me about it, and I told her I did not know why that amount was being withdrawn from my account. She later discovered that $7.95 was being withdrawn from my account every month.

We discovered from my bank that this amount was being sent to JC Penny Insurance. Previously, a represenative from JC Penny had telephoned me soliciting insurance. They stated that they would give me 3 months insurance coverage free. After that, if I wanted their coverage, I was told to sign a document they would send and return it.

I never signed anything informing them I was interested in there insurance. Neither did I provide my bank account number to them. Because I am just finding this out, I have not yet calculated the amount they have stolen from my bank account. JC Penny should pay for their fruadulent, greedy thievery.

Knowing that someone could actually obtain access to my bank account without my permission is horrifying and devastating. All the money I have is needed to pay my bills, or for my own personal use. I feel as if my person has been seriously violated.

IW of Covina, CA writes:

J.C. Penny Life Insurance has been charging my credit card since September 1997 at $7.95 per month. They claim that they called my house & obtained my birthday and birth place in 1997. I have NEVER bought/received/signed anything from this company and I would like to have the full refund.

J.C. Penny Life Insurance has been wrongfully charging my credit card since September 1997 at $7.95 per month.

Joy of Las Vegas, NV, writes:
On August 28th I received insurance documents in the mail. Normally I just throw junk mail away, but it read documents I requested. I read the policy and knew that it was nothing I could use, so I returned it and marked please cancel. On 10/1/99 I called to make sure it was cancelled and they gave me #25556 GC381. The monthly premium was $7.95.

Today I got a bill from Texaco for $5.20. It only shows one policy number, but the girl at the above phone number claimed I cancelled one policy, so they billed me for the other. That is not true. I sent back all the paperwork. Today I called again to find out what was going on and was informed I would have to pay two months and they would than credit my Texaco card for that amount.

There is no reason why I should have to pay anything since I cancelled the policy which I don't remember buying. Long time ago I was a sucker for the telephone companies and their rebates and learned a lesson.

I do plan on cancelling my Texaco card and JC Penney Dept store card if they insist on this money. There are other oil companies and other department stores.

ZJS of Florence, SC, writes:
I purchased a life insurance policy on my wife in 1987. Approximately June, 1997 I stopped receiving invoices for the monthly premium. I contacted the company and finally by December, 1997 they sent me an invoice for 6 months premiums at $72 total.

I sent a check in that amount on December 30, 1997. In addition, an Application for Reinstatement and an Authorization for Automatic Draft Paymant Plan were included.

On January 27, 1998, the company sent a letter returning my payment and stating that they could not reinstate the policy until a medical report was received from our family doctor.

We received another notice letting us know that the medical report was received and that the policy would be reinstated once they received $108 in back premiums. I sent them a check on March 31, 1998 in the amount of $108. I also included the Authorization for Automatic Draft Payment Plan to begin drafting the premiums from my checking account.

When I balanced my checking account in July or August, I noted that the check for $108 had cleared however, the monthly payments had not yet been drafted. I contacted the company again. After several phone calls, I was told that I would have to file another Reinstatement Application.

By the time all of the paperwork was processed, they requested a check in the amount of $116.35 to cover the back premiums to March 15, 1998. I sent this check in January, 1999 along with the Authorization for Automatic Draft Payment Plan.

On February 10, 1999, they refunded the premium payment with the explanation that the policy could only be reinstated within the first ten years. I called them back on February 17 and 23 of 1999 and explained all that I had been through trying to reinstate the policy.

They said there was nothing they could do. I asked for a refund of the $108 check that they cashed. They said that they should not have cashed that check because the policy could not be reinstated however, they would not refund it. This policy had Return of Premium Benefit. That was why I was interested in keeping the policy in force. It seems odd that they quit sending invoices at about the same time as the ten year anniversary.

I made every effort to keep the policy in force in order to recoup the premiums once the initial period was up. They made every effort to keep this from happening along with getting some additional premiums they later confessed they were not entitled to. I believe I paid approximately $1,200 over the life of the policy. I would like to get this back.

Jaime of Westminster, CA, writes:

In 1994 I bought a Term life insurance from JCPenney. The said then that I need not to send a check since all premiums would be paid by my JCPenney card which subsequently would bill me. I've been paying all premiums that way. 

In the last bill I got an extra charge for $50 because the billing cycles of JC Penney Insurance Company and JC Penney Credit Card subsidiary are not aligned. The company acknowledged it was not our fault but nevertheless they made us pay the extra charge. 

My position is that we, the customers, should not be billed for corporation's mistakes and I am demanding  the refund of those $50.  I am under the impression that this corporation collects a lot of money from thousands of customers who were, are , and will be charged for this concept.

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