I said fraud, not extortion. Sears has for at least 50 years had the habit of extending credit with such low minimum payments that the final payoff takes years and costs many times the original purchase price. Anyone competent to work out his own amortization schedule (e.g., I who have a math PhD) can ignore the minimum payments. Less wary consumers end up paying through the nose.
When I had a Sears card, I noted that they responded to any excess payment by requesting a minimum payment of $0 for a few months, until the interest charges wiped out the principal payment. When my dad was a teenager, he helped a working class neighbor trying to reorder his finances, and discovered that he had paid $2,000 for a $200 lawn mower, and still had an unpaid balance.
This is on the fine line between caveat emptor and outright fraud, but I disapprove and show it by taking my business elsewhere.
Sears isn't the only store with unfavorable credit terms.
My objection to your statement is that you single out Sears for something that A) is not manadatory for customers; B) is not fraud as you purport.
Sorry, if people don't understand credit that is their problem. I understnd that circumstances can encourage the use of store credit but anyone should be able to see that $10/month won't pay off a $700 fridge in a year. Or two. Espeically at 21%.