This article/post contains references to products or services from one or more of our advertisers or partners. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products or services.
About a month ago, I published an article over at Credit Addict about protecting yourself against reduced credit limits. Since that time, readers have left a smattering of comments lamenting that their credit limit has been reduced. We’ve been totally unaffected by this, so I’m curious as to how widespread this problem is. Interestingly, all of the commenters reporting a reduced credit limit have been dealing with American Express.
Comment Policy: We love comments! However, the comments below are not provided or commissioned by this site or its advertisers. Comments have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by this site or its advertisers. It is not this site or its advertisers' responsibility to ensure all comments and/or questions are answered.
256 Responses to “Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience”
Anonymous
Hi there mates, how is all, and what you want to say regarding this
post, in my view its in fact remarkable in favor of me.
I’ve been a part of Amex since 1985. I’ve had a credit limit in excess of $17,500 for the longest time. I had a $7,000 bal. Recently I tried to make a $150.00 and was denied.. I called Amex I was told that my credit score was outstanding, and my payment history was also the same. But I was told that because there were too many hard hits on my credit score.. in the last 12 months.. (bought a new truck and applied for a different Credit Card) My Credit limit was lowered to $52.00 above my current balance.. Had nothing to do with my ability to make payments well above the minimum..
Don’t cancel your card.. Pay off your balance.. keep the card to maintain your credit score.. Don’t use the card anymore was the suggestion I received from the representative.
I had citi bank since 2009. I stared with about 7000 cl. I did not use them for a little while after getting the card. Then they had a 0% for 12 mo offer. I took it. Paid them off in about a year. Then another one came along in July 2012. By then I was up to 8500. They had another 0% for 12 mos. So I did another balance transfer that took it to 8300. Space just in case. In Aug and Sep, I had some problems with another Credit card. NAPA. Forgot to add them to my auto pay via my bank. Missed 2 minimum payments on 200.00 Citi bank sends and email to me in early Oct 2012 credit line was decreased. I called and asked why. They tell me that some sort of adviser decided to reduce my credit line to 6200. Then citibank tells me to get a copy of my credit report to them so a sr. advisor can reconsider my credit limit. I was never late to them or under paid the minium for the last 3 yrs. They said that does not matter. My mistake was also having a Sears citi card. They reduced me in the same month from 1000 to 600. Don’t get citi bank connected cards.
All credit cards are bad for you. They are no good to have. Let’s be weird and be debt free. Taking advantage of all the perks credit cards offer aren’t that great….because you pay for them one way or another.
@Adam: I’m new to FCN so I just ran across this post and I appreciate your recommendation of the USAA card. I looked into it to see if it would work for me and it looked OK, but I found several things I didn’t like:
First, they post all positive user reviews by date going back several years, then all negative user reviews are buried at the end. That wouldn’t concern me so much, but it’s in the negative reviews that you find out stuff you need to know, and I’d feel better about them if they sorted everything by date.
Second, payments take 7 days to post – this wouldn’t bother me because I don’t max out my card, but for some folks this is crippling.
Third, USAA has a serious fraud watch service, which is great if someone has stolen your card but extremely bad if you are traveling and have only one card. Some folks even notified USAA before traveling and still had their card actually cancelled while they were traveling. USAA would call their home number to notify them but, of course, they were traveling so they didn’t find out until they tried to use their card at a hotel in the middle of the night. At that point USAA would tell them there was nothing to be done. It didn’t just happen to one member – it was a frequent complaint. I understand why they do it – they insure the cards against fraud and they don’t want to pay for fraudulent transactions, but that would seriously leave me in the lurch.
Finally, there is a 1% fee on all foreign transactions. For service members stationed overseas this can significantly increase the cost of living. For the rest of us who travel occasionally this is a deterrent.
I only keep one credit card, so the traveling problems will keep me from pursuing the USAA card even though their advertised interest rate and rewards program look good. Others might find it more useful but ought to take a good look at the fine print before making the jump.
I have $20,000 in credit with USAA and an 8.9% APR. They won’t report to any credit agency unless you are more than 60 days overdue, and they will always work with you. Additionally, I receive yearly DIVIDENDS from their profit on insurance products. All that, and I’ve been depositing checks with my iPhone for more than a year before Chase offered that capability.
Disregard Chase and Citi. They are the slum, gas station equivalents of banks. Just seriously take a look at their “bankers” to see what I mean. They are degree-less, spiky-haired, illiterate pathologies.
If you feel you must use Chase for ancillary services, and you don’t want to pay any fees, simply have your payroll services deposit $100 into a debit account each pay period to take advantage of that loophole.
And by the way, USAA offers “persistence” perks for being a longtime member. They do all these wonderful things for their clients (dare I say family members), because they conduct business by the philosophy of “good service derives true success; all else is theft.”
They did not take any bailout. They didn’t need it.
No loyality. My Chase was reduced from 25,000 to 2500. Had the card forever and paid more than the minimum. I now look at my debtors and debts as just business. If something comes along better, I drop them just as I was dropped. Still very bitter.
Well Ruby, I guess I will see. I just wanted to add that mine was a VISA. I used this card during college to pay for gas, bills, and sometimes tuition, but paid over the minimum every month. I graduated a month ago and immediately started using 90% of my paychecks to pay off my balance. I had no idea they would say, hey thanks for paying off your balance real fast and we’re going to go ahead and decrease your line for you.
Jordan, You’ll probably get the letter today. They make the change and then let you know. I believe they are supposed to give you a 45 day notice (if anyone knows about this, please comment). It’s a mess and still don’t know how to fight this.
Wells Fargo cut my credit line today from $10,300 to $1,300 leaving me with $99 available credit. I went from owing 10% of my line to 90% in one day. No notification at all.
We had over 40,000 in Home Depot credit, we would use it, as we are a small contracting business and pay it right away. They canceled our business accounts. Than our personal accounts. Our credit line on our First National bank was 6,000, always paid above min. monthly charges, never reached the credit line. Just went to make a purchase and it seems they have cut our credit to 2,000. I do not recall receiving any notification about them reducing our credit. NO ONE SAID A WORD TO ME WHEN I SPOKE TO AN AGENT to make a payment three days ago. They can all go %@*& in their hats, and keep their cards. They are killing us small business owners who use credit, and pay on time, in this country. God help us all.
Hi Ruby, I took a chance when they reduced my limits for no reason. I asked them for a payment plan as I wanted to close the account but could not pay it off all at once. They told me my income did not fit their payment plans. So I closed it since the decrease in limit already had dropped my credit score. It started with Am Ex, then Discover , HSBC ( best Buy) and Citibank. HSBC was the last one to do it and I was left with $80 of which I owed $60 as my payment to finish a payment schedule w.o interest. None of these companys had any reason. I never had any late payments. My score back then was 740 and I was trying to buy a home and within 3 months was no longer able to qualify for a loan.
I now have to move and have looked for 4 months. I do not have a high enough credit score. Its all really pissed me off. I called Fair Issac and they said they were not going to reconsider their scoring None of them really give a hoot. so we shall see what happens.
Annie …. May 2011 for the change in your limit? I would like to find out how if possible to fight this. Still can’t believe they can do it and act like nothing is wrong.
I am going to court in 1 yr ( May 2011) can not wait to tell the judge how they changed the terms of the contract and it became a domino effect. credit score has decreased at least 70 point. never had a late payment until Citibank would not make a payment plan and told me my income was too low for one.
we shall see who prevails. I noticed on the web that the credit card company’s do not show for the case management and get fined $250.
I am glad I found this site, so I too can just vent for a second. 🙂 I am an Amex through CITIBANK, and today, I receive and email saying that my limit just went from 17,500 to 6730. Random credit limit; which of course leaves me with ~113 available to spend.
Well, I am looking at this from a positive perspective: it will force me to pay it off and not incur deeper debt. So, for that I am happy.
However, just to point out; my FICOs are in the mid 700s & with CITI, I have always paid on time, and paid more than is due.
But, the credit customer service says that now when they review accounts annually, they look at ALL of your outstanding debt. Oh well, such is life.
The one last thing that drives me INSANE is how all customer service reps are programmed to always point out; “well, due to the nature of the economy”….
I hate what happened to Annie. There should be a way to address this. But what???? I agree that we might be better off living off the grid. We are the ones that are paying our bills because we care about our credit. Is this smart??? I wonder. The credit card companies and others are making it very difficult for the ones who want to do the “right” thing and pay their bills. Did anyone really look at what was happening to you Annie? It it not fair. Still don’t know what to do. Can you sue the company AM EXP because you could not get your house? Crazy…..
HI, been awhile. Just to let non believers see how much the actions can affect you. credit score was 740, Am Exp maxed me out with City, Best Buy( HSBC), Discover, B of A and Wamu/ Chase to follow.
MY loan never went through for 1st time buyer
Fair Issac said they were not refiguring our scores because the CC maxed us out Maxed out is maxed out
so.. My present score at Credit Karma- 598
I tried to add comments to my report but even with certified letter receipts the banks prevailed as to who closed the accounts. I did.
Fair Issac is as much a part of this as the card comp and banks!!!!!
I have realized that congress could care less nor any part of the govt nor the watchdog groups.
why has this not happened to an atty who can do a law suit? its insane. better off living off the grid if you can. there is more to this bull then we see!
My problem with this whole issue of reducing one’s credit limit is the affect it has on your credit score. If you have a balance (maybe even if you don’t) a reduce in available credit will hurt your credit score. Also, if you had that credit card for some time, you do not want to cancel because that will also affect your credit score.
That would all make sense if the banks had not been doing this fully a year before all the bailout stuff began. They started with “riskier” customers, then moved on to everyone else.
Yeah hindsight is 20/20, don’t carry a balance, blah blah, but the fact is that nearly 50% of credit card holders carry a balance. Not everyone has the luxury of keeping $20K on hand for such circumstances, this is the real world afterall.
One common denominator of nearly all the postings on this thread is that each writer, apparently lacking available savings (liquid cash), had been adversely impacted by a bank or bank holding company’s decision to slash their credit limit on a consumer account.
I wonder if this spate of credit limit slashings, which on their surface seem hardly likely to benefit issuing banks, arose as part of some backroom deal or secret instruction that was part of the federal bank bailout, or perhaps as a membership requirement for banks to keep feeding at the Fed discount window?
It seems to make little sense for companies like AMEX to willingly and wilfully eviscerate their bottom lines and throw away years of hard-earned goodwill from longstanding, excellent customers merely to spruce up contingent items on their balance sheets.
Rather, I wonder if the real reason was part of a larger policy decision to forcibly boost personal savings among the middle class by eliminating the huge unused lines of credit that have come to replace the savings cushions of ordinary Americans.
It is indeed shocking that the beneficiaries of so much unsecured credit lack the personal savings resources that would prevent them from being adversely impacted by a reduced credit limit on a revolving account.
It also begs the question of what business does a responsible bank have issuing $10,000 to $50,000 lines of credit to persons who can’t seem to keep a $20,000 cushion of funds in their checking accounts?!
What can we do???? I’ve read all the emails. Chase got me …. card holder since 1992/no late payments…Limit $25,000 dropped to $2,500. This was done on 4/22 got the letter yesterday. But I found out about it on 4/23 while making an online payment. I’m thinking about getting another card (not Chase) before my credit score drops…. Has anyone spoken with an attorney? There must be something we can do. Someone please respond!!! HELP!!! I want them to feel what I’m feeling.
Discover has raised my credit limit from 14,000 to 16,000 while aLSO raising my purchase rate to 19 point something until I complained and they then dropped it to 17.24% from 14.99 percent. Chase has left my limits and my interest rates the same. I have a Citibank (Sears) card but I’m not sure what if anything has happened to that one. I don’t have Amex.
American Exp is out of their minds and hurting everyone and my credit score. I have had a regular Platinum and Optima card since 1979 that is 30 years. I have never been late with a payment. Last Year I got a letter stating my limit on my Optima account was being reduced from 19K to 15K as my mortgage sevicing company was having a lot of foreclosures. Las November I paid them the $13K I owed them and just this month I received a notice my limit was reduced to $2500!!!!!!! I am so upset and now they have reported me to the credit bureau for being over my limit. The charges I made were before I received the letter decreasing my limit. This is not fair and I am willing to do anything to get them in trouble and looking for suggestions. I have never ever been late with them over 30 years on either card and now they are hurting my credit…….
We were are told Change was coming…Here it is folks just the first little part of your freedoms vanishing.If you cant see it, I feel sorry for you. Credit Card Law went into effect yesterday. Bank informed me Today that the Govt. ordered banks to revise all credit scores and adjust credit limits accordingly. Because they get Govt. Money….Which is really our Money!..Bunch of crooks!
why these credit cards are reducing the credit limit, they are not even telling the customers. I was going to charge a some thing on capitalone card and got emabarrased.. I have the credit of 6,000 and when i tried to charge something there was no money..I had a good credit. what is going on
I too had my credit limit reduced VISA. I first started with BOA at $1000 and a year later, they offer to increase my limit to $7000. I’m about a five year customer. I haven’t use my credit cards for about a year now with 0 balance on them. After reading this blog, I sign onto my BOA account and found that my credit limit is at $1000. This doesn’t affect me much but I could use that extra $6000 in case something goes wrong.
I sincerely hope tha all the ceos burn in hell for what they have done to me and the same goes for all of the polititicians whom we elected but who in turn turned their back on us because they don’t have to worry about retirement as they will all be given an exhorbitant retiree pension with full medical benifits
and we get kicked in the ass.Screw all of them.I am a retiree as my wife is and live on a fixed income and we
did not get a cost of living raise this year because they said that there has been no inflation so we do not qualify.They must be living on another planet because everything went up last year 2009 food,gas,rents,insurance just to mention a few so how can the government condone this,i am totally baffled.
I am totally disgusted with it all.Charles Mc Caig.
We also live in the Highest Taxed State in the Union
New York State.
My main CC co Citi gave me an opt out option. I have been with them 15 yrs, paid on time all the time. The 1st took my rate from 13 then to 15 and now 20%. 20% is an rate that people without credit have paid in the past. These dirty bastards have made and r making a fortune on me and others. Now thru their mismanagement we have to pay.
How is it that r gov gave them money for 1% and the get away with RAISING R rate to the moon.
Why didn’t OUR gov give us the money at 1% then we could pay them off.
This government is a criminal organization in collusion with the corporations. They pretend to before us. It’s nothing but a show.
By the way I wrote my reps about this. Nothing happened. I have decided to opt out.
All of my credit card holders have either increased my APR or reduced my credit limit drastically and in one case completely stopped it.I am a good payer always on time and pay more than the minimum payment required but this did not make any difference to the credit card companies.They gave me the option to opt out of the card in which case they close my card out and this goes against my credit score which is totally unfair as it has ruined my credit score which used to be over 800 but is now barely over 700 and can’t apply for any increases as they have already cut my credit limit.the CEO’s and staff get huge annual bonuse every year and these are companies that have been baled out by the government us our tax dollars It is just not fair and something should be done about it.Disgusted
Charles Mc Caig.
I took advantage of BOA offer on my online BOA page for balance transfer at special low rate [.99%] and they use my response to their offer to slash my credit line by 75%. Months later they send me the same offer in a letter with my name on it and my then available credit line written on the letter and when I respond to their solicitation {they made the offer at least 3 times} they tell me they are canceling my credit card completely and I know they new my credit score {which was still good} before making the offer as I have credit monitoring and now for the second time BOA continues to damage my credit just because I attempt to take their offers!!! WHY!!!! AND CAN I SUE THEM!
Everyone should go to a local bank The rates may not be great but the service is excellent. I have left Chase / Wamu and so has my son.
When we walk into Circle Bank they know us by name!
I have now transferred my savings from Chase to a local bank. Only when we truly revolt will this end. Chase has already sent me a letter telling me that they can offer better terms rather than opting out. Too late, Chase. The FICO score makes us slaves. Reject your credit card increases if you can. I can do this,my young daughter can not (Yet). But if someone that makes my income can reject credit cards, then more people can.
Chase took away $20,000 of my husbands credit line and has now made his credit score that was impeccible lower. They are so unfair. They canceled a balance transfer after he called to see if it was a valid offer, and then it made all of his checks bounce.
Unless you are trying to purchase something very large in the future (home, car) and you need a good FICO score,I suggest that we all opt out of the credit cards and try to negotiate a lower interest at that time. I feel so good about my decision but I know that it won’t fit everyone’s needs. My son-in-law and daughter are going to film myself and a bunch of friends for a “BURN YOUR CREDIT CARD” party and we will post it on youtube. In addition, I am going to start a facebook page for burning credit cards unless someone has already started one. In that case, I will join their page. Then, I am going to send my film to the appropriate banks. Christmas has been wonderful without credit cards by the way. I have shopped in some stores but we have also shopped on Craig’s list and in used book stores. I still have a large balance on my cards that I have to pay back but I am on a plan.
My Citi card has been dropped down twice below the balance owed. This of course creates a snowball effect, lowing my credit score each time, adding higher interest rates and over limit fees.
Sears mastercard did the same to me about 6 months ago. reduced my limit from 4000$ to 3500$. I paid them off and don’t use the card anymore. Interest is too high anyways. I kept the account open though to keep utiliztion ratio good. I will never shop at a sears/kmart store again as my personal boycott until limit is restored back to 4000$. Same as you – credit score 700/no missed or late payments/loyal customer. Chase also did this to me last week. Paid off two cards with 5000$ limits. Limits were dropped on both to 900$. These I did close only because I hate Chase with a passion.
After being a customer for 32 years with no late payments ever to anyone, a credit score of 738 and a $160,000 family income, Sears Mastercard lowered my credit limit from $13,300 to $700.
I recently had my interest rate increased to 24.99% on my Visa after years of never getting near my credit limit and always paying more than the the required payment. All I have to say is thank you to all of these banks and the smug people who represent you on your customer service lines. While I realize fault does not lie with the customer service reps, I’m not sure they understand the direct result of the practices of these banks, i.e. no customers=no jobs!
I am now more determined than ever to pay off this card! Again, thank you!
As Deborah W noted, I am also trying NOT to use my debit card either, cash is the answer!
One more thing. I have a savings account tied to a Debit card with Chase which I am going to close and move to a local credit union. I read that Chase earns 70% of its profit from FEEs related to debit cards. If anyone wants to be further enlightened, log on to Frontline and watch their episode of Card Games! Also, I told my dentist that I will no longer be using credit cards to pay off my dental bills (13K in one year which is how I got here). After a few calls, he agreed and said that his business credit card limit was reduced and they raised his interest rates! When we all start leaving the big banks, maybe they will understand.
Well, I wrote recently about how my citicard credit limit was cut in half which was just a smidge above what I owe. After 3 days of phone calls and letters written to my senators and the senate banking committee, citi agreed to restore my credit limit. Then a week later I get a letter saying congratulations, your credit limit has been restored. I get another letter on the same day saying that my Citi interest rate has been raised from 8% to 33%!!!! I get a letter from Chase saying that my interest rate is being increased from 10% to 29%. My balance is 2700.00. I have never been late, I always pay way over the minimum. So I surrendered! I am done! I have lived without credit for over a year and I don’t need them anymore. My credit score, once high is probably in the toilet and I don’t care! I opt’d out of all cards and I am so relieved! I will borrow from family if I need to. Of course, I get a followup letter from Chase saying that they could find me new terms but the hell with them and the horse they rode in on.
I’ve always paid well over the minimum and always on time. My credit score was 750 (i’m 23) but today I received a letter from chase stating they were reducing my credit limit from 7500 to 3500. I just look forward to the day i have my debt paid off and I can kiss my cards goodbye
Citibank lowered my credit limit to 2580.00 and my balance was 2522.00. I always pay on time and I always pay over the minimum. The interest rate is pretty good but since this will lower my FICO score, I expect that they will soon send me a notice about raising my interest rates. I am definately going to file complaints.
Credit card bankers have reduced my limit on several of my cards and in some cases closed my account because
the credit bureaus says i have too many revolving accounts and the banks considered me a bad risk even though i paid on time and some extra money to boot.
Bank of America is one of them and this same bank got a huge stimulus bale out from the government yet it is cutting or stopping my credit card agreement whic is totally unfair.I just purchased a $31,000 car and am playing my part to help this deficit package yet i am being punished by these same bankers who’s CEO’S and corporate workers gave themselves huge bonusus. IS THIS FAIR to the CONSUMER,my answer is NO and people like myself are being ripped of and denied credit for helping support the ECONOMY.Totally Disgusted.
Charles Mc Caig.Hope someone from GM reads this letter as they were another company that was baled out.Shame on all of you Corporate Head Bangers.
@ mike
“They have taken my payment from a min. 2% to the 5% the LAW has allowed them to take payments to. This 5% was put in place by the corporate run government.
Chase gave me the option to continue with the $250.00 a mo. if I would except 7.99 % intrest rate. I agreed under duress. What could I do except to just stop paying????”
You may have figured out by now, but it seems to me that actually Chase offered you two options of their design but didn’t mention your existing legal right to outright reject the whole thing. You still had the opportunity to reject their two offers, reject their terms, close the account, and pay by the original terms including the 2% minimum payment.
If it makes you feel better, I fell for the same thing: believing that what chase was calling my option to not accept the new regime exhausted all the legal options in place for me to reject those terms.
One lesson learned by me: It pays to move a little slowly when responding to a complex thing that is presented by a “shark”.
My Bloomingdales Visa was lowered by $1800 three months ago even though I have never defaulted. They said it was because I made 3 consecutive minimum payments. I found out today, when a charge was declined, that it has now been furthered lowered by $300. When I telephoned I was greeted with the statement that I am a very valuable customer (how cynical and hypocritical can Bloomingdale be!), then I was told the reason was due to internal and external reasons; whatever that means (twice as cynical and hypocritical on Bloomingdale’s part). I cannot wait until 2010 when the second part of the Credit Card Act will make them stop these practices.
Well, it’s not just Amex – Sears/Citi got me. Cardholder since 1974 (college), didn’t use it enough, I guess, so they totally cancelled it on me. When I called, they said “reapply”. I asked if my ‘member since xxxx” would be back dated. Nope.
Since this was my benchmark card, this is going to kill the part of my credit score that speaks to length of credit history (sigh). Good thing I really don’t need credit much.
I agree with every one who has posted on this site. I have been a loyal card member since 1979, 30 years of never missing a payment, never being late, having balances over 100K and paying them off, paying outrageous membership fees for my gold card and membership rewards program but still standing tall with Amex. I have had all my accounts with available balances reduced that directly and negatively impacted my credit scores and other opportunities to do business. I had my interest rates modified from fixed to variable with increases on the Gold, Optima and Blue Cash card. Interest rate increases alone will add over 340 dollars to my monthly payments. My wife and I had a balance on our rewards account over 600,000 points – today it is zero and I have spent them for fear they will come after that also. I am so ready to default on all the cards but I know that will send my credit scores to the bottom and impact the remaining good credit I have. I worked at this company for 10 years during the late 80’s and early 90’s and was brainwashed about how important the member and customer service is. These are different times and Amex has fallen into the crapper and they now care less about the card members that kept them going over the years. They are dirty players in the credit world; they have become a bank, used my tax dollars for a bailout and manipulated the legislation to their advantage. Just wait, prime is about to jump and Amex will ride a few more interest points out of us all.
I will stay tuned to this web site awaiting that one post that gets us all over the line and hits Amex where it hurts. Until then I will write to Kenny C, my corporate office and encourage them to drop the Amex corporate card program. Let a few news stations, and the Fed about Amex dishonesty especially in the testimony they gave before congress, hoping to get the answer, class action, intervention from some one some place.
I have not used my cards in three months, I have cut them up, and I will pay minimums until such time this matter is resolved. In the meantime American Express has lost a card member forever.
Ugghhhhhh …….
There are a lot of disgruntled customers in this country who need to be heard.
FOLKS, DO NOT TAKE THESE ABUSES AND DO NOTHING!
THIS IS STILL AMERICA FOR GOD’S SAKE!
As you read these sites, take advantage of the links and contact addresses and let your voices be heard!!
When I first contributed to this post several months ago (regarding my personal experience with my Costco AMEX card), I was hoping to see these credit card companies succumb to justice, perhaps in the form of class action, pressure from retailers to extend credit (not reduce it), boycotts, etc. But as I have continued to follow this thread in the context of of our economic situation, I believe this problem will actually resolve itself. The credit card companies, by their actions, are actually doing us a favor by forcing us to reduce our debt and to live within our means. But what they are also doing (to their own demise) is reducing our dependence on creidt and, therefore, dependence on them as financial partners! I, like many of you, am in the process of radically reducing my consumer debt (as painful as that is) and consolidating debt where it makes sense, meaning that a good number of these debt-intolerant companies will no longer be business associates. And I don’t intend to resume business with any of them despite a (hopeful) turnaround in the economy and an almost-certain turnaround in my own financial picture. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not “later†to AMEX, B of A, and some of the other companies cited here, but an emphatic “good-bye!†Associates that are not willing to stand by me in the hard times are not welcome in the good times. So, again, “Good-bye!â€
“In a recent review of your account, we noticed that you have used only a limited amount of your credit line with us. We believe this may indicate that your current credit line is higher than required to meet your usage and/or spending needs. To better align your account with these needs, we have adjusted your credit line to $3,800.”
Until now, if I had needed the card it would have been for about $30,000.
Are they protecting themselves from real or imagined dangers?
I have had an account for over 15 years and had a large available balance. I hadn’t used the card in about 6 months and when I tried to write a balance transfer check that was sent to me ( to consolidate) my check was denied and my balance available was immediately reduced to $500! I have a credit score over 725 and perfect payment history! I’m baffled!
When does it stop??? I can not believe there are no attorneys to help with a class action.
today I got a letter from Best Buy( HSBC BANK NEVADA)
One of my favorite cards as you get so much time interest free to pay off your purchase and then they start adding interest if you do not pay it off by the date of the plan.
Well happy days, they join the rest of the banks. I had $81.65 out of 1100 owed . Now my limit is a big $105!!!!
Down goes my credit score again. Its dropped 100 points since all this began last year and Fair Issac could not care less about re-evaluating how they determine the score.
This is one of my oldest cards as well.
I had one purchase I believe where I had any interest at all over the past 9 yrs.
Its really a point of no return except if your a national bank. Go Local people, cut your cards up and become independent of the system. That is the great divide that is occurring.
Fair Credit Act?????? I do not think so. Arbitration is the law and so what is fair credit???
How to start a class action? is there a class action for dummies book? lol lol we need to get together on this .
maybe we can do a link to this blog I would try to go to the law library and check the Nolos site.
anyone else up for trying to figure this out?
I hate that there are recent reports of the companies reducing limits. Very scary to me…
Until June 08, I had no CC debt; graduated b-school without a job, so I took advantage of a couple 0% interest cash advance offers from Citibank (~$20k) so I would have cash in the bank (5% APR at that time) in case it took a while to find a job. To conserve cash (for rent), I started using my CCs for most things.
In October, I had AmEx drop my limit from $7100 to $3400 (about $100 over the balance at the time). Annoying, but not devestating.
Started a GREAT job (thank goodness) in January and,
In February, I paid off my Discover card (had ~$4600 balance on a $5k card). They reduced my limit to $500. At the same time, I paid off significant chunks on my two CitiCards (limits were $25k and $20k). A short time later, Citi lowered both limits to just above the balances (so, now they’re $19k and $11k, respectively).
At the same time they did this, they also raised my interest rates and minimum payments. Why? Because they were concerned that I wasn’t able to handle my current debt payments, so they were ‘helping me’ by making me pay off more principle each month. (B-b-but… I thought you didn’t think I could handle the lower paymens? Why do you think I could handle higher ones?!)
I cut those cards up the next day, not wanting to be beholden to a company that acts so irrationally. And I increased my payments to both cards significantly. I can’t wait to pay off the Dividends card and start using it again – paying it off every month – and costing them the 1% – 5% cashback again.
BofA, when I called to report a lost DEBIT card, told me they felt I had enough credit already, and closed my $2500 account with them.
All these, even though I have paid every credit card bill on time for the past 12 years – even while unemployed. Apparently, that is high risk behavior these days.
Chase has been the ‘winner’ in all of this, leaving my limit alone and, as a result, earning all of my business. Of course, I pay this balance off each month and earn 2% – 5% cash back, so they’re not making any money off of me, but I do say nice things about them.
So…. now I want to buy my first home. I have $35k in the bank. $15k of that is down payment/closing costs… I want to use the other $20k to pay off CCs to reduce my utilization and increase my credit score.
And I’m scared to do it because I’m terrified that, as soon as I throw a significant chunk of money at the cards (the Citi ones), they will just lower my limits again… which will probably lower my credit score more. I wish I had time to dole this money out in small extra payments, but closing is in November, so I have to have the balances down by the time the cards cycle in October. Time, I guess, to call my mortgage lender and see how to play the timing game, I suppose…
What an idiotic situation. Sorry for the loooooong note. Had to vent.
Discover card just reduced my credit limit from $11,000 to $500. I’ve never missed a payment, always paid on time, and except for two times, have always paid the balance in full. I’m not going to check my credit score. I already know it’s taken a really big hit.
My credit has never been great. ASPIRE shut my credit card down, so I’m just paying them off. They deal with a lot of high risk loans. My $500.00 Capital One cards have not changed (I have MC and Visa). My $300.00 Orchard Bank and $2000.00 card have increased their rates to over 25%, and Juniper has increased rates to 29%. My Old Navy card lowered my limit from $500 to $200.
Well, shut my mouth! With regards to my previous post stating that Pay Pall had lowered my account line of credit to $124.00. I actually got an apology an a reinstatement of my line of credit. Go figure. Doesn’t help, but I can use the card as a beater card.
The problem here is the general reduction in availability of credit. Without the ability to make purchases over time and at fair interest rates, individuals simply don’t make the purchase. I still make purchases with credit cards but would negotiate like a grizzly bear over the price of a big-ticket item.
The credit card companies are not on your side. Be careful, read the fine print.
As I am writing this I just received a letter reducing my pay pall account to a $124.00 limit. I will make the obligatory call and report later.
Without the ability that credit allows consumers to consume there is no growth in the economy. The economy and for the most part the recovery will be consumer driven.
I use my credit quite wisely and don’t particularly need these huge lines of credit. But the banks have made a huge mistake here and have over-estimated the risk involved with the grating of revolving lines of credit. The credit card has become an American institution without which the consumer driven economy will grind to a halt
Same thing happened to us last December! BofA closed five accounts plus one thru our credit union just because we called in for a $200 increase on one account! NO LATE PAYMENTS OR OVER THE LIMIT FEES!
AMEX is on the same crusade against customers also!
Just got a notice that they intend to raise rates on outstanding balances starting in October! AGAIN, NO LATE PAYMENTS OR OVER THE LIMIT FEES! They made no mention of an “opt out” provision, but I think that if you notify them and reject the new terms, they have to leave your term as they are now unless you pay late or go over the limits. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF BY NOTIFYING THEM THAT YOU CAN AVOID THESE INCREASES! WILL APPRECIATE ANY HELP ANYONE CAN GIVE!!
Wait till you hear this one! I applied for a Charles Schwab credit card (we have over $200K on deposit with them) and ended up having three of our BANK OF AMERICA credit cards reduced/cancelled instead! That’s because the company who makes the credit decisions for Schwab also handles BofA accounts (FIA Card Services, 1100 N. King St., Wilmington, DE 19884). The woman who evaluated our Schwab credit card request had no access to see our Schwab balances and said that not only are they declining our credit card request, but since they also handle Bank of America’s cards, they decided to reduce our credit limits on two BofA cards to the current balances and close an unused card that had a $39K credit limit. That is sure to make our credit score plummet! We have never had a late payment, ever. The moral is (besides a big ditto to all of the above comments about BofA), is watch out who you apply with as they may be able to close your other credit cards!
Bank of America lowered my $42,000.00 credit limit on my WorldPoints card to $500.00, stating the reason being my “recent payment history with Bank of America Visa Signature.”
I have never missed a payment, and always pay the entire balance. They further stated that my yearly salary was not enough to warrant the total revolving credit granted; household income is in excess of 250K. Admittedly over the years I have developed a stellar credit history with some very high limits on my cards. What fools! I immediately went down and canceled all BofA checking, Money Markets, and Savings. Just a statement. Glad I did — better deals elsewhere.
By all means boycott the institution — and tell them exactly why. Sorry, you’re so fired.
I have been totally abused by Bank of America and Chase this year. They have slashed my credit limits, increased my minimum payments, raised my interest rates, and doing this all while saying they “value my relationship” with me! I was no where near my credit limits with any of these companies, but they have now cut my limits to just about the balance owed, it is crazy. I have very good (not excellent) credit, about 750.
I agree with people like Andrew who say the only way to fight back is by boycotting these institutions. The problem is many people keep dealing with these banks. I’ve already closed my checking, saving, and IRA I had with Bank of America and moved them all to a non-national bank. I’m paying off my credit cards with both and not charging anything more on them. I will do my part to end my relationship with these oversized institutions and hope you do the same. The only way we can impact them is if thousands of customers tell them “no thanks”.
I went to credit karma and checked my credit score. It has gone down from 760 to 698 in one day. I too have decided to open a new credit card account from some other company other than B of A. I will still keep it open, since it’s my oldest card (7 years) but will not use it at all (maybe once a year so that it doesn’t automatically close.) I prefer to use cash or debit cards anyway; I only use credit cards to obtain points and keep a good credit history but its not really working in my favor.
I am standing and applauding you Andrew. Right On! People we, do have the power! I am not a business owner but I live near Fair Issac and may just figure out some way to get a protest going or get help by calling the local newpaper to do an article.
PRO- ACTIVE is the way to get this done. I can not believe there is not a lawyer reading our posts.
This is class action if ever there was a good case.
Also its interesting as our scores go down people who have had bad credit before the past year are now going up. Especially the 20 something’s who have tried to make it on their own but had no idea how too.
I have been watching this as my son is 26 yrs old. Credit score is 764 and he has been trying to help his friends learn how to handle just their paychecks and over drafts. He too has had limits reduced w/o reason and some maxed out. I have one of the kids staying with me who has made mistakes and did not want to see her score. I told her to go to http://www.CreditKarma.com and it is free. She was blown away. Her score has been going up steady for the past 6 months w/o any bank account or credit cards,(no loans either)
Fair Issac is just as much a part of all this.
Keep the spirit up Andrew!
Same here. Good credit, years of history, no lates. Over 60k of available credit slashed by BofA, Citi, and Chase. I did as least get an apology for the way it was handled from BofA. I own the premier auto repair shop in a college town. I told the local branch that since BofA didn’t want to do business with me, I would reciprocate. I would stop accepting any credit cards, checks, or debit cards from them. I had a phone call from a VP in Charlotte making nice the next day. Still, I will starve before ever doing any more business with them.
Perhaps all us business owners really should boycott their products and partner with local banks for touting their products. It appeals to this old hippie! Credit score went from 780 to 700. Glad I don’t need to borrow any. sheese
I called back and spoke with a manager who didn’t increase my line back to what it was but at least decreased my APR which is why I had called originally. Meanwhile I did apply quickly to Discover and was able to transfer over $6,000 at 0%APR for 9 months. Will that change in 9 months to a regular APR? Yes. But it sure beats the 27%+ APR I had with BOA. Will my (and your) credit scored get damaged due to BOA decreasing the limit? Yes, not sure by how much but it does.
BTW I don’t have perfect credit but do have a 720, don’t have any type of late payment for the last 5 years (pay mortgage, cars, etc on time always). Also 3 months ago I payed off a third BOA card I had with about $4,000 and at same time I payed down my balance of yet another BOA card by $4,000… You’d think I’d be their ideal client but no…they don’t really care.
Also I used to have a credit limit of $58K with AMEX and a few months ago it got lowered to $13K. I’ve had AMEX for 10+ years and would spend about $150,000 per year on it (mostly because of work), and always paid it even way before it was due…yet another bank who is on my sh*t list.
I cancelled all my BOA checking, savings accounts and now just bank at a local credit union and now all I use is a debit card. I am not charging anything anymore using my BOA or AMEX.
It seems that these companies know that they have us grabbed by the b. and what other option do we have but to pay, even if just our minimums? Hopefully government will come in at some point and do something like they did with sub-prime loans where people’s finances were getting terrorized by lenders.
Mike, the exact same thing happened to me. I called B of A for some other reason, regarding reversal of finance charges. (I usually pay off my balance in full every month and got behind the past two months but for the past 6 years my account has always been paid off.)
The “credit analyst” on the phone started asking me a stream of questions, then in the end reduced my credit to $2500 from $12000! I never go over $500 anyway but I think my credit score will get damaged with the reduction. Is this true?
Hi everyone. We really need to include Fair Issac in all this as they set the program that determines our credit scores.
WE are not maxing out but they are still calculating as if we are.
Ideas?
Petition on line? ( I have been told they do not mean much since there is no signature and people can have several diff. email addresses.)
I called Chase/ Wamu and they told me they had no plan available to help me at all.
never missed a payment but will in Aug. they are not being flexible one bit.
credit score really is not anything but a scare tactic now as I see it. seems to mean nothing as far as interest rates, loans etc.
I recently called BOA as I carry two cards with them and one of them had a much lower interest rate as I wanted to see if they could match it. They told me to call back on a specific date as that is when the interest would go from fixed to variable and that there shouldn’t be any problem in reducing the high rate to match the other card. Finally I called today and told them the situation. The guy gets back on the phone and tells me that they cannot help me at all, not only that but that they were going to reduce my credit limit on BOTH cards by about 40%, which put the new balance a few hundred dollars shy from the limit. I told him I couldn’t believe I called for help as I am trying to lower my payments and improve my finances and instead he is damaging my credit score by lowering my credit limit…of course he didn’t care.
Just FYI, you may want to think twice before calling your credit card for anything (such as an interest rate decrease) because apparently someone may “reassess” your account and damage your credit. I have had one card for over 12 years and the other for 8, no late payments ever, and even recently paid them down considerably, and have not made any purchases on either of them in about 18 months. I guess I should have kept my mouth shut and taken their 27%+ interest rate with a smile? Now I wish I would have.
Hey please excuse the spelling / grammar errors I think you can still understand what I am saying.
PS
Fair Issac has not to date changed its method of calulating even though the companys are maxing us out.
There is a place we need to protest as well They are the ones with credit score program.
suggestions on how to boycott/ protest them?
you may want to check out the rest of the site as well. it is an amazing vault of info.
Circle Bank is my local bank. I was surprised to find an new water cooler that gets the water out of the air and filters and uv lights the water and out it comes. Its nice to see that in a bank. They people by name and my local credit union which was open to me only because there is a branch in my town wrote letters to my creditors and got a problem solved for me. When I brought Jann a small plant to say thanks she was so surprised. They are helpful and if they do not have what you need they refer you. ie rental insurance they also give me free financial advice with a certified advisor.
so go local the bank that benefits your community.
still waiting for the class action lawyer to come on line and help us. maybe we should pick a day to meditate on it all of us at the same time.
Feel the same way. Have dealt with a very small credit union where I work for the past 9 years. Unfortunately my credit union has no credit card, mortgage, etc programs so I deal with BofA as little as possible for my mortgage for example. My credit union is not going to ‘rip me off,’ BofA would if I gave them the chance.
So after verifying there is nothing abnormal on all 3 credit reports I find nothing amiss I called and complained about the 90% limit reduction on my card from US Bank. All the official letter said was “after reviewing you account we have decided not to close your account, but have reduced your limit to $3000.”
We are done, have had it with regular banks. Called Navvy Federal Credit Union, who was happy to immediately give us a nice fixed rate and adequate line of credit.
US Bank wants to play these games. Fine. We have just mailed in a check to pay off their card and closed our CC, Checking and Savings with them (had accounts since ’87).
Will deal exclusively with member owned Credit Unions from now on.
Our government has been over thrown by the corporations. Our government has allowed, and encourage, corporations to move jobs overseas to China. At the same time allowed 50 million plus, illegals to invaded our country driving up costs, ie. hospital/medical, schools, police, prisons. gasoline, utilities…. And now the government and corporations have given homes loans and credit to the illegals as well as all other subprimers. These are the reasons for the collapse in our economy. The damage that has occurred warrants mass march’s by citizens, and more, for the damage they have caused. T. Roosevelt confronted business head on for the dirty deeds the “Robber Barons” were pulling, and he did so be cause he was concerned there would be a revolution in America. In the 1930’s FDR attacked the problems of the 1930’s because he too was concerned about a revolution. Like Thomas Jefferson said,”It’s good to have a revolution every once and a while.” We need a new Roosevelt or something.
Hi Mary, Exactly what I have been saying and I even called Fair Issac and asked it they were going to change the way they calculate as we were not maxing out the company was doing it to us. They said no they had no info this was several months ago I would have to go back and check the posts here I am on my way to work
So WE NEED TO DO A CLASS ACTION
HOW DO WE START ONE??? THERE must be someone who knows an attorney who is part of this blog.
IT’s insane and the gov knows but does not care how can they not.
I moved my money to a local bank and am out of the big ones. People should do the same
82.CHECK THIS OUT EVERYONE! I have FICO Score Watch thru Equifax. Under the section, “Understanding Your Scoreâ€, it shows you what is helping and hurting your credit score. “YOU’VE MADE HEAVY USE OF YOUR AVAILABLE REVOLVING CREDIT. Your FICO score evaluates your total revolving credit [?] balances in relation to your total credit limits on those accounts. In your case, this ratio of balances to credit limits is too high.
Keep this in mind: This credit usage ratio is one of the most important factors to your FICO score, so you should work on paying down your balances. Your FICO score looks at the ratio of revolving debt, but not in which accounts the debt resides. Therefore, consolidating or moving your debt from one account to another will usually not help your FICO score since the same total amount is owed.â€â€¦
So, this IS FOR SURE killing everyone’s credit score!!!!
I have (3) credit cards with a total balance of $19k and HAD an available credit limit of $60k! (I have never had my total balance on my credit cards over $24k, ever, so this always reflected good) So, it all looks great right? Looking at this scenario, I’m using only 32% of my available credit.
WELL, Bank of America goes and cuts my credit card from $20,500 to $7,500 with NO warning. I have a $7,300 balance on that card, so this now gives that particular card a 97% debt to available credit ratio..NOT GOOD NOW!!
I just got an email yesterday that HSBC-The GM Card, reduced my credit limit from $13k to $9,750!! This just reduced my overall available credit ONCE AGAIN!!
** WHEN IS ALL THIS MADNESS GOING TO END?!!! WE NEED SOME1 TO STEP IN AND STOP THIS! WHERE ARE THE REGULATIONS AND LAW??? WHO IS REALLY HERE TO HELP THE AMERICAN PUBLIC? We have no freedom of speech and defense to protect our own credit scores, or our credit cards. Our rates are being jacked high, limits being cut with no notices and their own made-up reasonings, such as “due to lack of usage”.
I say we ALL get involved in a home based business, (I already am in one), to make the extra $$ and save it. Then tell these credit card companies to take their credit cards back, all file bankruptcy and they get nothing!!! They have really done it now. We all need to stick together and fight back!
I just received a letter from Chase stating they were decreasing my limit from $2000.00 to $1300.00, reasons given when I called were that credit limit to amount owed ($300) showed I was not spending as much as before. So because I quit using the card and paid down my balance they cut my limit! This is CRAZY!! I even argued that I have never been late and ALWAYS pay more than min due. They agreed that I am a loyal card holder but that there was nothing they could do.
Just a follow up. I got a reply from Chase regarding my sudden credit limit decrease. They stated that since I only use a small portion of my credit line, they saw fit to reduce my limit to suit my spending habits. In bank talk, that means that since you don’t max out your cards and pay only the minimum, we can’t make any money off of you. So because you won’t contribute to the CEO’s “golden parachute”, we’ll punish you by decreasing your limit. Since when was financial responsibility a bad thing?
To MK – It sounds like you have done all the prudent stuff…doesn’t seem to matter any more. My husband and I have been tossing around the idea of starting a Class Action since everyone is talking about it but no one is doing it. I think a jury of our peers would find that the companies have broken faith with their customers in a way no “reasonable” person could expect.
Just went to make a payment on my US Bank credit card (we only have two CCs). Noticed my revolving credit was $3000. Thought it had to be a mistake, looked at last months statement and the revolving credit was $30,000.
Never been late on ANY payments for anything over the last 15 years. No HELOCs, are 5 years into a 15 yrs locked rate mortgage. Only have two credit cards, one with about $7K on it and this US Bank card with $2900 on it (both $30K limits). Immediately pulled all three of my credit scores: average score was 871.
So US Bank just lopped off 90% of my credit on their card. For no reason I can possibly see.
I have a Chase account as well, and the same thing happened to me. My credit limit was slashed 40% without any warning. My FICO is 702. I pay my balances in full each month, and I only use about 15% of my combined credit limits(I have 3 other credit cards.) I sent Chase an e-mail asking for an explanation. If or when I get a reply, I’ll share it.
Chase just cut my credit limit in half with no warning. I have no credit card debt. My credit score is near 800 (has been rising every month for about two years since I established and got rid of all previous debt). I only have three credit cards and I charge and pay the whole amount the next month whenever I use them. I purchased a new vehicle 3 months ago and got an auto loan through Toyota directly which I am paying off pretty quickly (the minimum is 200 a month and I pay 400 instead). I woke up this morning to my chase card limit slashed and I called up and they deemed me a “high risk”. It was the only explanation I received. I never got a prior warning at all. I’d like to do something about this but I don’t know what.
Same thing here!! I heard a story fr two business partners of mine, that AMEX closed their accounts that had $0 balance on them. I was thinking they maybe missed a payment or 2 or had other bad credit.
I was at the veterinarian office to have xrays on my dog, I have a $7,200 balance with a $20,500 credit limit. I went to use my Wachovia Credit Card (Which is now Bank of America…go figure) and the lady said “It was Declined”! I was so shocked and knew there had to have been a mistake with her credit card terminal, so I had her run it again.
I have NEVER missed 1 payment, or made a late payment in my 15 year payment history, EVER!!! I never maxed out my cards EVER!! I had a FICO score of close to 800!
I called the 800 number on the back of my card to see what the issue was. I was transferred (3) times after verifying my security info with them. Once I got to the last rep, she started asking me questions about my job, what type of job, how long I’ve been there, how much I make annually. When she got to the 2nd question, I realized I TOO BECAME another victim of what the banks are doing to people!!
Not only that, I have Equifax “Score Watch/Monitoring”. My credit took a HUGE ding cuz one of the major factors that impacts your fico score is your “Debt to Credit Ratio”. I had over $62,500 avail credit limit on various cards, now it shows I have TOO MUCH OF A BALANCE with little available. That’s because those banks are now penalizing the good credit people to protect themselves!!
YES, there should be a class action lawsuit filed and a law put into place RIGHT NOW, that the FICO score and credit bureaus cannot use this to their benefit and hurt our scores!!!!
This is beyond our control and just happened without our knowing. Unreal!!
To those who have questioned mine and other’s credit worthiness with these drops in limit; I will tell you that I have never had a late payment on anything or maxed out a card. I’ve come close the last few months to pay for my wedding but other than that I’ve been a reasonable credit consumer. I had commented on this blog earlier about the closure of my LOC. I still haven’t had any limits lowered on my revolving debt but Chase just upped my minimum payment on my lowest interest rate card (locked rate promo of 3.99%) to 5% of the balance. This happened right after I made a larger than usual payment on that card. Now, I had planned to have that card payed off in about 3 years and now I have to pay it off in less that 2. I was confident in my banks and the lending rules at the time the debt was accrued but now the noose is drawing tighter and tighter.
One thing that is so frustrating with American Express business is that I spend something like 2 hours on the phone with them to find out WHY they lowered my limit. I still am not sure why. I never even bothered calling the other ones. AmEx was my main business card. It has been taken out of my wallet forever.
michael i’ve found that the cards that are straight up with me, for example dropping the limit because i don’t use the card and do not blame me is borderline reasonable. They have to keep these limit liabilities on the books (person could run up the full limit tomorrow). Any card that lowers the limit below the amount still owed is unforgivable. Again because sears blamed me for the drop in my limit, i will boycott them forever along with all my family. It doesn’t hurt me at all. I have other credit cards that continue to be reasonable and also keep the interest around 12%. Do you remember providian bank about 8 years ago. It wanted to sell it’s credit card business to another company so it cancelled cards blaming the holders. I believe (or hope) it’s bankrupt. You can only kick people so long before they bite back. Boycott is the way to bite back.
I agree. However, I will not deal with any of these banks that have reduced my credit limit again. I have never paid late and should be considered a valued customer, but, apparently, I’m not. So, I won’t be for them. I’ll take my business elsewhere.
It’s really getting nasty out there with the current economy. In the short term by cutting down our credit lines, they are increasing the utilization ratio used to give us our fico scores thereby bringing those scores down. I’ve had to use savings to pay down cards by the amount cut on my credit lines. I have 53,000$ in credit card debt but it never bothered me becauce i always paid them on time. Before the economic crisis, i just got another card with a 10,000$ limit to keep the utilization ratio down. Not any more. My plan is to keep paying the cards off completely as fast as possible and let them cut the credit lines. When the economy gets stronger, they’ll be throwing these big lines of credit back at us. Greed will win and the credit card companies will want us back again bigtime.
I have a small business. My personal credit cards are paid every month. Most of my business credit cards (with one exception) are paid every month.
AmEx Business cut my small business limit from $15,000 to $10,000 in November 2008. At that point, I owned $9,980.00 on that card. I paid it down to a about $6,450.00 over the next 3-months and they cut my limit again to $6,500.00 in April 2009.
AmEx cut my personal credit card limit from $6,000.00 to $1,000.00 on a card I never use in November 2008.
Wells Fargo cut my $6,000 personal credit card limit that I never use to $1,000.00 in about February 2009.
In the last couple of days, Capital One cut my small business credit card limit that I never use from $10,000.00 to $2,000.00
And Advanta canceled all their credit cards, one of which I had which a $25,000.00 limit.
Chase dropped my credit limit from 14,000 to 5000. I had never used the card. At least the letter informing me stated the reasons were the economy and not me. Sears however stated that it was my credit history that caused it to lower my balance from 4,000 to 3,500. There is nothing wrong with my credit history. I will never shop at a sears store again and i will never use the card. I keep the account open only to keep it on my credit history. Cancelling the card would only hurt my credit history. The credit card companies will get greedy again and bring up the limits. Remember who did you wrong and never use them again. Give your credit business to the companies that stayed by you.
I have seen my business cards dropped starting with AMEX last fall and ending with BofA and Citi this month. Chase also increased the interested rate to 31% because of what they tell me is a 1 day late payment (first time in 9 years). Banks don’t want small business customers any more.
I have news for these guys. My kids hear my wife and I talking about this stuff and will remember how these big banks were trying to screw over the family.
Much Like I remember the crap that GM and Ford put out leaving me and my mother broken down on the side of the road many times. To me their cars are still crap and I will never buy one.
My dad on the other hand still buys his chevy because he remembers the cars of the 50’s and early 60’s when he was a kid.
I am not in all that bad of shape, however if things get worse I would not think twice about defaulting on my credit cards and running them up to the limit before I did so.
The banks are greedy crooks and will get what they deserve in the end.
I had a few credit increases over the last year and thought I was pretty safe; even with my Chase cards all changing to variable rates. However two weeks before the last few grand was due for my wedding I get a notice from Chase that they are closing my line of credit and valuing my home about 100,000 less than two years ago. That sucked. I have all my investment and debt with Chase and I will be running fast from them as soon as my husband and I get a few months recovered from the wedding expenses.
I just discovered Bank of America reduced my credit limit. Thank god I pay my bills online before they even come to me. My bill came today and the amount I owed showed $902.00 and they reduced my line to $900. I had paid the bill prior so by bill was down to $852.00. The bottom line if I didn’t pay my bills promptly I would have overcharge fees. Not only that the bill I received in the mail showed my higher credit limit line. I went on line to check and sure enough it showed a credit limit of $900. This is really making it harder on everyone. Now I am terrified this will happen on all my cards. No warning. Nothing!! The banks received all this free money and now they want more and more causing us into worse financial problems. This is very frightening. What happens if you have an emergency and try to use your card and then no money. I was paying mine down in case I had a major emergency. Bank of America is the worse.
My Sears Gold MasterCard Credit line was reduced today from 4,500$ to 3,500$ just above what my balance is. Never missed a payment. Interest is very high though. I will pay off the balance and never shop at another Sears store again. I do not forget an injustice and I hope others will also boycott stores that do this. I will drink champagne if or when Sears goes bankrupt.
WAKE UP AMERICA. Don’t you see what has happened? The banks got a bail out. They saw all this money coming in and they really REALLY liked it. They liked it so much that they wanted more and more. It’s called GREED. BUT they knew some day they would have to pay it back, so, those no name, blood suckers in empty suits got an idea – Make our customers pay for it. They lower the credit limits thus lowering the credit scores on ALL customers. Now the pay-off; With lower credit scores they can charge higher interest and that gold up front money called POINTS for all refinance and new home loans. So, looking for a solution to this? Try mine.
I have unsecured credit card debt a first mortgage (variable rate) and second on the house the bank seems determined to force into foreclosure, they look good with these variable rate loans off the books. So, if you refinance only the first and second (if you have a second line of credit or whatever – but pay off ALL secured debt). After you close on the new fixed rate loan, IGNORE the credit card (unsecured) debt. In fact now is the time to top out those cards. STOP paying on them wait for them to go into collection and now you have options. ONE you can file bankruptcy, best solution. Or, TWO, find a legal firm that specializes in debt negotiation, the good ones can get the debt lowered to 10%. If you take the second choice and have enough equity, apply for a line of credit or second mtg. and pay off the 10% of the credit card debt. Of course realize that both options assume that you plan to stay in the house for a long long time because your credit rating will now be BAD. And oh yes, you will have to do without credit cards for a year or two (and is that so bad). Yet think of the pleasure you will have knowing that you stuck it to the banks just when they thought they were sticking it to you.
If every home owner did this before year end 2009, the banks would have to do an about face. They make a lot of money on credit cards and if they were to lose even 50% of this business I am sure they would be once again be offering those 0% rates to try to suck us all in again. But now we know better. Yes, my friend, this is a war. It is a war between us and the corporate greed that is out of control in this country and the FAT PIGS called bankers.
Chase just lowered my credit limit with the same reasoning as for Brian, credit risk even though I’m in good standing. Well they lowered it to less than what my balance was! I’m on auto pmts and haven’t used the card in months. So I would have kept right on with my auto pmt amount and this month I would have been over the limit (40.00) and late (40:00) in which time my apr would have jumped to 30 %. Luckily I caught it and made an extra pmt to cover the amount that I would have been over limit. I still fully expect them to try and charge an overlimit fee which I will fight to the death about.
Found out yesterday, 18 May, that credit line was decreased by Sear/Citibank. Had a credit line of 10K; it was reduced to 3500 – $200 over balance currently on card. I called and they stated i was a credit risk because of high balances. I’ve had this card 6 yrs and have never been late. Same for all my other cards. I think this is totally wrong. They’ve just hurt my credit score.
i have a big problem sir?my card got into the limit but im not able to pay my monthly bills because of financial problem.recently an agent called me and said that if im not able to pay my due date on May 11,2009 my card will be cancelled so i will force to pay the whole amount.i bothered do i really got into jail sir?but im willing to pay my card but not this moment.
Sadly this is one of the most frustrating and ignored problems of the US economy. I find myself dealing with AMEX best new practices! How long the american consumer and customer should remain silent or passive and allow AMEX (and/or all other financial institutions who have a similar approach) to avoid responsibility and accountability! These practices, arbitrary decisions paired to increased lack of competence and manners of customer service is just an indication that the legislation regulating consumer credit protects primarily financial institutions and favors the percentage of people with large bank accounts with limited socio-economic conscience or interest in changing the status quo (unless directly affected). Note to AMEX management and HR – consider investing some money to teach your employees to speak with basic rules of english grammar(or at least screen your hires better) ” She Don’t” is not the correct use of English language! Seriously, it’s quite offensive and insulting to have to listen for more than 32 seconds to a dumb “Mr. or Miss who-who” with a 5th grade education telling you that you are considered a liability and a high risk without any evidence of a bad credit history, a credit score over 750 (likley higher than some of their management and employees), no deliquencies or negative records.
Amex management should really take the time to listen carefully to the recordings of the calls made “for training purposes”. Maybe this could help them to understand to care why an increased number of good customers are taking their business elsewhere. Myself included.
I don’t usually spend time engaging in confrontations or litigations (too much negative energy) but this really the time to do so. These idiots have first seduced customers with high credit limits, realized that in many cases they did not do themselves a favor and decided to play vigilantes. Wake up this is not high-school! They should not have the right to have a direct effect on people credit, without a justified reason; and the legislation should prevent this from happening with specific provisions. AKA in this cases (caused by a preventive punitive action), the increased percentage of used balance should not weigh and drive the review of your credit score. Maybe I am just on glue (to quote Elle Woods!); meanwhile some (bad) press and publicity could really help all of us. The potential of a “swine flu” pandemic is not the only topic we should forced to hear on every single broadcasting channel. Kathy Griffin please help!
P.S. A plea to Ellen, Byonce and Dianne Von Fustermberg – You can do so much better than AMEX; please partner to endorse a business or ad campaign truly worth of your time and talent
I’ll tell you how we got this way. Our gov. and corporations are in choots with one another. They have robbed us of our wealth our opportunity, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happens. They have done this by allowing millions of legal, and illegal aliens, to flood into our country dropping our wages, eliminating Americans from getting to good paying construction jobs, computer type jobs, etc, by replacing us with Mexican’s, Indians, Muslim’s. Since we don’t make as much money as we use to we have fewer and fewer kids, and get married less and less. Further more we are being replaced by 3rd world people.
We were given high FICA scores to lull us into a false sense of security. We also need it to make up for our dwindling incomes, and or higher costs.
Laws have been put in place to benefit the financial/banking industry. Yesterday a CA senator clearly stated that the banks have to much power in Washington, so little will get done, they have to many lobbyists he said.
The last time we experience crap like this was just before the American Revolutionary War. It’s time for a new revolution, everybody must talk about it every body must say it. We have talked about the Mexican invasion, Amnesty and other problems since Reagan, and nothing gets done it’s time to stop the talk.
I think the only resolution is the obvious one. Given the watering down of the last “credit card law” congress has shown their true colors, on both sides of the aisles. The Banking industry owns them lock stock and lobby money and there will be no relief save what we can do on our own. How did we get to this point? How did we become so afraid of 4 letters? FICO, is not all powerful.
We seem to forget that we are the customers here. These banks serve us. How long will companies like AMEX, CHase and BofA last if we don’t give them our business. If we don’t use them they will go the way of the dodo and the newspaper.
All of you that are “paying in full” every month, do you really NEED a credit card. More and more, as I am getting out of debt, I am finding that pulling out a debit card is just as easy as pulling out a credit card and much less agravation.
Today I was checking my online statement for my CC and my available credit was slashed more than 70% without warning. I have never been late. I always pay my statement balance in full and have a credit score in the 700’s. They slashed my credit on the same day as my statement was issued, which made my outstanding balance exceed 50%. No letter, no call, nothing. Luckily i have paid off my statement balance today.
Bottom line you cannot trust these services-it is not just AMEX or large CC companies-my bank is a small local bank-this card was thru my bank, which supposedly has a strong portfolio. Banks and CC companies are cutting their balance sheets and WE will all be screwed as a result.
citibank has reduced my credit limit from 12K to 500$ for a late payment of 60$ for a month. How ridiculous can they get. first they ruin my credit history and then use the reason to reduce the limit. The worst part is I never used for revolving credit and paid all bills on time for the last 5 years. Unfair practice. Is there any resolution?
Seems like this trend may be increasing. Like “K” and some others above, I have a high credit score, I have two cards (Amex & BofA) that I’ve used for a long time, I’ve always paid the balance, and my credit balance has always gone up…
That is until my last statement – BofA went down from $21K to $11K – I called and they raised it to $15K, but if it affects my credit score, then I’ll have to do something.
-CB
How is this in keeping with the government’s edict to free up credit to spur the economy on once again? Some of these companies have already received TARP money (i.e., American Express) and/or are in line to receive more. Isn’t the whole idea to spend, spend, spend so as to prevent economic collapse? Haven’t the banks been ordered to free up additional funds for mortgages and mortgage bailouts? Why do these financial institutions feel that they are immune to the “stimulus” edicts and are free to clamp down on credit and, thereby, hinder consumer purchases?
Personally, I believe the “stimulus package” proposed and implemented by the current administration to be a sham and merely the means to breed further reliance on a centralized government. The behavior of the financial institutions is further proof that there is little interest in reviving the economy UNLESS the government can somehow benefit. It is sad to see the increased intrusion into our lives under the guise of doing what is good for the economy and best for the citizens of the USA. And, unfortunately, what we are witnessing from these financial institutions is, I believe, just the beginning. From now on, we can’t depend on the private institutions that we have developed trusted relationships with (by paying on time, etc.), but will be turning to bloated government bureaucrats to bail us out in our time of need. What a shame. God save our country!
Michele, This doesn’t surprise me, but it is bizarre. The whole credit thing is a master fraud. It use to be if you closed accounts after paying it off you were considered a good credit risk. They make the rules to suit them as they go, just like the fraudulent stock market. You can’t trust any of them or our government who turns head for a “buck”. The whole country needs to be torn down in anger and in the name of hatred and we need to start all over. Remember the FRENCH REVOLUTION. The rich and government r out of control.
This is another weird one that just happened to me. I recently paid off the last of my Sallie Mae student loan. They closed the account, paid off, and my credit score dropped by 7 points. It just amazes me that doing the right thing, paying off loans, still dings you.
Earlier this month I got a letter in the mail saying that BoA had reduced my Mastercard (which I’ve had since 2000) from 30k to 15k. Personally it’s not really a big deal for me since I just use credit cards as a firewall between my bank account and internet purchases or automated payments, always pay it off, and never get close to my max. It’s more of the principal of the thing and I am currently debating how to protest this the most without hurting myself too badly. This is still my largest account and my longest opened account (got it in college and started out with a $500 limit they have continually increased). My problem is it does affect my credit score. They also just bought out Country Wide, who has my mortgage. I’m thinking the best recourse is to let the card go inactive and refi with another bank who I can be fairly certain won’t sell my mortgage(which has never been late in the few months I’ve had it) off…
I also believe I’ll pester them as much as possible, mainly just to eat up their time without giving them business…it’s the small things that add up.
My credit limit on my fia mastercard was just reduced from 40,000 to 20,000 without a warning. When I called their customer service the rep. explained that the reason for the cut was that I had never approached the old credit limit.
All my AMX cards including platinum have spending limits. Never had a late payment on any AMX cards for the last 15 years. American Express is making bad decisions about how they treat their best customers.
Thanks for the info. With all the bad information we get online with crazy credit websites, it is good to read something from someone who knows what they are talking about.
My credit limit has been reduced twice since January with Care Credit (GE Money). I took they line of credit in order to have Lasik surgery and have been making timely payments ever since. Despite my timely payments, however, they reduced my credit limit back in January when the layoffs reached the all time high and the economy was going haywire. Shortly after that, my wife got laid off from her job. When I asked them why they did this to us, especially since we were being good debtors and making our payments on time, they told us they determined their decision based on a consumer report. I couldn’t believe that they were judging me based on past credit incidents AFTER they approved me for credit and I had already made a solid 2 years of good payment history with them. But they wouldn’t budge, so I gritted and beared it. Just recently (beginnning of April) I was checking my credit report, because we’re trying to get approved to buy the home we’re currently renting, and I saw that they did it again with no warning. They decreased my limit so much this time that I was $900 OVER the limit AND they reported me as deliquent to the credit angencies and slapped a major “ding” on any chances I had of getting qualified to buy my home. If I would had known about this ahead of time, I would have been able to prevent it by paying the acct off with what I had left in my savings, but now I owe an extra $900 to them, plus fees.
A stellar credit history with absolutely no late payments to any creditor and what does AMEX choose to do? Like the rest of you, they clamped our Costco AMEX credit line twice in as many months – now at ~$6k just following a $10k payment! To say I am angry about this would be an understatement. And then a supervisor at AMEX had the gall to lie to me and tell me that some of my accounts were delinquent was an outrage! I ended my conversation with then by canceling my account which, inevitably, will have consequences for Costco as well (as it already has). AMEX is going down and taking Costco with it!!! What is so ironic about this is that at least some of their customers, including myself, are now attending graduate school and, in 3 years, will have the 6-figure incomes they will be seeking to secure as customers. Not this kid. I do not intend to do ANY business with them in the future. There are obviously better credit companies out there to deal with.
Are there any legal actions that can or should be brought to bear against this paranoid, now-deplorable company? Might a class-action of some kind save this company from themselves, and maybe help put Costco back on some sure footing?
my own line of credit has been reduced and I survive. I will for everyone who’s not knowledgeable enough to respect those who are taking their time to explain what happens. trust me no one wants to sit down for 8hrs a day five days in a row listen to card members who want to vent about line of credit reduction. those of you who are kind enough to understand and respect the individual who’s providing that message to you God bless you all. remember you don’t know people’s heart amex is a big company with maximum protection but that individual have enough info to mess up so bcareful. it’s not an individual fault you’ve been reduced. we are human and we understand we’re simply there to deliver you a message. Just because of our race, religion, etc… or people like me with accent it does not give you a right to disrespect. there’s always a nice ways of going around some you don’t like or unconfortable with. I’m glad that Tamara Hogue the super american can make fun of people’s accent but hey we are all god’s creature. good for you you don’t have an accent. people like you dont affect me because you don’t me
You know what I have to say is haven’t yall realize that amex don’t give a shit about yall. Especially those who think it’s theirs to keep remember you are borrowed it’s not your money. all of you who pretends you don’t understand people with accent there are no tru americans living in america. Especially Tamara Hogue who was making fun of people’s acct you can kiss my ass to answer. you are very lucky I could not cussed your ass wanted to speak with manager who speaks english.
Amex got me today and embarassingly so , They reduced my credit limit from just $ 12, 000 to $ 3,700 yesterday , apparently they sent me a letter yesterday- so as usual this morning during my grocery shopping my card was rejected and I had to use my debit card—-there went my reward points. What sucks is that I had chat with a supervisor Karen after a rude discussion/exchange with a Mr Chang or Ching or Chung (I wonder why this guy is in customer service) and she could not help either, instead referring me to a credit bureau who sent in some information about me that I do not know about.- By the way the bureau is closed weekends so no help for me (Note : the customer rep had asked me if I had bought a house or car recently – which I affirmatively replied – NO – I could tell he was fishing). I have used amex for a number of years (both personal and corporate cards) and have stored away my other cards chosing not to activate or spend on them and now this slap on the face. Amex needs to get what’s coming to them and the communication needs to be stern and extremely public. If they are indeed discriminating then this needs to be visible and they can (politically correct ) carve out their “niche” market without making it illegal- My loyalty to these guys is totally eroded and I can’t wait to make sure that they focus their business elsewhere whether thru’ word of mouth or getting media audience…..It’s just not fair that they should go on with business as usual when they are just messing around with people’s finances (people who probably never settle minimum balances but total amounts)
I’m one pissed off customer.
Anyone out there who knows how we can take this to them and stick it there? I will explore some more avenues.
December 2008:
Juniper – card closed for no activity
February 2009:
First Equity – card closed for no activity (never notified and previously rate jacked on this card in 2008)
March 2009:
WaMu card 1 – I recently paid the balance down to $0; they closed this card
Chase card 1 – I recently paid the balance down to $0; they closed this card
WaMu card 2 – $3K CLD
Chase card 2 – $2.7K CLD
I called BoA to do a small direct deposit on a 0% card and the representative asked me why I wanted to do a direct deposit. Why do I need this money? The rep. made a soft pull on my report and then asked me why I was carrying some debt on my other cards. Then he denied me and dropped the credit limit on both of my BoA card’s; $2K on card 1 and $3K on card 2.
Merrill Lynch – $2K CLD
Citibank – $1K CLD (previously rate jacked on this card in 2008)
My utilization prior to the decreases and card closings was 25-33%. Now my utilization is 90% on these cards.
I went ahead and used the credit I do have available on another card, because I’m sure it’s likely on the way to the chopping block and given this economy, I think it’s better to reserve a little more cash. Use it before you lose it – sigh.
This has been so frustrating. Twice I went to use my credit cards and they were denied. I worked so hard to keep my utilization reasonable and now this. I paid down some of my debt to only have the cards closed and reduced.
Per this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123664459331878113.html
“Currently, there is roughly $5 trillion in credit-card lines outstanding in the U.S., and a little more than $800 billion is currently drawn upon. Over $2 trillion of credit-card lines will be cut inside of 2009, and $2.7 trillion by the end of 2010.â€
I requested that my Bank of America AMEX card be increased from $3,000 to $5,000 and in the process not only was it denied but my 2nd Bank of America Platinum Plus credit line was decreased from $15,000 to $5,000.
All the while Citi increased my credit line by $1,500 bringing it up to $8,300.00.
This all happened within about four days, and my credit score which I just pulled my self less than 30 days ago was 755.
I have a master card and Amex from Bank of America
my MC limit was reduced to $500 from $8500 (i have no balance on that) and my limit on my amex card was reduced from 8000 to 5200 (i have 5100 in debt),
called BOA , said they would reduce my limit on Amex
even furhter once i have paid my balance .(now i hate BOA). Interestingly, Citi has increased my limit from 9500 to 10,000.
i am just afraid that i would not have much to spend when i am in need ..
B of A did the same thing to us. We had credit lines of 10,700.00 and 11,000.00 with $500.00 balance. They reduced our total crdit lines down to $2500.00. What a joke. No notice, nothing. Credit Score has dropped significantly.
Bank of America Cut Limit from $49k to $35k which was the balance on the card. Amex reduced limit from $31k to $3k which was the balance. I don’t have any deliquent or derogatory accounts and never made a late payments. My score is in the 700s but is dropping very quickly given the decrease in limits. Amex was my #1 card so with the drastic reduction I was not able to use the card. I paid a $3k balance in full each month for a couple years now so somehow Amex figures I’m higher risk. If I was high risk would I be paying a $3k+ bill in full each month?? No! I hope a class action gets started because I’m upset due to the damage on my credit AMEX and BofA has caused.
3/26/09 I just got a call from Capital one today, reducing my credit card balance immediately from $10K to a little over $2K (my balance) . I mean “immediately”, no late payment ever and had this account for 10 years. Reason due to recent drop in credit score AMEX did on my Costco card, reduced from 7K to 1500 (pretty much waht I owed). My credit score drop dramatically due to balance ratio.
As I can see, there is a pattern in all of this. And I’m just afraid it will have a domino effect on everybody.
Just pray hope everything will go back the way they use to be.
Up until this morning I had 2 amex cards with a combined limit of $30k. I was notified the limit on each was reduced to $1K. My credit score is 790, and I have never been late. AMEX is fueling the problem. They will never get my business again.
Nancy, people can’t trust the corporations. You and millions of us are twist and confused, we don’t know what to do either. If I pay my cards off my cash cushion is gone and I have helped the very business criminals that put me in this quandary. If I don’t pay them off I help them with the interest I pay out. What happens if you stop paying completely?
Our government has failed to do it’s duty to a watch these scum who have put us/society into this dangerous position. Remember the term deregulation, it’s a euphemism for “no laws for business”. Our representatives were bribed through lobbyist to eliminate laws like “Glass/Steagal Act”. Business criminal’s got rich, representatives filled there coffers. And we are robbed by both.
My Amex card was just reduced from 25K to 15K with less than 24 hours notice! That reduction put me $500 of going over the limit. I don’t know how to treat this account now as I’m afraid if I use ALL my savings to pay them off, that I will have no financial cushion, a reduced credit score (which is 776 right now), and that Visa will do the same.
I need some info. I have 35,000 dollar debt on one credit card where I’ve put balance transfers on in the past. Is there a credit card that is available that I can use to transfer this balance so I can get a smaller interest rate than what I have now.
Thank you
let me preface my comments by saying that b of a cut my credit limit from 20k to 10k; fortunately, i did not have a balance. i am still waiting for the letter with their explanation as i, like many of you, have stellar credit. i also have a 0% interest rate card with chase with a balance of 9k. i can pay this off if i really want to but at 0%, why woud i? the limit, to date, has not been reduced so kudos to them, so far.
with that being said, there may be some method to the bank’s madness. i think they may be taking advantage of those of us who have the resources and are worried about their credit scores to pay off their balances. in my case, b of a really has no excuse other than i hardly use the card but if chase reduced my limit to the balance i owed, your damn right i would pay it off as the debt to available credit ratio would go through the roof and reduce my fico. they would immediately have an extra 9k to play with and that’s what it’s all about these days. just my two cents…..
well I guess the top reporters are finding what we already know.
I spent 3 days on the phone at least 4 calls a day to Am Exp
my payment was due yesterday and after another cut in limit down to 120 available from over 2000 I asked if they would put off the payment date till Monday so corporate headquarters could respond to my 2 fax letters. NO, I was told midnight is midnight and so . My payment did not get there and for the first time i am late in over 17 years.
We shall see if they reverse the late fee etc. I doubt it.
Note in the article link above w/ Smart Money. None of the credit card comp. had a comment!!!!
congress has been alerted by several of us and more on other sites but they could not care less either.
new laws .. oh wow! lol lol who the hell will care by 2010 .
Maybe this was all in the works when the new bankruptcy laws began.
they are all crooks.
Madoff goes to jail where’s the money? taxpayers pay for him to live in jail. He will have a private room and get pardoned down the line probably.
My credit is great. No payments ever missed, but AMEX closed my account which I just opened a few months before. Oh well, I’ll never go with AMEX again!
Has anyone else called Fair Issac? They were very polite but did not have any answers to the question of how they are going to set the score when its not our maxing the card but the banks.
They could not even tell me approximately how long it would take from not paying cards till the score would go up again.
I will post a class action law firm that is fighting Chase right now regarding a $10 a month extra so called finance charge which is really an annual fee = $120 a yr on accounts that did a special rate transfer or something.
For people on SSI I am almost positive you can send an award letter requesting the acct be closed paid as agreed if you have not missed any payments nor been late since they can not take your SSI check money for debt. Be sure to get your savings out of the bank though.
will post soon
we need a class action attorney. this is total insanity
My homebuyers loan pre approval was a joke for where I live. My scores now run from 625 Trans Union to 710 Equifax down over 60 points due to Am Exp maxing me out
I have had a credit limit reduced and an interest rate raised. What all Americans should be outraged about is this. These banks have gotten bailout money and the way they repay the taxpayer is to not use the money as intended, to turn around and reduce many credit limits, thus causing your credit score to lower. I.E. balance to limit ratio. It does matter.
Then, they turn around and will raise your interest rate and jump on all the fees if you go over limit or anything. Somehow, this is wrong.
I think most of America has realized we need to try to get our debt down and most of us are not intending to continue using our credit cards except in emergencies.
Yet, both the government and the banks are out of control. Congress has befriended the banks and credit card companies giving them free reign to abuse the consumer and they turn their backs on us.
It is true, that some people won’t stop the credit madness. At the same time, the credit card companies and banks are making it hard to stop, but impossible to use.
Until they change the entire structure of the credit process and change what the banks are allowed to do and how they are allowed to offer credit and cap interest rates, nothing will ever change.
People have to take responsibility for their spending. By the same token, people who are running these companies and the country into the ground should have to take responsibility as well.
As for those with high credit scores and low balances on your credit cards……………..they just haven’t gotten to you yet. Trust me, an 800 credit score will not stop them from touching you at some point.
I know this for a fact. Two years ago, most of these institutions could not give out enough credit and often raising limits for people without a basis of expanding their credit.
Now, they are taking our hard earned tax dollars and sticking it to the consumer again and again while telling us to not use credit and then telling us to spend.
Personally, I think more of these banks should have been collapsed and still do. I think that it could have no worse affect on the economy than things about to come our way.
Shut down certain banks that have shaky legs, delete all of the credit(liability accounts they own) and simply forgive the consumer those debts. I am not an advocate of people not living up to their obligations, but just as these banks have been bailed out, so should the consumer. All consumers should be entitled to the same bailout as the banks that have abused the bailout money.
It’s atrocious how we hear how the average american overuses credit, the government lives off credit and then the banks get rescued off our tax money that should go to education, our soldiers and protecting our nation and taking care of our elderly and children. Then, they can turn around and abuse the consumer, break every usuary law they feel like and Congress looks on.
Sad. I love my country. Our Congress needs to get it’s head out of it’s butt.
Amex Lowered onced from $23,000 CL to $10,000 owed 9$,000 interest rate raised from 9.9% to 12.9%, have been making mostly double the minumum payment the last year and a half, never missed a payment in all 25 years with them.
Six months later got balance down to $ 7,000 and lowered limit again this time to $ 7,500 and raised to now 15.9 %.
Now Capital 1 did the same to us, but went from 5.9% to a whopping 17.9% again a 735 Cr Score and never missed these or any other payments, have a relatively ow mortgage of $890 with 9-10 yrs. left, and a moderatestable income of $ 75,000 annually . No car payments for now, but will need new or used in next 6months.
Only negative is some student loans for our son, even though he and us were fortunate that he got over half of his tuition paid on scholarship, these past three years, that are due upon graduation in 3 more years when out and wiil be certified in the health care field with a shortage, and will then consolidate and pay back us and his other loans. We are just paying interest for now,, that helps reduces loan balance. The only other thing is we now shop as we have our last college student in 1more year, may join the Air Force as a cadet, at places like Walmart and Costcos, instead for college and dorm stuff and even ourselves for due diligence knowing that we will need more, for future costs, car repairs/replacements, more college loans, risng health care etc.
It’s sucks that they are making hard working Americans that sacrifice and scrimp , to make their payments on time and then seem like we are being punished, and thiose that decide that they do not need good credit for the next three years, default on purpose and renogotiate for half.
Good luck to all.
Hello,
I had my credit reduced with Bank of America from
$5,000 to $700.00, with a balance of $450.00. Good credit history no problems. I Called BOA customer service and asked why, they said a late payment with Sears. I do not have a Sears card. They did reinstate the $5,000 line of credit on 2/26/09, and also sent a letter stating this. On 3/3/09, while on the BOA website, saw the $5,000 had now been reduced to $1,000. When I called and spoke to some arrogant BOA credit person, I was told they should not have reinstated the $5,000 amount. Yeah right…Mad, you bet…They just seem to treat you like dirt, and really could care less.
I have had bad comments numerous times. In all fairness I just recognized Citi Bank has drop my interest rate from 17 to 12.9 % over the past year. I pay on auto pay and I pay the min. plus about $1,500 a mo to $2,000.00 a mo.
HSBC cut my limit from $5300 to $300. I had a $0 balance for months, never late, and always paid well above the minimum. I’ve had this account for 3 years, very disappointed HSBC treats its “valued customers” as such. I’ll just put the card away until the economy improves, never use it again. So long HSBC!
Hi Everyone – I don’t pretend my credit score is 800 – but it’s decent. My story isn’t that traumatic – I had my Orchard Bank card cash advance limit slashed from $1200 to $300. I have been with them for 3 years. I am grateful the guy on the phone didn’t insult me or my record – by simply stating that “Orchard is just trying to manage risk” – as opposed to attacking my record (flawless) or my spending habits (lunacy!) The credit score I was trying to build after my divorce is slowly failing – and I have just about given up…
But unless you run a business or are a consultant – we just need to stop listening to these jerks personally insult us – and just “vote with our feet”. Oh – and file a lawsuit – against the 3 credit bureaus that invented these fake numbers that dictate one’s worth. It’s becoming virtually impossible to defeat these people – and with job loss – loss of home values – loss of investments – the playing field is grossly against our favor.
We are not alone. I want to say that it has been great to see that I am not the only one getting pushed further and further into the dirt. I do not like what the banks are doing to all of us. So here is a link to someone who is fighting back. It may be a good example of how to start turning the tables back to a fair place and at least we will be heard if we do what this Dr has done.
My son and my accounts once again have had their limits lowered to within a few dollars of what we owe. My son had 2 cards GM ( HSBC) and Discover which took all his available limit away after a few months of not using it since he paid it in full.
reason: debt to credit available ratio was too high
Ame Exp called me. I did not recognize the number so to be safe called customer service. I found that my available 3000 was now 151 dollars after making last months payment. The reason the supervisor gave was that I did not make a payment on my Triumph card in Oct 2008. I told her I had no such card. She said oh you do and it was opened in 1989. I told her no that I was on General ASsistance then and had no cards because I was very ill and had to leave work to go on disability. I told her I had all three credit reports in front of me and none mentioned such a card at all. She reported it to fraud.
I spent 3 days talking to the credit reporting agencies. None had any record of such an account and told me to tell Am Expr it was their mistake.
My return call ended up taking at least an hour and each call transfer I had to repeat my card number and the info.
The last supervisor said the notes only stated that my limit was taken away due to my high debt to limit ratio. I said well gee. I wonder why that is If you take the available credit away I am maxed out. Maxed out caused my credit score to drop now a total of 55 points. I was getting a pre approved 1at time home buyer loan and now that is not happening. I have never missed a payment in 14 yrs. I pay more then the minimum
My son had a credit score of 750 and its now down to 690 and he has no available credit left on the cards he paid off between May 2008 and Oct 2oo8.
I am going to do what the Dr did. I never even recieved a letter telling me that some cards were closed. Care Credit for one. I went to the eye doctor and thought I had 5000 available and none owed. LOL
card had been closed over 8 months ago and to date I have not recieved any notice.
They are keeping the money from the bail out. Chase is going to get the tellers to push credit cards. Some boss guy was giving them the run down in front of customers and said if they could not deal with it to walk.
after all my trying to pay so i could get a home and some health issues taken care of is wiped out of reach.
The company’s all can take their card and eat them
I am not going to go along with the changes. My score will come up again in 8 mos or so and by then maybe they will be loaning again. So screw them. We all work to hard to be left hanging out like dirty shoes blowing in the wind …they have the smell not us!!! Rotten business ethics , greed and more. Shame on all of them. Shame on congress.
we need a class action lawyer we can trust and a way to tell President Obama this is not change this is corruption. This is not acceptable!!!!
We the people . . WE can do it . all of us on this site.
Originally I did not get any new posts Now I get at least 3-5 a day.
Thank you all for speaking up. Thanks for having this site Mr Five Cent nickel who ever you are Bravo!
WE the people will suceed in getting fair credit actions!
I recently called to request that B of A stop automatically increasing my credit limit. Last week they just increased it. I have 2 accounts with low balances and high limits. Upon my request to stop increases they unilaterally decreased my line by a significant amount. I undertstand what they have done from a business perspective but it pisses me off. There is 0 chance in the future I will use B of A for more lucrative business such as a mortgage, home equity lines, brokerage, etc.
AMEX SUCKS !! these …er reduced my limit twice in past few month ,and when you call them ,the answer is that ‘s what we do.f…er,what you do is screwing other life,I hate the and I with they go under,i’m gonna file a complain,ant help?
Do you live in an area that has not been hard hit by housing foreclosures, or by the ensuing layoffs? Just wondering since it seems people with high credit scores (800+) who live in my area have also taken hits like the ones described on this site.
I was checking my balance on HSBC card yesterday and saw that my CC line had dropped from 3,300 to 590! No notice; called and got the seemingly standard no answer. I pay balance off and just have one utility bill running through on auto-pay. I hesitate to cancel account because if my other two cards do that (zero balances on both) do that I will be hard pressed in an emergency. I guess we just have to eat it. The economy is so scary I don’t feel like I have a real choice and just have to suck it up. What loan sharks these companies are.
At the beginning of December, I had a $1500.00 limit on my Discover Card, which I did run up around the holidays to around 1300.00. In January I paid off $1000.00, and earlier this month another $400.00, leaving me with a balance of around $100.00 (when you take into consideration other purchases made this month).
Just went to check my Discover card balance so I could finally pay it off this month, and I found out that with no notification, my Credit Limit had been reduced to $590.00. I called Discover to find out what gives, and someone in India said “This was a business decision and effected almost all our clients.”
Unlike the other people on this site, my credit is nowhere near perfect… I had a Bankruptcy 2 years ago, but since then I have been spending on my two credit cards and paying them off. Since the Bankruptcy (do to the mortgage crisis) I have not had a single late payment, and am actually 2 months ahead on my car payments. In only 2 1/2 years, my credit it within 20-30 points of where it was before the Bankruptcy (I was able to keep myself current right up to the bankruptcy). Luckily, this Credit Limit decrease is not going to derail my plans as my balance will be paid off, but you can bet I will NOT be using my Discover card again except for the occasional $5.00 – $10.00 purchase that I will pay off to maintain my good credit history.
My HSBC Visa was cut from $5,000 to $1,160. I’ve never been late with them since I transferred another card balance to them for a lower rate. I’ve also always paid well above my the minimum payment to keep making the ratio better each month. I will be paying them off soon and will never use their card or bank services again. I guess their business decision is to tick off their customers enough so thy loose them all; real smart!
My credit limit with HSBC was cut in half, even though I’ve always payed more than due, and well before the due date. My credit score is around 700. This credit card was a transfer card, and not used for daily purchases at all. I called and they said it was a business decision. They did lower my interest rate, however, when I asked. What can you do? Work fast to pay it off, I guess.
my hsbc card limit was cut from 2500 to 620. acocunt balance 698, overlimit.. news came via email that i am overlimit.
will fair issac change its way to calculate score, now its whole u.s. problem ?
this is the first card.. lets see what happens to others..
We’ve had a Sears card for almost two years. Our initial credit limit was $6500. and increased about 6 months ago to $6900. We had a balance of about $500. because we buy appliances using the deferred interest promotion and always pay in full before having to pay the accrued interest. Two months ago they offered a balance transfer promotion of 5% for 12 months. We transferred over about $2700. Our balance was around $3150. when they (for no reason at all) decided to lower our credit limit to $3300. thereby giving us a credit utilization ratio of 95%! We immediately paid $2650. leaving only the balance of the appliance which still has a zero interest rate right now. That left us with a balance of $480. and a credit utilization ratio of 15%. We just found out today that they lowered our credit limit to $600.! Now our utilization rate is back up to 80%! We have never been late on ANY of our payments to ANY creditors. Sears/Citi is maliciously attacking and alienating loyal, good paying customers! Why? They got themselves into a financial mess and continue to demonstrate that they are unable to make good business decisions. CONGRESS: LET CITI FAIL!!!
Bank of America lowering credit limits, and recalling PRIOR transactions. I processed an online transfer for $1150 to pay another card off (which they constantly entice you to do), on Jan 21, 2009. At that time my limit was $5000 with $2600 available for transfers. The transfer posted to the receiving account Feb 05. On Feb 17, I received a letter, dated Feb 07, from them announcing that they LOWERED my credit limit on that account to just above the past balance. When I checked on line I saw that the $1150 had posted to the receiver of the transfer and that B of A (Bunch of A..h…s) had pulled it back causing an insufficient funds charge from the recipient and of course not to be left out, B of A also drew a NSF fee. By doing this they have lowered my credit score to a point that I will be unable to refi my house as I planed and PAY this card off. What they have accomplished in their greed to get a measly $39 is to put me in a situation where I will no doubt be filing bankruptcy. SO in the long run they have blown their own foot off.
I called and pleaded with them to undo this. My contention is that they DID authorize the transaction (proved by the fact that they sent it to the receiver) and 2 days later they pulled the check back. I find this to be an unethical practice and urge everyone that has any accounts with this bank to reconsider and close all accounts and find another bank that won’t stab you in the back and urge everyone to boycott this bank.
There’s nothing stopping them from closing the accounts. The report I heard is that AmEx is doing this simply to “keep up” their “good” image with consumers.
Yesterday, it was reported that American Express started offering $300 “gift cards” to some people who agree to pay off their balances and close their accounts. Has anyone on this site been offered this “deal?” I am wondering what is to keep AmEx from closing accounts if people reject their offer.
Just discovered by checking online that one of my credit cards just cut my limit to $360 (!!), an amount just above my last balance. The crazy part is that I was online to pay off the balance, like I do every month. I pay all my cards in full every month, never carry a balance, never pay late. There is no reason for them to have done this. My credit score was 800 last time I checked. But now I expect I will have a comment on my credit report that this credit line was reduced by the creditor, a negative, or if I go ahead and close the account, I get another negative. Even if I keep it open, I’m unlikely to use the card again (partly out of irritation, partly because of the paltry limit, and partly out of fear that the limit will have been decreased again without my knowledge, and it will be embarrassingly declined). If I don’t use the card, it will most likely be cancelled, with the ominous “closed by credit grantor” note in my credit report, another negative. I don’t really have any option here that’s not negative, although I haven’t done anything wrong!
However, my BIGGEST fear is that this will domino, and my other credit card companies will do the same thing, giving me a LOT of negatives on my credit report, including a REALLY small available credit number. After all, they’re all watching what the others do. I don’t “need” the credit cards, except that our society measures every financial move you make by your FICO score, and having a substantial available credit line is a huge factor in a FICO score. This is absurd!
I am beginning to believe that we are not going to have to worry about some of these vultures much longer. From looking at the prices of bank stocks, I believe that Darwin’s theories are going to prove themselves to be correct, at least in the banking and financial sectors! As for the arrogant CEO’s and their future, I say “LET THEM EAT CAKE!”
One other thought I had as a result Lynn’s comment is that these predators are going to commit as many atrocities as possible before the new regulations take effect. I am alerting all my Senators and representatives to this fact and asking “WHY WERE THE BANKS GIVEN A YEAR AND A HALF TO CORRECT THEIR “USURIAL” TACTICS?” Could it be that the financial sectors own Congress? HMMM? These people can be very “creative” if given that much time gouge their customers.
Following the recent criminal activity of AMEX (comment #87), Capital One just sent a notice that my interest rates were going up. Like the AMEX abuse, theirs following my paying the balance. This is just part of a large and growing movement by credit card companies to exact every dollar they can before upcoming regulations force them to become something remotely akin to human and fair. So, it’s goodbye to Capital One. These people need us. If every one of us can find a way to ditch them now when they need us most, write letters to them about why, boycott all of their subsidiaries/holdings, keep posting our stories all over the Web, and write our legislators we will shut them down. We must also write to the credit reporting bureaus because that is the weapon credit card companies can use against us. In short, fight back.
Hi all., first off Ame Express did it again after I paid my monthy payment. I went to see if I had enough to pay a medical bill and found out I had 100 left out almost 1500 they were so kind to leave after cutting me 3000.
I called them and they said it was because I did not pay my Triumph Card. I said what. Oh you Ame Express Triumph card . You stopped paying in Oct. 2008 I said you have the wrong person. I told her my credit reports ( 3 ) were in front of me and none mention such a card. They got the supervisor who told me I got the card in 89. NOT!!! I was ill in 89-96 on GA etc. while getting interferon for 2 yrs etc.
She said she would investigate it as fraud. Right like someone is going to get a card belonging to someone else and pay it up to date for 20 ys. Experian said they never heard of such a card.
so now I am maxed completly, My score is down 50 points and the loan I was trying to get as a first time home buyer is not coming through due to Am Exp and discover.
What is the commitee w/ Barney Franks????
Please post again I do not see the link or name.
( my eyes are not the best and the lenses the doc gave me blurr my vision after and hour or two. )
Thanks Annie
How do we do a class action??? Someone must know a lawyer out there from the list.
We need to speak up
How do we start some kind of online protest??
I am in if we can do it. willing to put out time to cirulate. already contacted the congresswoman no help there.
I had both the AMEX and the BofA experiences exactly as described by others. Had SIX perfectly paid BofA accounts frozen and had my AMEX limits lowered three times in four months. So far since December, AMEX has left me along and BofA has also since they swacked me last year.
CitiBank took a different approach and actually offered a 10% rebate on interest if their bill is paid on time for ten consecutive months. That seemed like a positive approach in light or the crap AMEX and BofA pulled.
Anyone else had any kind of positive experience with a banking institution recently?
If for some reason I cannot pay all my bills, guess who I will pay first?
Everyone here needs to write there rep’s, congressman, and both senator’s. Also write the banking committee I mention above. Barney Franks is on the committee.
Yes, American Express lowered my limit from 20,000 in which I hardly ever used to 1,800 in which my balance was which can really mess up my excellent credit score they informed me it was due to their financial backings?? I was outraged and reported them the same thing is happening with Bank of America. they either cancel you for no apparent reason on the consumer side or lower your limits to what you owe which has a derogitory affect on your credit report lowering your fico scores I reported them too. I am watching them closely everyone should report them immediately so they can be regulated closely because they are asking for our bailout monies and in return hurting the few consumers who acted responsible with their monies and credits and due to their mishandlings and poor money managment they are still passing the blame on others. Report them to Attorney General Office, BBB and Consumer plus I am willing and hopefully we can file a class action suit against them for hurting our excellent credit reports for unjust cause and malicious derogitory business practices
I’d like to add that the comments above with regard to how the bailout money should have been spent are spot on. People who can demonstrate they are working as many hours as they can, and keeping up with bills as best they can should have been given the money that the banks got in the bailout. American Express became a bank holding company so that it could get access to low-cost financing from the Fed. They and other financial institutions are getting every break. The TARP money should have been given US citizens. And now the new gov’t is about to repeat the colossal errors of the Bush administration.
AMEX substantially reduced my credit limit today (on the Delta SkyMiles card I have had for well over a decade). I made a payment of $750 on a balance of $1250 on February 3. Their gratitude was displayed in the swiftness with which they decided to lower the credit limit just 2 weeks later. They cited a negative credit report. I’ll have to look into that, but I suspect it is due to the only credit card company with whom I have something of a balance, and with whom I was in a dispute over rapidly escalating interest rates. (That dispute was just resolved and they shifted my balances to a much lower rate.)
I cancelled my AMEX Gold account and the SkyMiles account and wrote AMEX an email saying that my being a “member since 1988” seemed to mean little to them.
So the bottom line is that we consumers have to fight back. I was lucky to be able to pay AMEX in full today so that I could show them how I felt by closing my accounts, and to be able to front 3-times the minimum payment to the other card company to sweeten the rate-lowering conversation. The lesson I just gave myself: pay as much as you can as soon as you can, cancel accounts with those who abuse customers, and write to these crooks to let them know you are not going to be treated badly.
Capital One just informed me today that my $10500 credit limit has been reduced to $3300. This will effect my credit score derogatively as I will no longer be below the 50% use of credit that mortgage companies like to see. There was also some comfort that the credit line was there should an emergency arise.
I’ve had my credit on amex reduced by them every time i make a payment reduced by the payment amount. I normaly wouldn’t have a problem with that except that it destroys my credit making me look like I’m constantly maxed out! and what is their reason? To protect themselves because they realized after 10 years they never should have extended that much- but then again- they were counting on me getting in debt. I’m seriously considering not paying them back at all. It isnt the first time i was upset with thier selfishness. The first was when i asked if i could send them a seperate check targeting the cash advance i took out years before that they were charging me up to 30 percent a month for and they said “no” you have to pay the lower interest pricipal first. Screw them.
My husband and I just had a similar frustrating letter come in the mail. We made a payment of $2250 on one card and $3750 on another. I lost my job in September and it took me 3 months to get my unemployment benefits and applied this amount as soon as I received my check, never late minimum payments, but still they sent a letter of reducing our limits to $100 above or balance on both cards … we have a credit score of 740+ never late on ANY payments and this is how they treat us ggggrrr… I haven’t checked our credit scores to see if it had any negative effects, but I have worked hard to make sure our credit is flawless and this is BS to say the least 🙁
Annie, I have called my congressman’s office a couple of times. Once on each issue Amex and the Chase cohesion. I have emailed the Senate Banking committee. If I have done this thousands of others must have. I hear nothing in the news about what banks are doing to people who pay there bill’s. IT IS NO WONDER THAT THE ECONOMY IS COLLAPSING. No one can trust the system, banks, and or the government, who has given them hundreds of billions. Billions that have gone to bonus’s.
If the government would have given us the money we all could have paid off our credit cards and none of us would have a problem.
When no one listens what happens?
I have had three things occur within the last 2 months:
1. Credit Limit Decrease By Juniper, with a lame explanation (now cut-up with $0 balance, only used to get 6 mth free financing on my MAC).
2. Credit Limit Increase by Citi
3. Citi, Plan A or B
A. Accept an interest rate increase of at LEAST 19.99% OR
B. Keep my current interest rate until my card expires, at which time they will cancel my card and I can re-apply
When I phoned Citi regarding A & B, the telephone rep said this is based upon the default rate of it’s customers; NOT MY OWN PERSONAL CREDIT. When did credit become a group thing?
BofA cut my Business Visa Card credit line from 29000 to 17500 without notification. At the time I had 17100 on the card, leaving me 400 to work with for my small CPA firm going into tax season! I immediately sent in 2100 to leave me 2500 to work with. Hopefully they don’t reduce the limit to 15500 on me!
My credit score is 800 and I usually pay off each month but have been carrying a balance for a few months due to carrying to homes … our old home closes this month.
No call from BofA. I’m sure this will effect my credit score thanks to them reducing the credit line which was just raised in December 2008.
Who knows, maybe next will be an interest rate increase from the present 7.99 to who knows what? 24%?
I think we’ll be paying BofA back and change accounts to a local bank who would maybe appreciate some more business.
I hope BofA has a plan for the backlash brewing due to their recent actions.
I have already notified my congresswoman. I gave her receptionist the link to this site and another one that I came across. Today I had three new postings come through. I think it is time to go to my local newspaper and see if I can get a reporter to pick up this story. If that works then iit may get in the San FRancisco Chronicle. This is really getting to me. My credidt score has gone down as well for what ever they say that is worth. Enough is enough. Any other ideas???
I believe a conspiracy, against citizens, between gov. and corporations, has been in place for sometime. Just think about the timeliness of the new bankruptcy laws. They were put in place just before this credit crisis started hitting. They knew it was coming because they manufactured it.
The gov. should have given us the 700 billion and we could have paid off our cards with the money. Instead they gave the money to the corporations to pay their CEO’s millions. These people should be tried and executed for crimes against the people. It is the only way they will get the message they are killing us, and our families. And if this doesn’t work then their whole families need to be executed in order to send them the message.
What’s worst beside them lowering the credit limit is it effects the credit score. about a month after Citibank lowered my credit line from 15K to 2300 I checked my FICO score and it was lowered by 30 points. There is no other changes in my credit history except this one. This is not fair as I always pay my bills on time. Instead of our corrupt government penalizing these criminals they just bail them out by giving them our tax dollars.
Capital One is doing it also! Today I was shopping, I tried to charge $100. My card was declined with a huge line behind me. My husband had my debit card. I was so embarrassed. All I could do is walk away from a full cart of bagged items. I called Capital One because I knew I had a $12,600 credit limit and I only had $3000 charged. After talking to 3 foriegn reps. and getting no answers to when or why they lowered my limit $9000. They finally admitted to lowering on the 23rd. (one week ago) No call, no e-mail, no phone call to notify me, (still nothing). They did say they usually try to call. (not that they did) And the reason was that I don’t use my card enough. That is such BS. I have been a loyal customer, never make late payments, pay down frequently and have excellent credit. Is it legal to not notify people. I tried to charge only $20 over my new limit and was declined….wow! You are correct Mike “OUR GOV. AND CORPORATIONS HAVE BECOME A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION.”
2 yrs ago I did a balance transfer of $20k to Chase. The offer from Chase was 4% for the life of the loan. The payment is $250.00, and thats OK.
The last bill said may payment is a WHOOPING $680.00 a month.
They have taken my payment from a min. 2% to the 5% the LAW has allowed them to take payments to. This 5% was put in place by the corporate run government.
Chase gave me the option to continue with the $250.00 a mo. if I would except 7.99 % intrest rate. I agreed under duress. What could I do except to just stop paying????
May god wtf is going on in Washington. All the money paid out should have went to us, the citizens. A trillion dollars would pay off every mortgage in the country. And we would have plenty of money to pay our cards and to buy again. OUR GOV. AND CORPORATIONS HAVE BECAOME A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION.
Yea they cut my limit from 27K to 500$. I called and they wouldn’t increase it–so I told them to keep the card 😉
F*** AMEX. They don’t want our business, we will go somewhere else.
I agree with everyone hear. One of my credit cards are from Barclay’s bank. Well I never missed a payment and kept the card at a zero balance. Most of my credit cards have a negative balance where I over paid.
Anyway about a month ago I get a letter from Barclay’s saying that my credit limit was cut to $500. The good thing is my balance is 0. But it makes me wonder? Why would you cut the limit of people who use their credit wisely? “To reflect my spending habits?” There is no way that I will use any of my cards now. You do everything right and they hit you in the rear. I hope that they all go down.
So today, Kenny Chenault complained that American Express’ earnings declined by 72 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, due in part because consumers were not using their cards…What a shock!
My credit limit for AmEx was cut by over 90% (30k to 2600) (see comment 37) back in early November, so I cut my use of the card by the same amount.
I logged into my online account with BOA a few days ago to make a payment on my credit card. A small payment for a small online purchase. Since I keep about $15k in total limit available between various cards but no balance on any, the last thing I expected was my credit limit to be cut by 75%. AS I HAVE SEEN IN MANY OF THE BLOGS HERE, NO ADVANCE NOTICE. Never a late payment. I called and cancelled the card as I don’t need a card with a small limit but asked “why the decrease?”. The rep would not tell me why, claiming they had sent a letter several days earlier. Still no “alleged” letter.
BOA has no idea what they are doing. I have a checking account and savings with BOA and will soon be taking my money elsewhere.
Jbrare- ditto here too. makes me ill.
I got a form from the local DA on Consumer Complaints but all they will do is mediate or pass the complaint on. I read up in the Fair Credit act and they can change the limits based on what they say they found in your credit report. Like to high balance to income ratio. They are supposed to notify you within 30 days . I was only notified in one case and I have no idea when they did the change.
no lates in over 15years This has sent my score down below 700 Which will prevent me from pre qualifying for a 1st time home loan.
The banks do not care at all.
This is all the same old, same old going ons.
Keep posting – any ideas on how to fix this situation?
I am pretty sure that all these ba****ds are going to do everything that they can between now and next year to create situations that allow them to up interest rates based on credit ratings and “excessive” use of credit lines. If I understand the new restrictions that will not go into effect until next year, lenders will have to have specific reasons to change your rates and not be able to change your terms as long as you are paying on time and not exceeding your limits. Congress left credit cards companies a huge loop hole and plenty of time to
cover all their bases in the meantime. Congress always underestimates the resourcefulness of predatory lenders. While our tax dollars are keeping banks and financial institutions afloat, they will be plotting ways to circumvent the new restrictions and setting themselves up to “milk” the good paying customers even more. Let’s just stop paying everyone of them who try to change conditions that they set up and “agreeeeed” to in the first place.
I am mad as hell and am not going to take it much longer!
To JBRARE I was told by my congresswoman’s office that we are supposed to get notified in advance. They stated 15 days as per the small print. I have yet to verify that but I am sure they need to notify in advance.
Please post if you find anything that states otherwise. I am going to read the Fair Credit Act again.
they get bailed out and we get stiffed.
Some stimulus eh?
BofA just closed six perfectly paid accounts without any notice. They did that when my wife called to request a $200 transfer into our checking account. The “customer service agent” Damon was so arrogant and seem pleased that he we “shutting down ALL of our accounts”! Not one late payment or fees have ever been applied to any of our accounts. Found out two days later that our MC with our credit union was also frozen since BofA apparently administers that account . We received written notices several days after the accounts were closed, nothing before.
We sent a letter to the CEO of BofA, Mr. Kenneth Lewis detailing how unfair and short-thinking such actions against good customers are. We pointed out that we had only applied for two of the accounts in the first place and that all the others lines of credit were initiated as a result of offers made by BofA to us because of our credit history. Does anyone know if this is legal or who we should contact protesting such actions? Our first reaction was just to tell them to “stick it” and we may still do that. Now, we are guessing that BofA will raise our rates at the first opportunity.
Anyone that can give further advice, please do so!
PLEASE, everyone take a look at the bailouts. They will not stimulate the country. I was just getting a pre approval on a 1st home. Due to AMEX , CARE CREDIT and DISCOVER i now do not have a high enough credit score. The credit score itself is a joke.
I contacted my congresswoman and her Receptionist DID call me back. YOU are supposed to get a 15 day notice before any action is taken on your account in either direction. I got no notice in advance.
HOW do we start a class action? This has to stop.
The Senate intends to establish new rules but I heard they will cap the APR at 36% That is also a joke and I am very disappoined in all both sides of this system
Give them money and they charge us 36% on the tax we paid to big with!!! Shame…
So again. how does one start a class action Case???
Be well and keep sharing the knowledge
What a change for these companies. I used to throw away no less than 5 credit card offers a week but have seen very few in the last few months. Like most of you, I have a high credit rating because I have never even made a late payment in all these years. BOA sent me some checks with a 0% interest promotion through October 2009. I set them on my desk for a few weeks and was considering if I wanted to use them for something. Three weeks later they sent me a letter dropping my line of credit from $18,600 to $1,000. The cheap punks gave me the same lame excuse as most of you on this blog have received. Also, Amex dropped my credit line from $26,000 to $10,600. I wish now that I had maxed out BOAs 0% percent offer and put that money in the bank. That would have prevented them from sacking my credit line for no good reason.
I am going to send BOA back their card and tell them to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.
Part of your credit rating is how much of your available credit you use. Each time AmEx or some other entity cuts your credit limit down to near what you owe, that lowers your credit rating. The resulting lower credit rating can and will be used against you by those same companies later.
What people need to do is to write their Senators and their representatives in Congress and let them know what is happening. If they hear from enough of their constituents, they may not be so quick to provide bailout money to the worst offenders, and, with any luck, might even demand repayment of some of the bailout loans so AmEx and others will know how it feels to get cut off at the knees.
John D and everyone else. American Express applied for Bank status with the past month and now has already gotten the bank bailout money.
So had GM financial services who did the GM loans. They are now a bank as well and got a double bailout
one as car manuf and the other as a bank
Discover is doing the same.
this is not about helping people at all.
I never had any lates, but now several of my cards are withing 100 of the limit and credit score has dropped
I was just aoout to get pre qual for a mortgage.
Fair Issac must know whats going on but does not give a hoot.
Actually Amex has already asked for bailout money. They got themselves reclassified as a bank holding company specifically so that they could do that.
But they have been doing this balance reducing thing for more than a year now. Its just that they started with their less than stellar customers, you know, the ones who carried high balances and only paid the minimum or near to it. Or were a day or two late with a payment here or there. That was me. Funny how when I started talking about this in forums 6 months ago, I was ridiculed and told I deserved being treated like a criminal by Amex and BOA, but now that they are targeting all their customers equally everyone is ready to file class action suits.
The only advice I can offer is the same advice that was given to me. Pay them off and cancel the cards and don’t use credit if you can’t handle the terms you agreed to. Thats what I am doing. I have learned in the past year that I really don’t need them as much as they advertised me into believing. The best revenge is living well and as Amex and BOA struggle to stay alive, I will be here still earning paychecks, conspicuously consuming, and I won’t need them.
American Express management is making bad decisions about how they treat their customers. This will affect American Express profits for years to come. My Optima limit was reduced from $24,000 to $17,000 which was a few hundred over my balance at the time. My response was that I made an additional $1,000 payment to my regular payment in order to stay under 90% usage on the card. Once again American Express has reduced my limit. This time to $15,000 which is just a few hundred dollars over my balance. The balance is charged a low promotional rate so I am not inclined to pay it off by any more than the minimum payment. But, after the first limit reduction I called Am Ex to ask how I could be a better customer and how much I should pay in addition to the minimum. The customer service representative suggested I pay $50 to $100 more than the minimum each month so that is what I have done. I have been a member since 1985…never been late with a payment and have never gone over my limit. If I treated my customers that way I would be out of business in a few short months. I wonder how long it will take before Am Express is asking for a government BAIL-OUT ? ? ?
I just called BoA to see if they would lower my interest rate a little bit; not only did they not lower the rate, they cut my credit limit on both BoA cards to right at the balance level. Thanks a lot, jerks. Can’t wait to see what that does to my credit rating.
I just received a letter today from Juniper MasterCard stating they are lowering my limit from $6000 to $650 because quote: “you are only using a small portion of your available credit”. I have had this card for 3 years with spotless record. I have a 782 FICO. (Well, I did last month!!!!). This really makes me mad.
How do we start a class action lawsuit. Count me in,
This is really disgusting. I am glad I finally found a site that even mentions this . Nothing on the AM radio about it at all.
contact me too just like #57 asked.
I agree with all the people who HAVE HAD A LIMIT DECREASE. What gives. I payed off the cards and did not want to over spend so now I have no credit – like $300 is going to help if I need to go the MD or get the car fixed. I have no late payments and pay more then the limit. Discover, Amer Expr, HSBC, GM CARD all the saME. IF YOU DO NOT GET IN OVER YOUR HEAD THEY DO NOT WANT YOU.
Maybe we should lose the cards and just let someone have a good time. They certainly are having a good time messing us up and keeping their money.
why would you lower a limit on someone who pays off their cards. I am very disappointed in the congress.
they do not even answer email. Pelosi emailed me back and said it was against the rules for her to communicate with me as I am not in her district.
well she may not have a district if she keeps up that attitude.
sorrry but I do not like being made to look like I have gone over my lmits and most of all they never even gave notice. They just did it and then sent the letters.
not good . at all!!
I just received the letter regarding my interest rate increase along with a notice from Blue stating that my credit limit is going from 10K to $4400. This is totally reidiculous and unacceptable. In the statement they claim, among other things, that the decision was based the fact that my debt is too high with AMEX. That’s total BS because I just made a $4000 payment in May bringing my balance to $0.00, which is where it has been until the last month or so because of Christmas shopping. They also refer to my credit score from Experian, which again is bogus because my most recent Experian score is 721. I am soo sick and tired of these coporate sleezebags sticking it to us that are just trying to get by. I will be contacting AMEX tomorrow and if i do not get any satisfactory answers, I will be contacting an attorney. If someone has already initiated a class action lawsuit, PLEASE contact me.
I went to Pay my fiance’s Best Buy card this morning since its right before the holidays & i know we have used it a small amount. We always keep it at under a 30% credit usage, especially because he just payed off his car so that is the only thing on his credit report right now. Without so much as an email they cut his limit down so there is only $38 available credit!!!! He has had the card for about 4 years & uses it rarely, probably about 3 times in the last two years & has only paid late once & that was over 2 years ago. So now right before the holidays we are going to have to come up with the money to pay it off or risk him losing a good 30 points or so on his credit. We’ve been saving for a house so we can’t let that happen. Good job Best buy & the rest of you credit “know it alls” at these banks, now someone who was making good credit decisions so they could buy a house next year will have to dip into our savings or risk having their credit wrecked!!! Once again the middle class is taking it on the chin for something a bunch of rich arrogant fools did. Welcome to America.
I have heard about this issue but it hit me first hand today. Barclay’s Bank reduced my credit line from $10k down to $2 and what’s worse is that put me over limit. To top it of, I haven’t received notification of the decrease, I had to have a purchase declined to find this out. When I called the credit card company they didn’t care and wouldn’t raise my limit back up except to cover my current purchases so that I’m not over limit. However I was warned that the limit could be reduced again in the future.
I warned them that they are losing a long-time loyal customer, no “might” about it!
Last night on CBS world news with Katie Coric, they had a good report on this probelm. A nurse’s credit was 780 and a credit card company cut her credit in half. As I recall that dropped her score 60 points. This gave reason for a drastic raise in her interest rate’s, they moved up to 21%. She just stopped using her cards. Thats ok for her she very seldom used her cards. For most people this will be crippling or worse.
The point of the story was how the cut in credit card level effected a person that doesn’t use there card that much. I hope to see a program on how it will effect the rest of use who use our cards regularly.
I urge everyone to call there congressman and senator’s, please call. I have.
I just noticed my credit limit for my Citibank Professional MC was reduced from 15,000 to 2,300. When I called they said it’s because I only use less than 5% of my credit limit. I have a credit score of over 800, I wonder if this will affect my score. Citibank told me it won’t but I’m not sure.
my credit score is 710 due to the fact i just started building my credit about 2 years ago, my amex and capital one limit has not changed but my paypal buyer credit and my citiflex credit line lower my limits to about 30% of what they used to be, i’m never late on my payments, allways send a lot more than the minimun payment due and allways finish paying everything quick. i really don’t like to use my credit to buy small stuff but it’s needed to build my credit, i guess i’ll be using my cash more and cancelling a couple of credit cards.
Is there someone here that would/could supply me with the wording of the letter you received from your credit card company in regards to lowering your credit card limit?
This is a strange request .. but my alcoholic husband, refuses to stop using MY card. I would like to “tell” him that my limit has been reduced. If that does not work, I will attempt to “conjer” up a letter documenting this.
This is very manipulative, I know .. but husband will not listen to me and continues using my card. I KNOW that if he thinks that the limit has been lowered, he will finally get it through his head that he cannot continue to use for his “entertainment” pleasure.
For those of you who believe that this is being dishonest and manipulative on my part .. my husband, I believe, is in a cycling stage of his bipolar depression and it does not matter what I do or say, I have not been able to reason with him. If I have to be somewhat underhanded and extreme, I have resigned myself to this .. at this point and time.
Thanks in advance for anyone that may have some compassion and might supply a “generic” form of the letter that they received.
I have noticed a few people on here making comments like, “I have a credit score in the 800’s so they keep people like me with good credit happy…” Well, a little newsflash: My credit score is in the 800’s, have NEVER been late on any of my payments, but AMEX just cut my credit limit in half with no prior notice. What ticks me off is the fact that we never used it until 3 weeks ago, when my husband bought me a new ring for our anniversary, and we decided to put it on that card. Today, I checked the account and they lowered the limit to 300 dollars above our balance, so now the card is almost maxed out which is something I never do. I am extremely upset, and will be cancelling the card once it is paid off in a month or so. AMEX is a bunch of crooks.
Talk about “Discrimination” by American Express. I feel i’m being slapped in the face and their is nothing i can do about it. I just read a paper on American Express and it states that one of the ways they come to the decision to lower ones credit limit is based on several accounts. They base it upon where you live, where you shop and who holds your mortgage on your home. Even tho i pay my bill every month on time, and have never been late, These fools seem to think its good business practace to slapp me in the face with a letter that they are lowering my credit limit by more than half. I will never use this card again, and i will be sending several letters. I urge you to shop around and find another company to do business with. AMEX Sucks!
I contacted my congressman, Trent Franks in Arizona, and they looked into the problem they said. They called me and told me they can’t help. I told them that this was happening all over the country. It’s a nation wide, “NATIONAL”, problem. They said, only, that the congressman is aware of the problem. If they won’t act on this what the hell is going to happen. This credit crisis will just keep getting worse.
I have also written my Senator, Kyle. I didn’t bother writing that worthless fool McCain.
Just this morning the news said that home interest rates could drop from 5.5% now to 4.5%. What the heck good will this do us when our credit rating is dropping. Home prices are dropping also. How can a person get re-financed under these circumstances. What the heck is going on. What a joke.
Just an update to my previous post. Amex attempted to raise our interest rate on us after chopping our credit limits to nothing. That was the last straw. I cancelled them. I hope they go bankrupt- just like their business sense and ethics.
Melissa: Are you sure about cause and effect here? 75 points is a really big drop in response to a credit limit reduction. Is it possible that your score dropped (at least somewhat) which prompted Amex to reduce your credit limits, perhaps further reducing you credit score.
Yep, same thing happened to me. Six weeks ago Amex cut my limit by half. Just yesterday I checked my credit scores, and they all three dropped by about 75 points (average). I am LIVID. I have always made my payments on time, but the credit score analysis said that I have too high of a debt ratio. I didn’t prior to them lowering my balance. Sure when it goes from $30K down to $15K, my debt ratio is going to be higher.
I am paying the thing off and never paying them another dime. The whole “banking/credit card/credit score” practice is the most idiotic, unethical thing I have ever witnessed. Amazing that I’ve turned into high-risk when I have not changed one thing in the way I spend, work, or pay bills.
just had a nice arguement with 3 of boa’s card services managers. they cut my limit from 14400 to 4400. my balance is 4200. they left me 200. i did not even get any notification. i happened to see it through my on line banking. i have Never been late with a payment on any of my accounts.When i told them they were going to lose a good paying customer they really didn’t seem to care. screw bank of america i will just transfer my small balance to another card with a 0% transfer for 1 year
I always pay on time and I pay over the minimum. My score is 774.
Last week American Express cut my credit in half, down to what I owe. This act on, the part of American Express, will damage my credit by showing that my credit is extended. Won’t this create a domino effect, that will have a serious effect on my credit? I say yes it will.
I have contacted my representatives on this. This is a serious problem. I urge everyone to write and call them.
Just found out that AMEX lowered our limit by another $4000 on Wednesday, November 26! Found out when my wife went to purchase gas. They had just lowered it by $4000 10 weeks ago. As soon as I sent them $3000 for this month’s bill, they lowered it another $4000 putting me over my limit immediately.
As a result, I will not send them any extra and will pull $ out of a mutual fund and send it to another creditor freeing up more credit with them and cease to use the AMEX.
My wife and I have spent over $680000 on our AMEX cards in the last 19 years, but now we are “high risk!”
We will also boycott businesses that accept AMEX and buy from those who do not accept AMEX. We will let the merchants know why. We are in our sixties and have 82 credit accounts “paid as agreed” without a single late payment!
I suggest that anyone else who has just gone thru this send a letter to the CEO, Kenneth I. Chenault @ Amex, World Financial Center, 200 Vessey Street, New York, NY 10285, and express your complete dissatisfaction.
AMEX cannot survive if people do not use their card.
AMEX SUCKS!!! My husband and I have credit scores close to 800 (we just checked w/credit union) and today I get an email stating that our credit limits have been lowered on both our Blue and Costco cards. We have been card members since 1999. Our Costco card went from $29500 to $10600 and our Blue went from $22500 to $10600 but our Discover card was just increased. We do not carry large balances on these cards, but have been using them (for rebates & points) to decorate our new house. AMEX is totally screwing with people credits and I am very disappointed in their business practices. I too hope they go under or somehow is able to be reported on their unfair business practices. We are planning to pay the balances off and not use them again. I wish I could sue!!
Amex cut my credit limit from 8000 to 5500 without any notice, I was confused if there was a fraud purchase on my card. Amex stinks, I never made a late payment and gave them a lot of business. no more but.
My Costco AMEX credit card had its credit limit lowered from $30k to $2600 in one fell swoop last week There has been no change in my credit score (720s) since I applied for the card two years ago. AMEX is turning into a bank and trying to limit its risk so it can qualify for some gov’t bailout money. I hope Costco picks up a different creditor.
Out of all my credit cards, the one card I haven’t used was reduced. It was my IKEA card and it went from $500 to $221 (which is an odd number, to say the least).
They reviewed my spending patterns too and adjusted the card accordingly.
Ironicallly, I got a notice today that my credit limit on Citi has been raised about 10%. However, they have consistently raised my limit any time I get serious about paying down the balance. So, despite the current credit crisis, Citi is trying their best to entice me to spend more.I’m paying (literally) for past mistakes, but I have no intention of repeating them.
I don’t have any other cards, so as far as my experience goes, I don’t see reduced limits.
Mine have actually been increased. I would say that’s because the companies are issuing less to new customers, and are maybe trying to make up for that by allowing their current customers with good credit to spend more.
No reductions yet on any of the cards yet including AmEx blue (13K credit limit). Higher limit (from 10K to 18K) on one of the cards.
Got a couple of pre-approved 0% offers for 15K; I don’t need it so I just tore it up and threw it away.
@Funny about money — I also have Chase (Amazon) and I got the same type of a letter; since I also pay my balances in full, I couldn’t care less. I’ll continue using it for amazon purchases since I like their rewards. This one is set up for automatic payment of the full balance, so there is no way it can ever be late.
@Shadox – if you feel strongly against their raising your limit, you can call them and tell them you don’t want the increase. They will lower it back. You can also tell them you don’t want further increases, and they’ll mark it on your account.
I have had limits reduced on three of my cards recently. Amex, US Bank and Bank of America. All lowered my limit to within $100 of my balance. Stated reasons was my credit usage/high balances.
I have been making large payments to try to pay these cards off and each time I pay them down by $500, they lower the limit by that amount.
we have two that have no limit, so i guess those don’t count. others, they have increased limits and we continue to get 0% BT offers on all of the cards.
I haven’t seen a reduction yet, but I did get this “IMPORTANT NOTICE OF CHANGE IN TERMS” from Chase’s Visa card:
“Your default APR will be changed to a variable rate of 29.99%.”
Nearly as exorbitant are rates for “overdraft advance APR” and “cash advance APR,” both variable rates now pegged at 20.99%.
Since I don’t carry a balance and, because I’m less than fond of Chase, rarely charge much on this card, I don’t suppose it matters. But it is…well…jaw-dropping.
IMHO, rates of this magnitude ought to be illegal.
No reductions yet, but just signed up for the AmEx Blue Cash card and only got a $5000 limit. Anyone have any thoughts on the best strategy to get them to increase it? Maybe a couple of months of full, on-time payments?
Amex lowered our limit by about $3k, that is the only card we use regularly, not sure why it was lowered. Never late, no other problems on other cards or any loans for that matter.
Quite the opposite, some of my limits have been raised recently. I don’t have AmEx though. I think people with top tier credit will become more valuable to creditors, hence they’ll do more to keep them happy like higher limits.
I’m like Tony, I’ve had multiple AMEX cards over the past couple of decades, never been late, never missed a payment. I have several other credit cards with high available credit and no missed payments… and yet, inexplicably, AMEX has lowered the rate on my Blue card from over $10K to just about $2,300 in the past year — all without notice. I absolutely HATE AMEX and hope they go under. They are a disreputable, dishonest, sleazy company.
No reductions yet .. not even on my Amex, which I just got a couple of months ago. I am still getting at least one credit-card offer in the mail every day. I thought credit was hard to come by?
My wife and I have various credit cards, all with limits ranging from 5K to 35K on each card. Most of our cards have RAISED our credit limit by carying amounts- 3K to 5K. American Express LOWERED our credit limits twice in the last 18 months. It went from 20K to 3K to $1,500. They claimed it was because of delinquent credit on our other cards. My wife and I have credit scores near 800 and have NO blemishes, late payments, etc. Delinquent my a*$. I hope they go bankrupt. They will NEVER see another dime of our money.
Had an AMEX line dropped from 25K to $500 a couple months ago. Hadn’t used the card for any purchases, ever. But did use it to balance transfer 21K at 0%. Paid it off before paying any interest. Just applied for an auto loan through Capital One auto and was approved literally in 30 seconds for 30k at their lowest rate. Interesting times…
My Sears MC (Citibank) was reduced from $10,000 to $6,000, with the explanation that they reviewed my spending pattern (I only used this card once ot twice a year), and lowered my limit accordingly.
I closed out this account – one less card to manage.
I haven’t had any changes of credit limits but Citibank sent me a letter saying they were canceling my credit card with them because I hadn’t used it in a year or two. I charged something on it (small item) so I don’t lose my credit history with them.
Nope, no decreases. They have stopped increasing my limits, though. Last year, Citibank increased my limit twice. At the beginning of the year, my credit limit was $9000. By the end of the year it was $17,900.
Decrease? What Credit Crisis? Discover has INCREASED my limit TWICE this year!
I don’t really get it, but I think they are trying to get me to use that card again. They were even nice enough to lower my now Variable APR from 28.9% to 25.9% since I’ve been such an awesome customer!!!
I hate them… And have already told them what they can do with their limit increase. I would starve before I would ever use that card again.
Nope, no Credit Limit decrease here either. But, I got a Terms of Agreement change from Chase (in which I don’t have a balance) increasing the APR to 20% something. Yikes! I will be cutting that card up for sure.
None of mine have decreased, but I just got a notice from Citibank that my visa card with them actually increased! I was like “What the heck???” I definitely wasn’t expecting that.
My Wife’s Sears MC (Citibank) was reduced from $11,000 to $7,000, with the explanation that they had reviewed her spending pattern, and reduced her limit accordingly. There was actually mention of Sears / Citibank doing this on the national news this morning. All we have on the Sears card at the moment is an HDTV we bought last November that has 18 months 0% interest … so, of course, we’re not making other charges with the card until that’s paid off.
Oddly enough, AMEX doubled my credit limit from $5,500 to $11,000 in September. I do not have anything on the card but I do have some debt on other ones. I have not had of the other ones get decreased either. I wonder if the individuals that had their limits decreased have bad credit.
My wife’s American Express CL was reduced from 10K to 500. Prior to the CL reduction she hadn’t used the card for about 6 months. She got an offer from them to use the card at some specific stores and she would recieve a $30 credit. After the first use she got a letter reducing the CL.
None of my limits have dropped, but I’m still early enough in this process that I’m still sitting fairly close to the limits on my cards. One thing I will note however, is that Discover is usually pretty quick to RAISE my limit when I sit as close to the limit as I am now, but they’re not budging it right now. That’s fine because I don’t want more credit, but I did find it interesting to note the difference.
My credit limit on my one credit card has not changed which probably means that because I don’t use consumer credit, they don’t bother with me. “Reducing credit limits” is another way of saying “Adding reason and logic to the credit marketplace.”
Hi there mates, how is all, and what you want to say regarding this
post, in my view its in fact remarkable in favor of me.
I’ve been a part of Amex since 1985. I’ve had a credit limit in excess of $17,500 for the longest time. I had a $7,000 bal. Recently I tried to make a $150.00 and was denied.. I called Amex I was told that my credit score was outstanding, and my payment history was also the same. But I was told that because there were too many hard hits on my credit score.. in the last 12 months.. (bought a new truck and applied for a different Credit Card) My Credit limit was lowered to $52.00 above my current balance.. Had nothing to do with my ability to make payments well above the minimum..
Don’t cancel your card.. Pay off your balance.. keep the card to maintain your credit score.. Don’t use the card anymore was the suggestion I received from the representative.
I had citi bank since 2009. I stared with about 7000 cl. I did not use them for a little while after getting the card. Then they had a 0% for 12 mo offer. I took it. Paid them off in about a year. Then another one came along in July 2012. By then I was up to 8500. They had another 0% for 12 mos. So I did another balance transfer that took it to 8300. Space just in case. In Aug and Sep, I had some problems with another Credit card. NAPA. Forgot to add them to my auto pay via my bank. Missed 2 minimum payments on 200.00 Citi bank sends and email to me in early Oct 2012 credit line was decreased. I called and asked why. They tell me that some sort of adviser decided to reduce my credit line to 6200. Then citibank tells me to get a copy of my credit report to them so a sr. advisor can reconsider my credit limit. I was never late to them or under paid the minium for the last 3 yrs. They said that does not matter. My mistake was also having a Sears citi card. They reduced me in the same month from 1000 to 600. Don’t get citi bank connected cards.
All credit cards are bad for you. They are no good to have. Let’s be weird and be debt free. Taking advantage of all the perks credit cards offer aren’t that great….because you pay for them one way or another.
@Adam: I’m new to FCN so I just ran across this post and I appreciate your recommendation of the USAA card. I looked into it to see if it would work for me and it looked OK, but I found several things I didn’t like:
First, they post all positive user reviews by date going back several years, then all negative user reviews are buried at the end. That wouldn’t concern me so much, but it’s in the negative reviews that you find out stuff you need to know, and I’d feel better about them if they sorted everything by date.
Second, payments take 7 days to post – this wouldn’t bother me because I don’t max out my card, but for some folks this is crippling.
Third, USAA has a serious fraud watch service, which is great if someone has stolen your card but extremely bad if you are traveling and have only one card. Some folks even notified USAA before traveling and still had their card actually cancelled while they were traveling. USAA would call their home number to notify them but, of course, they were traveling so they didn’t find out until they tried to use their card at a hotel in the middle of the night. At that point USAA would tell them there was nothing to be done. It didn’t just happen to one member – it was a frequent complaint. I understand why they do it – they insure the cards against fraud and they don’t want to pay for fraudulent transactions, but that would seriously leave me in the lurch.
Finally, there is a 1% fee on all foreign transactions. For service members stationed overseas this can significantly increase the cost of living. For the rest of us who travel occasionally this is a deterrent.
I only keep one credit card, so the traveling problems will keep me from pursuing the USAA card even though their advertised interest rate and rewards program look good. Others might find it more useful but ought to take a good look at the fine print before making the jump.
I have $20,000 in credit with USAA and an 8.9% APR. They won’t report to any credit agency unless you are more than 60 days overdue, and they will always work with you. Additionally, I receive yearly DIVIDENDS from their profit on insurance products. All that, and I’ve been depositing checks with my iPhone for more than a year before Chase offered that capability.
Disregard Chase and Citi. They are the slum, gas station equivalents of banks. Just seriously take a look at their “bankers” to see what I mean. They are degree-less, spiky-haired, illiterate pathologies.
If you feel you must use Chase for ancillary services, and you don’t want to pay any fees, simply have your payroll services deposit $100 into a debit account each pay period to take advantage of that loophole.
And by the way, USAA offers “persistence” perks for being a longtime member. They do all these wonderful things for their clients (dare I say family members), because they conduct business by the philosophy of “good service derives true success; all else is theft.”
They did not take any bailout. They didn’t need it.
No loyality. My Chase was reduced from 25,000 to 2500. Had the card forever and paid more than the minimum. I now look at my debtors and debts as just business. If something comes along better, I drop them just as I was dropped. Still very bitter.
Well Ruby, I guess I will see. I just wanted to add that mine was a VISA. I used this card during college to pay for gas, bills, and sometimes tuition, but paid over the minimum every month. I graduated a month ago and immediately started using 90% of my paychecks to pay off my balance. I had no idea they would say, hey thanks for paying off your balance real fast and we’re going to go ahead and decrease your line for you.
Jordan, You’ll probably get the letter today. They make the change and then let you know. I believe they are supposed to give you a 45 day notice (if anyone knows about this, please comment). It’s a mess and still don’t know how to fight this.
Wells Fargo cut my credit line today from $10,300 to $1,300 leaving me with $99 available credit. I went from owing 10% of my line to 90% in one day. No notification at all.
Does anyone know how to fight this????
We had over 40,000 in Home Depot credit, we would use it, as we are a small contracting business and pay it right away. They canceled our business accounts. Than our personal accounts. Our credit line on our First National bank was 6,000, always paid above min. monthly charges, never reached the credit line. Just went to make a purchase and it seems they have cut our credit to 2,000. I do not recall receiving any notification about them reducing our credit. NO ONE SAID A WORD TO ME WHEN I SPOKE TO AN AGENT to make a payment three days ago. They can all go %@*& in their hats, and keep their cards. They are killing us small business owners who use credit, and pay on time, in this country. God help us all.
Hi Ruby, I took a chance when they reduced my limits for no reason. I asked them for a payment plan as I wanted to close the account but could not pay it off all at once. They told me my income did not fit their payment plans. So I closed it since the decrease in limit already had dropped my credit score. It started with Am Ex, then Discover , HSBC ( best Buy) and Citibank. HSBC was the last one to do it and I was left with $80 of which I owed $60 as my payment to finish a payment schedule w.o interest. None of these companys had any reason. I never had any late payments. My score back then was 740 and I was trying to buy a home and within 3 months was no longer able to qualify for a loan.
I now have to move and have looked for 4 months. I do not have a high enough credit score. Its all really pissed me off. I called Fair Issac and they said they were not going to reconsider their scoring None of them really give a hoot. so we shall see what happens.
Annie …. May 2011 for the change in your limit? I would like to find out how if possible to fight this. Still can’t believe they can do it and act like nothing is wrong.
here is a good batch of rubbish from the ever expanding Fair Issac Corporation located in my county- Marin , California their research on decreased limits and the effects on FICO
http://www.fico.com/en/Company/News/Pages/study-findings.aspx
I am going to court in 1 yr ( May 2011) can not wait to tell the judge how they changed the terms of the contract and it became a domino effect. credit score has decreased at least 70 point. never had a late payment until Citibank would not make a payment plan and told me my income was too low for one.
we shall see who prevails. I noticed on the web that the credit card company’s do not show for the case management and get fined $250.
I am glad I found this site, so I too can just vent for a second. 🙂 I am an Amex through CITIBANK, and today, I receive and email saying that my limit just went from 17,500 to 6730. Random credit limit; which of course leaves me with ~113 available to spend.
Well, I am looking at this from a positive perspective: it will force me to pay it off and not incur deeper debt. So, for that I am happy.
However, just to point out; my FICOs are in the mid 700s & with CITI, I have always paid on time, and paid more than is due.
But, the credit customer service says that now when they review accounts annually, they look at ALL of your outstanding debt. Oh well, such is life.
The one last thing that drives me INSANE is how all customer service reps are programmed to always point out; “well, due to the nature of the economy”….
CITIBANK can go and collapse for all I care.
grrrr.
You really want to know why no one is doing anything about this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sally-kohn/purple-shame-doing-big-ba_b_573938.html
All the big banks have former congressional staffers, dozens of them, to lobby washington against us. How do you fight the good old boy network?
I hate what happened to Annie. There should be a way to address this. But what???? I agree that we might be better off living off the grid. We are the ones that are paying our bills because we care about our credit. Is this smart??? I wonder. The credit card companies and others are making it very difficult for the ones who want to do the “right” thing and pay their bills. Did anyone really look at what was happening to you Annie? It it not fair. Still don’t know what to do. Can you sue the company AM EXP because you could not get your house? Crazy…..
HI, been awhile. Just to let non believers see how much the actions can affect you. credit score was 740, Am Exp maxed me out with City, Best Buy( HSBC), Discover, B of A and Wamu/ Chase to follow.
MY loan never went through for 1st time buyer
Fair Issac said they were not refiguring our scores because the CC maxed us out Maxed out is maxed out
so.. My present score at Credit Karma- 598
I tried to add comments to my report but even with certified letter receipts the banks prevailed as to who closed the accounts. I did.
Fair Issac is as much a part of this as the card comp and banks!!!!!
I have realized that congress could care less nor any part of the govt nor the watchdog groups.
why has this not happened to an atty who can do a law suit? its insane. better off living off the grid if you can. there is more to this bull then we see!
My problem with this whole issue of reducing one’s credit limit is the affect it has on your credit score. If you have a balance (maybe even if you don’t) a reduce in available credit will hurt your credit score. Also, if you had that credit card for some time, you do not want to cancel because that will also affect your credit score.
@AE Anderson:
That would all make sense if the banks had not been doing this fully a year before all the bailout stuff began. They started with “riskier” customers, then moved on to everyone else.
Yeah hindsight is 20/20, don’t carry a balance, blah blah, but the fact is that nearly 50% of credit card holders carry a balance. Not everyone has the luxury of keeping $20K on hand for such circumstances, this is the real world afterall.
One common denominator of nearly all the postings on this thread is that each writer, apparently lacking available savings (liquid cash), had been adversely impacted by a bank or bank holding company’s decision to slash their credit limit on a consumer account.
I wonder if this spate of credit limit slashings, which on their surface seem hardly likely to benefit issuing banks, arose as part of some backroom deal or secret instruction that was part of the federal bank bailout, or perhaps as a membership requirement for banks to keep feeding at the Fed discount window?
It seems to make little sense for companies like AMEX to willingly and wilfully eviscerate their bottom lines and throw away years of hard-earned goodwill from longstanding, excellent customers merely to spruce up contingent items on their balance sheets.
Rather, I wonder if the real reason was part of a larger policy decision to forcibly boost personal savings among the middle class by eliminating the huge unused lines of credit that have come to replace the savings cushions of ordinary Americans.
It is indeed shocking that the beneficiaries of so much unsecured credit lack the personal savings resources that would prevent them from being adversely impacted by a reduced credit limit on a revolving account.
It also begs the question of what business does a responsible bank have issuing $10,000 to $50,000 lines of credit to persons who can’t seem to keep a $20,000 cushion of funds in their checking accounts?!
What can we do???? I’ve read all the emails. Chase got me …. card holder since 1992/no late payments…Limit $25,000 dropped to $2,500. This was done on 4/22 got the letter yesterday. But I found out about it on 4/23 while making an online payment. I’m thinking about getting another card (not Chase) before my credit score drops…. Has anyone spoken with an attorney? There must be something we can do. Someone please respond!!! HELP!!! I want them to feel what I’m feeling.
Discover has raised my credit limit from 14,000 to 16,000 while aLSO raising my purchase rate to 19 point something until I complained and they then dropped it to 17.24% from 14.99 percent. Chase has left my limits and my interest rates the same. I have a Citibank (Sears) card but I’m not sure what if anything has happened to that one. I don’t have Amex.
American Exp is out of their minds and hurting everyone and my credit score. I have had a regular Platinum and Optima card since 1979 that is 30 years. I have never been late with a payment. Last Year I got a letter stating my limit on my Optima account was being reduced from 19K to 15K as my mortgage sevicing company was having a lot of foreclosures. Las November I paid them the $13K I owed them and just this month I received a notice my limit was reduced to $2500!!!!!!! I am so upset and now they have reported me to the credit bureau for being over my limit. The charges I made were before I received the letter decreasing my limit. This is not fair and I am willing to do anything to get them in trouble and looking for suggestions. I have never ever been late with them over 30 years on either card and now they are hurting my credit…….
We were are told Change was coming…Here it is folks just the first little part of your freedoms vanishing.If you cant see it, I feel sorry for you. Credit Card Law went into effect yesterday. Bank informed me Today that the Govt. ordered banks to revise all credit scores and adjust credit limits accordingly. Because they get Govt. Money….Which is really our Money!..Bunch of crooks!
why these credit cards are reducing the credit limit, they are not even telling the customers. I was going to charge a some thing on capitalone card and got emabarrased.. I have the credit of 6,000 and when i tried to charge something there was no money..I had a good credit. what is going on
I too had my credit limit reduced VISA. I first started with BOA at $1000 and a year later, they offer to increase my limit to $7000. I’m about a five year customer. I haven’t use my credit cards for about a year now with 0 balance on them. After reading this blog, I sign onto my BOA account and found that my credit limit is at $1000. This doesn’t affect me much but I could use that extra $6000 in case something goes wrong.
I sincerely hope tha all the ceos burn in hell for what they have done to me and the same goes for all of the polititicians whom we elected but who in turn turned their back on us because they don’t have to worry about retirement as they will all be given an exhorbitant retiree pension with full medical benifits
and we get kicked in the ass.Screw all of them.I am a retiree as my wife is and live on a fixed income and we
did not get a cost of living raise this year because they said that there has been no inflation so we do not qualify.They must be living on another planet because everything went up last year 2009 food,gas,rents,insurance just to mention a few so how can the government condone this,i am totally baffled.
I am totally disgusted with it all.Charles Mc Caig.
We also live in the Highest Taxed State in the Union
New York State.
My main CC co Citi gave me an opt out option. I have been with them 15 yrs, paid on time all the time. The 1st took my rate from 13 then to 15 and now 20%. 20% is an rate that people without credit have paid in the past. These dirty bastards have made and r making a fortune on me and others. Now thru their mismanagement we have to pay.
How is it that r gov gave them money for 1% and the get away with RAISING R rate to the moon.
Why didn’t OUR gov give us the money at 1% then we could pay them off.
This government is a criminal organization in collusion with the corporations. They pretend to before us. It’s nothing but a show.
By the way I wrote my reps about this. Nothing happened. I have decided to opt out.
All of my credit card holders have either increased my APR or reduced my credit limit drastically and in one case completely stopped it.I am a good payer always on time and pay more than the minimum payment required but this did not make any difference to the credit card companies.They gave me the option to opt out of the card in which case they close my card out and this goes against my credit score which is totally unfair as it has ruined my credit score which used to be over 800 but is now barely over 700 and can’t apply for any increases as they have already cut my credit limit.the CEO’s and staff get huge annual bonuse every year and these are companies that have been baled out by the government us our tax dollars It is just not fair and something should be done about it.Disgusted
Charles Mc Caig.
I took advantage of BOA offer on my online BOA page for balance transfer at special low rate [.99%] and they use my response to their offer to slash my credit line by 75%. Months later they send me the same offer in a letter with my name on it and my then available credit line written on the letter and when I respond to their solicitation {they made the offer at least 3 times} they tell me they are canceling my credit card completely and I know they new my credit score {which was still good} before making the offer as I have credit monitoring and now for the second time BOA continues to damage my credit just because I attempt to take their offers!!! WHY!!!! AND CAN I SUE THEM!
Everyone should go to a local bank The rates may not be great but the service is excellent. I have left Chase / Wamu and so has my son.
When we walk into Circle Bank they know us by name!
I have now transferred my savings from Chase to a local bank. Only when we truly revolt will this end. Chase has already sent me a letter telling me that they can offer better terms rather than opting out. Too late, Chase. The FICO score makes us slaves. Reject your credit card increases if you can. I can do this,my young daughter can not (Yet). But if someone that makes my income can reject credit cards, then more people can.
CHASE SUCKS
Chase took away $20,000 of my husbands credit line and has now made his credit score that was impeccible lower. They are so unfair. They canceled a balance transfer after he called to see if it was a valid offer, and then it made all of his checks bounce.
Unless you are trying to purchase something very large in the future (home, car) and you need a good FICO score,I suggest that we all opt out of the credit cards and try to negotiate a lower interest at that time. I feel so good about my decision but I know that it won’t fit everyone’s needs. My son-in-law and daughter are going to film myself and a bunch of friends for a “BURN YOUR CREDIT CARD” party and we will post it on youtube. In addition, I am going to start a facebook page for burning credit cards unless someone has already started one. In that case, I will join their page. Then, I am going to send my film to the appropriate banks. Christmas has been wonderful without credit cards by the way. I have shopped in some stores but we have also shopped on Craig’s list and in used book stores. I still have a large balance on my cards that I have to pay back but I am on a plan.
My Citi card has been dropped down twice below the balance owed. This of course creates a snowball effect, lowing my credit score each time, adding higher interest rates and over limit fees.
Rick
Sears mastercard did the same to me about 6 months ago. reduced my limit from 4000$ to 3500$. I paid them off and don’t use the card anymore. Interest is too high anyways. I kept the account open though to keep utiliztion ratio good. I will never shop at a sears/kmart store again as my personal boycott until limit is restored back to 4000$. Same as you – credit score 700/no missed or late payments/loyal customer. Chase also did this to me last week. Paid off two cards with 5000$ limits. Limits were dropped on both to 900$. These I did close only because I hate Chase with a passion.
After being a customer for 32 years with no late payments ever to anyone, a credit score of 738 and a $160,000 family income, Sears Mastercard lowered my credit limit from $13,300 to $700.
I recently had my interest rate increased to 24.99% on my Visa after years of never getting near my credit limit and always paying more than the the required payment. All I have to say is thank you to all of these banks and the smug people who represent you on your customer service lines. While I realize fault does not lie with the customer service reps, I’m not sure they understand the direct result of the practices of these banks, i.e. no customers=no jobs!
I am now more determined than ever to pay off this card! Again, thank you!
As Deborah W noted, I am also trying NOT to use my debit card either, cash is the answer!
One more thing. I have a savings account tied to a Debit card with Chase which I am going to close and move to a local credit union. I read that Chase earns 70% of its profit from FEEs related to debit cards. If anyone wants to be further enlightened, log on to Frontline and watch their episode of Card Games! Also, I told my dentist that I will no longer be using credit cards to pay off my dental bills (13K in one year which is how I got here). After a few calls, he agreed and said that his business credit card limit was reduced and they raised his interest rates! When we all start leaving the big banks, maybe they will understand.
Well, I wrote recently about how my citicard credit limit was cut in half which was just a smidge above what I owe. After 3 days of phone calls and letters written to my senators and the senate banking committee, citi agreed to restore my credit limit. Then a week later I get a letter saying congratulations, your credit limit has been restored. I get another letter on the same day saying that my Citi interest rate has been raised from 8% to 33%!!!! I get a letter from Chase saying that my interest rate is being increased from 10% to 29%. My balance is 2700.00. I have never been late, I always pay way over the minimum. So I surrendered! I am done! I have lived without credit for over a year and I don’t need them anymore. My credit score, once high is probably in the toilet and I don’t care! I opt’d out of all cards and I am so relieved! I will borrow from family if I need to. Of course, I get a followup letter from Chase saying that they could find me new terms but the hell with them and the horse they rode in on.
I’ve always paid well over the minimum and always on time. My credit score was 750 (i’m 23) but today I received a letter from chase stating they were reducing my credit limit from 7500 to 3500. I just look forward to the day i have my debt paid off and I can kiss my cards goodbye
Citibank lowered my credit limit to 2580.00 and my balance was 2522.00. I always pay on time and I always pay over the minimum. The interest rate is pretty good but since this will lower my FICO score, I expect that they will soon send me a notice about raising my interest rates. I am definately going to file complaints.
Credit card bankers have reduced my limit on several of my cards and in some cases closed my account because
the credit bureaus says i have too many revolving accounts and the banks considered me a bad risk even though i paid on time and some extra money to boot.
Bank of America is one of them and this same bank got a huge stimulus bale out from the government yet it is cutting or stopping my credit card agreement whic is totally unfair.I just purchased a $31,000 car and am playing my part to help this deficit package yet i am being punished by these same bankers who’s CEO’S and corporate workers gave themselves huge bonusus. IS THIS FAIR to the CONSUMER,my answer is NO and people like myself are being ripped of and denied credit for helping support the ECONOMY.Totally Disgusted.
Charles Mc Caig.Hope someone from GM reads this letter as they were another company that was baled out.Shame on all of you Corporate Head Bangers.
@ mike
“They have taken my payment from a min. 2% to the 5% the LAW has allowed them to take payments to. This 5% was put in place by the corporate run government.
Chase gave me the option to continue with the $250.00 a mo. if I would except 7.99 % intrest rate. I agreed under duress. What could I do except to just stop paying????”
You may have figured out by now, but it seems to me that actually Chase offered you two options of their design but didn’t mention your existing legal right to outright reject the whole thing. You still had the opportunity to reject their two offers, reject their terms, close the account, and pay by the original terms including the 2% minimum payment.
If it makes you feel better, I fell for the same thing: believing that what chase was calling my option to not accept the new regime exhausted all the legal options in place for me to reject those terms.
One lesson learned by me: It pays to move a little slowly when responding to a complex thing that is presented by a “shark”.
My Bloomingdales Visa was lowered by $1800 three months ago even though I have never defaulted. They said it was because I made 3 consecutive minimum payments. I found out today, when a charge was declined, that it has now been furthered lowered by $300. When I telephoned I was greeted with the statement that I am a very valuable customer (how cynical and hypocritical can Bloomingdale be!), then I was told the reason was due to internal and external reasons; whatever that means (twice as cynical and hypocritical on Bloomingdale’s part). I cannot wait until 2010 when the second part of the Credit Card Act will make them stop these practices.
Even if you don’t use your cards, make sure you use them twice a year so they won’t get canceled for inactivity and hurt your credit score.
Well, it’s not just Amex – Sears/Citi got me. Cardholder since 1974 (college), didn’t use it enough, I guess, so they totally cancelled it on me. When I called, they said “reapply”. I asked if my ‘member since xxxx” would be back dated. Nope.
Since this was my benchmark card, this is going to kill the part of my credit score that speaks to length of credit history (sigh). Good thing I really don’t need credit much.
I agree with every one who has posted on this site. I have been a loyal card member since 1979, 30 years of never missing a payment, never being late, having balances over 100K and paying them off, paying outrageous membership fees for my gold card and membership rewards program but still standing tall with Amex. I have had all my accounts with available balances reduced that directly and negatively impacted my credit scores and other opportunities to do business. I had my interest rates modified from fixed to variable with increases on the Gold, Optima and Blue Cash card. Interest rate increases alone will add over 340 dollars to my monthly payments. My wife and I had a balance on our rewards account over 600,000 points – today it is zero and I have spent them for fear they will come after that also. I am so ready to default on all the cards but I know that will send my credit scores to the bottom and impact the remaining good credit I have. I worked at this company for 10 years during the late 80’s and early 90’s and was brainwashed about how important the member and customer service is. These are different times and Amex has fallen into the crapper and they now care less about the card members that kept them going over the years. They are dirty players in the credit world; they have become a bank, used my tax dollars for a bailout and manipulated the legislation to their advantage. Just wait, prime is about to jump and Amex will ride a few more interest points out of us all.
I will stay tuned to this web site awaiting that one post that gets us all over the line and hits Amex where it hurts. Until then I will write to Kenny C, my corporate office and encourage them to drop the Amex corporate card program. Let a few news stations, and the Fed about Amex dishonesty especially in the testimony they gave before congress, hoping to get the answer, class action, intervention from some one some place.
I have not used my cards in three months, I have cut them up, and I will pay minimums until such time this matter is resolved. In the meantime American Express has lost a card member forever.
Ugghhhhhh …….
If all this crap from AMEX and B of A makes you angry, here is another site that all of you might want to visit
review: http://www.creditaddict.com/archives/american-express-amex-change-in-cardmember-terms-apr-rate-increases/
There are a lot of disgruntled customers in this country who need to be heard.
FOLKS, DO NOT TAKE THESE ABUSES AND DO NOTHING!
THIS IS STILL AMERICA FOR GOD’S SAKE!
As you read these sites, take advantage of the links and contact addresses and let your voices be heard!!
When I first contributed to this post several months ago (regarding my personal experience with my Costco AMEX card), I was hoping to see these credit card companies succumb to justice, perhaps in the form of class action, pressure from retailers to extend credit (not reduce it), boycotts, etc. But as I have continued to follow this thread in the context of of our economic situation, I believe this problem will actually resolve itself. The credit card companies, by their actions, are actually doing us a favor by forcing us to reduce our debt and to live within our means. But what they are also doing (to their own demise) is reducing our dependence on creidt and, therefore, dependence on them as financial partners! I, like many of you, am in the process of radically reducing my consumer debt (as painful as that is) and consolidating debt where it makes sense, meaning that a good number of these debt-intolerant companies will no longer be business associates. And I don’t intend to resume business with any of them despite a (hopeful) turnaround in the economy and an almost-certain turnaround in my own financial picture. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not “later†to AMEX, B of A, and some of the other companies cited here, but an emphatic “good-bye!†Associates that are not willing to stand by me in the hard times are not welcome in the good times. So, again, “Good-bye!â€
I just got a letter from Chase saying;
“In a recent review of your account, we noticed that you have used only a limited amount of your credit line with us. We believe this may indicate that your current credit line is higher than required to meet your usage and/or spending needs. To better align your account with these needs, we have adjusted your credit line to $3,800.”
Until now, if I had needed the card it would have been for about $30,000.
Are they protecting themselves from real or imagined dangers?
I have had an account for over 15 years and had a large available balance. I hadn’t used the card in about 6 months and when I tried to write a balance transfer check that was sent to me ( to consolidate) my check was denied and my balance available was immediately reduced to $500! I have a credit score over 725 and perfect payment history! I’m baffled!
When does it stop??? I can not believe there are no attorneys to help with a class action.
today I got a letter from Best Buy( HSBC BANK NEVADA)
One of my favorite cards as you get so much time interest free to pay off your purchase and then they start adding interest if you do not pay it off by the date of the plan.
Well happy days, they join the rest of the banks. I had $81.65 out of 1100 owed . Now my limit is a big $105!!!!
Down goes my credit score again. Its dropped 100 points since all this began last year and Fair Issac could not care less about re-evaluating how they determine the score.
This is one of my oldest cards as well.
I had one purchase I believe where I had any interest at all over the past 9 yrs.
Its really a point of no return except if your a national bank. Go Local people, cut your cards up and become independent of the system. That is the great divide that is occurring.
Fair Credit Act?????? I do not think so. Arbitration is the law and so what is fair credit???
How to start a class action? is there a class action for dummies book? lol lol we need to get together on this .
maybe we can do a link to this blog I would try to go to the law library and check the Nolos site.
anyone else up for trying to figure this out?
I hate that there are recent reports of the companies reducing limits. Very scary to me…
Until June 08, I had no CC debt; graduated b-school without a job, so I took advantage of a couple 0% interest cash advance offers from Citibank (~$20k) so I would have cash in the bank (5% APR at that time) in case it took a while to find a job. To conserve cash (for rent), I started using my CCs for most things.
In October, I had AmEx drop my limit from $7100 to $3400 (about $100 over the balance at the time). Annoying, but not devestating.
Started a GREAT job (thank goodness) in January and,
In February, I paid off my Discover card (had ~$4600 balance on a $5k card). They reduced my limit to $500. At the same time, I paid off significant chunks on my two CitiCards (limits were $25k and $20k). A short time later, Citi lowered both limits to just above the balances (so, now they’re $19k and $11k, respectively).
At the same time they did this, they also raised my interest rates and minimum payments. Why? Because they were concerned that I wasn’t able to handle my current debt payments, so they were ‘helping me’ by making me pay off more principle each month. (B-b-but… I thought you didn’t think I could handle the lower paymens? Why do you think I could handle higher ones?!)
I cut those cards up the next day, not wanting to be beholden to a company that acts so irrationally. And I increased my payments to both cards significantly. I can’t wait to pay off the Dividends card and start using it again – paying it off every month – and costing them the 1% – 5% cashback again.
BofA, when I called to report a lost DEBIT card, told me they felt I had enough credit already, and closed my $2500 account with them.
All these, even though I have paid every credit card bill on time for the past 12 years – even while unemployed. Apparently, that is high risk behavior these days.
Chase has been the ‘winner’ in all of this, leaving my limit alone and, as a result, earning all of my business. Of course, I pay this balance off each month and earn 2% – 5% cash back, so they’re not making any money off of me, but I do say nice things about them.
So…. now I want to buy my first home. I have $35k in the bank. $15k of that is down payment/closing costs… I want to use the other $20k to pay off CCs to reduce my utilization and increase my credit score.
And I’m scared to do it because I’m terrified that, as soon as I throw a significant chunk of money at the cards (the Citi ones), they will just lower my limits again… which will probably lower my credit score more. I wish I had time to dole this money out in small extra payments, but closing is in November, so I have to have the balances down by the time the cards cycle in October. Time, I guess, to call my mortgage lender and see how to play the timing game, I suppose…
What an idiotic situation. Sorry for the loooooong note. Had to vent.
Discover card just reduced my credit limit from $11,000 to $500. I’ve never missed a payment, always paid on time, and except for two times, have always paid the balance in full. I’m not going to check my credit score. I already know it’s taken a really big hit.
My credit has never been great. ASPIRE shut my credit card down, so I’m just paying them off. They deal with a lot of high risk loans. My $500.00 Capital One cards have not changed (I have MC and Visa). My $300.00 Orchard Bank and $2000.00 card have increased their rates to over 25%, and Juniper has increased rates to 29%. My Old Navy card lowered my limit from $500 to $200.
Well, shut my mouth! With regards to my previous post stating that Pay Pall had lowered my account line of credit to $124.00. I actually got an apology an a reinstatement of my line of credit. Go figure. Doesn’t help, but I can use the card as a beater card.
The problem here is the general reduction in availability of credit. Without the ability to make purchases over time and at fair interest rates, individuals simply don’t make the purchase. I still make purchases with credit cards but would negotiate like a grizzly bear over the price of a big-ticket item.
The credit card companies are not on your side. Be careful, read the fine print.
As I am writing this I just received a letter reducing my pay pall account to a $124.00 limit. I will make the obligatory call and report later.
Without the ability that credit allows consumers to consume there is no growth in the economy. The economy and for the most part the recovery will be consumer driven.
I use my credit quite wisely and don’t particularly need these huge lines of credit. But the banks have made a huge mistake here and have over-estimated the risk involved with the grating of revolving lines of credit. The credit card has become an American institution without which the consumer driven economy will grind to a halt
Same thing happened to us last December! BofA closed five accounts plus one thru our credit union just because we called in for a $200 increase on one account! NO LATE PAYMENTS OR OVER THE LIMIT FEES!
AMEX is on the same crusade against customers also!
Just got a notice that they intend to raise rates on outstanding balances starting in October! AGAIN, NO LATE PAYMENTS OR OVER THE LIMIT FEES! They made no mention of an “opt out” provision, but I think that if you notify them and reject the new terms, they have to leave your term as they are now unless you pay late or go over the limits. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF BY NOTIFYING THEM THAT YOU CAN AVOID THESE INCREASES! WILL APPRECIATE ANY HELP ANYONE CAN GIVE!!
Wait till you hear this one! I applied for a Charles Schwab credit card (we have over $200K on deposit with them) and ended up having three of our BANK OF AMERICA credit cards reduced/cancelled instead! That’s because the company who makes the credit decisions for Schwab also handles BofA accounts (FIA Card Services, 1100 N. King St., Wilmington, DE 19884). The woman who evaluated our Schwab credit card request had no access to see our Schwab balances and said that not only are they declining our credit card request, but since they also handle Bank of America’s cards, they decided to reduce our credit limits on two BofA cards to the current balances and close an unused card that had a $39K credit limit. That is sure to make our credit score plummet! We have never had a late payment, ever. The moral is (besides a big ditto to all of the above comments about BofA), is watch out who you apply with as they may be able to close your other credit cards!
Bank of America lowered my $42,000.00 credit limit on my WorldPoints card to $500.00, stating the reason being my “recent payment history with Bank of America Visa Signature.”
I have never missed a payment, and always pay the entire balance. They further stated that my yearly salary was not enough to warrant the total revolving credit granted; household income is in excess of 250K. Admittedly over the years I have developed a stellar credit history with some very high limits on my cards. What fools! I immediately went down and canceled all BofA checking, Money Markets, and Savings. Just a statement. Glad I did — better deals elsewhere.
By all means boycott the institution — and tell them exactly why. Sorry, you’re so fired.
I have been totally abused by Bank of America and Chase this year. They have slashed my credit limits, increased my minimum payments, raised my interest rates, and doing this all while saying they “value my relationship” with me! I was no where near my credit limits with any of these companies, but they have now cut my limits to just about the balance owed, it is crazy. I have very good (not excellent) credit, about 750.
I agree with people like Andrew who say the only way to fight back is by boycotting these institutions. The problem is many people keep dealing with these banks. I’ve already closed my checking, saving, and IRA I had with Bank of America and moved them all to a non-national bank. I’m paying off my credit cards with both and not charging anything more on them. I will do my part to end my relationship with these oversized institutions and hope you do the same. The only way we can impact them is if thousands of customers tell them “no thanks”.
I went to credit karma and checked my credit score. It has gone down from 760 to 698 in one day. I too have decided to open a new credit card account from some other company other than B of A. I will still keep it open, since it’s my oldest card (7 years) but will not use it at all (maybe once a year so that it doesn’t automatically close.) I prefer to use cash or debit cards anyway; I only use credit cards to obtain points and keep a good credit history but its not really working in my favor.
I am standing and applauding you Andrew. Right On! People we, do have the power! I am not a business owner but I live near Fair Issac and may just figure out some way to get a protest going or get help by calling the local newpaper to do an article.
PRO- ACTIVE is the way to get this done. I can not believe there is not a lawyer reading our posts.
This is class action if ever there was a good case.
Also its interesting as our scores go down people who have had bad credit before the past year are now going up. Especially the 20 something’s who have tried to make it on their own but had no idea how too.
I have been watching this as my son is 26 yrs old. Credit score is 764 and he has been trying to help his friends learn how to handle just their paychecks and over drafts. He too has had limits reduced w/o reason and some maxed out. I have one of the kids staying with me who has made mistakes and did not want to see her score. I told her to go to http://www.CreditKarma.com and it is free. She was blown away. Her score has been going up steady for the past 6 months w/o any bank account or credit cards,(no loans either)
Fair Issac is just as much a part of all this.
Keep the spirit up Andrew!
Hi folks,
Same here. Good credit, years of history, no lates. Over 60k of available credit slashed by BofA, Citi, and Chase. I did as least get an apology for the way it was handled from BofA. I own the premier auto repair shop in a college town. I told the local branch that since BofA didn’t want to do business with me, I would reciprocate. I would stop accepting any credit cards, checks, or debit cards from them. I had a phone call from a VP in Charlotte making nice the next day. Still, I will starve before ever doing any more business with them.
Perhaps all us business owners really should boycott their products and partner with local banks for touting their products. It appeals to this old hippie! Credit score went from 780 to 700. Glad I don’t need to borrow any. sheese
Taz,
I called back and spoke with a manager who didn’t increase my line back to what it was but at least decreased my APR which is why I had called originally. Meanwhile I did apply quickly to Discover and was able to transfer over $6,000 at 0%APR for 9 months. Will that change in 9 months to a regular APR? Yes. But it sure beats the 27%+ APR I had with BOA. Will my (and your) credit scored get damaged due to BOA decreasing the limit? Yes, not sure by how much but it does.
BTW I don’t have perfect credit but do have a 720, don’t have any type of late payment for the last 5 years (pay mortgage, cars, etc on time always). Also 3 months ago I payed off a third BOA card I had with about $4,000 and at same time I payed down my balance of yet another BOA card by $4,000… You’d think I’d be their ideal client but no…they don’t really care.
Also I used to have a credit limit of $58K with AMEX and a few months ago it got lowered to $13K. I’ve had AMEX for 10+ years and would spend about $150,000 per year on it (mostly because of work), and always paid it even way before it was due…yet another bank who is on my sh*t list.
I cancelled all my BOA checking, savings accounts and now just bank at a local credit union and now all I use is a debit card. I am not charging anything anymore using my BOA or AMEX.
It seems that these companies know that they have us grabbed by the b. and what other option do we have but to pay, even if just our minimums? Hopefully government will come in at some point and do something like they did with sub-prime loans where people’s finances were getting terrorized by lenders.
Mike, the exact same thing happened to me. I called B of A for some other reason, regarding reversal of finance charges. (I usually pay off my balance in full every month and got behind the past two months but for the past 6 years my account has always been paid off.)
The “credit analyst” on the phone started asking me a stream of questions, then in the end reduced my credit to $2500 from $12000! I never go over $500 anyway but I think my credit score will get damaged with the reduction. Is this true?
Hi everyone. We really need to include Fair Issac in all this as they set the program that determines our credit scores.
WE are not maxing out but they are still calculating as if we are.
Ideas?
Petition on line? ( I have been told they do not mean much since there is no signature and people can have several diff. email addresses.)
I called Chase/ Wamu and they told me they had no plan available to help me at all.
never missed a payment but will in Aug. they are not being flexible one bit.
credit score really is not anything but a scare tactic now as I see it. seems to mean nothing as far as interest rates, loans etc.
I recently called BOA as I carry two cards with them and one of them had a much lower interest rate as I wanted to see if they could match it. They told me to call back on a specific date as that is when the interest would go from fixed to variable and that there shouldn’t be any problem in reducing the high rate to match the other card. Finally I called today and told them the situation. The guy gets back on the phone and tells me that they cannot help me at all, not only that but that they were going to reduce my credit limit on BOTH cards by about 40%, which put the new balance a few hundred dollars shy from the limit. I told him I couldn’t believe I called for help as I am trying to lower my payments and improve my finances and instead he is damaging my credit score by lowering my credit limit…of course he didn’t care.
Just FYI, you may want to think twice before calling your credit card for anything (such as an interest rate decrease) because apparently someone may “reassess” your account and damage your credit. I have had one card for over 12 years and the other for 8, no late payments ever, and even recently paid them down considerably, and have not made any purchases on either of them in about 18 months. I guess I should have kept my mouth shut and taken their 27%+ interest rate with a smile? Now I wish I would have.
Hey please excuse the spelling / grammar errors I think you can still understand what I am saying.
PS
Fair Issac has not to date changed its method of calulating even though the companys are maxing us out.
There is a place we need to protest as well They are the ones with credit score program.
suggestions on how to boycott/ protest them?
I suggest all of you think of going to a local bank
Here is a link on how and why
http://solari.com/archive/banks/
you may want to check out the rest of the site as well. it is an amazing vault of info.
Circle Bank is my local bank. I was surprised to find an new water cooler that gets the water out of the air and filters and uv lights the water and out it comes. Its nice to see that in a bank. They people by name and my local credit union which was open to me only because there is a branch in my town wrote letters to my creditors and got a problem solved for me. When I brought Jann a small plant to say thanks she was so surprised. They are helpful and if they do not have what you need they refer you. ie rental insurance they also give me free financial advice with a certified advisor.
so go local the bank that benefits your community.
still waiting for the class action lawyer to come on line and help us. maybe we should pick a day to meditate on it all of us at the same time.
Feel the same way. Have dealt with a very small credit union where I work for the past 9 years. Unfortunately my credit union has no credit card, mortgage, etc programs so I deal with BofA as little as possible for my mortgage for example. My credit union is not going to ‘rip me off,’ BofA would if I gave them the chance.
Follow up to my previous post on 7/15/2009.
So after verifying there is nothing abnormal on all 3 credit reports I find nothing amiss I called and complained about the 90% limit reduction on my card from US Bank. All the official letter said was “after reviewing you account we have decided not to close your account, but have reduced your limit to $3000.”
We are done, have had it with regular banks. Called Navvy Federal Credit Union, who was happy to immediately give us a nice fixed rate and adequate line of credit.
US Bank wants to play these games. Fine. We have just mailed in a check to pay off their card and closed our CC, Checking and Savings with them (had accounts since ’87).
Will deal exclusively with member owned Credit Unions from now on.
Mary and Annie
Our government has been over thrown by the corporations. Our government has allowed, and encourage, corporations to move jobs overseas to China. At the same time allowed 50 million plus, illegals to invaded our country driving up costs, ie. hospital/medical, schools, police, prisons. gasoline, utilities…. And now the government and corporations have given homes loans and credit to the illegals as well as all other subprimers. These are the reasons for the collapse in our economy. The damage that has occurred warrants mass march’s by citizens, and more, for the damage they have caused. T. Roosevelt confronted business head on for the dirty deeds the “Robber Barons” were pulling, and he did so be cause he was concerned there would be a revolution in America. In the 1930’s FDR attacked the problems of the 1930’s because he too was concerned about a revolution. Like Thomas Jefferson said,”It’s good to have a revolution every once and a while.” We need a new Roosevelt or something.
Hi Mary, Exactly what I have been saying and I even called Fair Issac and asked it they were going to change the way they calculate as we were not maxing out the company was doing it to us. They said no they had no info this was several months ago I would have to go back and check the posts here I am on my way to work
So WE NEED TO DO A CLASS ACTION
HOW DO WE START ONE??? THERE must be someone who knows an attorney who is part of this blog.
IT’s insane and the gov knows but does not care how can they not.
I moved my money to a local bank and am out of the big ones. People should do the same
will post some links in a day or so on why.
82.CHECK THIS OUT EVERYONE! I have FICO Score Watch thru Equifax. Under the section, “Understanding Your Scoreâ€, it shows you what is helping and hurting your credit score. “YOU’VE MADE HEAVY USE OF YOUR AVAILABLE REVOLVING CREDIT. Your FICO score evaluates your total revolving credit [?] balances in relation to your total credit limits on those accounts. In your case, this ratio of balances to credit limits is too high.
Keep this in mind: This credit usage ratio is one of the most important factors to your FICO score, so you should work on paying down your balances. Your FICO score looks at the ratio of revolving debt, but not in which accounts the debt resides. Therefore, consolidating or moving your debt from one account to another will usually not help your FICO score since the same total amount is owed.â€â€¦
So, this IS FOR SURE killing everyone’s credit score!!!!
I have (3) credit cards with a total balance of $19k and HAD an available credit limit of $60k! (I have never had my total balance on my credit cards over $24k, ever, so this always reflected good) So, it all looks great right? Looking at this scenario, I’m using only 32% of my available credit.
WELL, Bank of America goes and cuts my credit card from $20,500 to $7,500 with NO warning. I have a $7,300 balance on that card, so this now gives that particular card a 97% debt to available credit ratio..NOT GOOD NOW!!
I just got an email yesterday that HSBC-The GM Card, reduced my credit limit from $13k to $9,750!! This just reduced my overall available credit ONCE AGAIN!!
** WHEN IS ALL THIS MADNESS GOING TO END?!!! WE NEED SOME1 TO STEP IN AND STOP THIS! WHERE ARE THE REGULATIONS AND LAW??? WHO IS REALLY HERE TO HELP THE AMERICAN PUBLIC? We have no freedom of speech and defense to protect our own credit scores, or our credit cards. Our rates are being jacked high, limits being cut with no notices and their own made-up reasonings, such as “due to lack of usage”.
I say we ALL get involved in a home based business, (I already am in one), to make the extra $$ and save it. Then tell these credit card companies to take their credit cards back, all file bankruptcy and they get nothing!!! They have really done it now. We all need to stick together and fight back!
I just received a letter from Chase stating they were decreasing my limit from $2000.00 to $1300.00, reasons given when I called were that credit limit to amount owed ($300) showed I was not spending as much as before. So because I quit using the card and paid down my balance they cut my limit! This is CRAZY!! I even argued that I have never been late and ALWAYS pay more than min due. They agreed that I am a loyal card holder but that there was nothing they could do.
Just a follow up. I got a reply from Chase regarding my sudden credit limit decrease. They stated that since I only use a small portion of my credit line, they saw fit to reduce my limit to suit my spending habits. In bank talk, that means that since you don’t max out your cards and pay only the minimum, we can’t make any money off of you. So because you won’t contribute to the CEO’s “golden parachute”, we’ll punish you by decreasing your limit. Since when was financial responsibility a bad thing?
To MK – It sounds like you have done all the prudent stuff…doesn’t seem to matter any more. My husband and I have been tossing around the idea of starting a Class Action since everyone is talking about it but no one is doing it. I think a jury of our peers would find that the companies have broken faith with their customers in a way no “reasonable” person could expect.
Just went to make a payment on my US Bank credit card (we only have two CCs). Noticed my revolving credit was $3000. Thought it had to be a mistake, looked at last months statement and the revolving credit was $30,000.
Never been late on ANY payments for anything over the last 15 years. No HELOCs, are 5 years into a 15 yrs locked rate mortgage. Only have two credit cards, one with about $7K on it and this US Bank card with $2900 on it (both $30K limits). Immediately pulled all three of my credit scores: average score was 871.
So US Bank just lopped off 90% of my credit on their card. For no reason I can possibly see.
Nancy,
I have a Chase account as well, and the same thing happened to me. My credit limit was slashed 40% without any warning. My FICO is 702. I pay my balances in full each month, and I only use about 15% of my combined credit limits(I have 3 other credit cards.) I sent Chase an e-mail asking for an explanation. If or when I get a reply, I’ll share it.
Chase just cut my credit limit in half with no warning. I have no credit card debt. My credit score is near 800 (has been rising every month for about two years since I established and got rid of all previous debt). I only have three credit cards and I charge and pay the whole amount the next month whenever I use them. I purchased a new vehicle 3 months ago and got an auto loan through Toyota directly which I am paying off pretty quickly (the minimum is 200 a month and I pay 400 instead). I woke up this morning to my chase card limit slashed and I called up and they deemed me a “high risk”. It was the only explanation I received. I never got a prior warning at all. I’d like to do something about this but I don’t know what.
Same thing here!! I heard a story fr two business partners of mine, that AMEX closed their accounts that had $0 balance on them. I was thinking they maybe missed a payment or 2 or had other bad credit.
I was at the veterinarian office to have xrays on my dog, I have a $7,200 balance with a $20,500 credit limit. I went to use my Wachovia Credit Card (Which is now Bank of America…go figure) and the lady said “It was Declined”! I was so shocked and knew there had to have been a mistake with her credit card terminal, so I had her run it again.
I have NEVER missed 1 payment, or made a late payment in my 15 year payment history, EVER!!! I never maxed out my cards EVER!! I had a FICO score of close to 800!
I called the 800 number on the back of my card to see what the issue was. I was transferred (3) times after verifying my security info with them. Once I got to the last rep, she started asking me questions about my job, what type of job, how long I’ve been there, how much I make annually. When she got to the 2nd question, I realized I TOO BECAME another victim of what the banks are doing to people!!
Not only that, I have Equifax “Score Watch/Monitoring”. My credit took a HUGE ding cuz one of the major factors that impacts your fico score is your “Debt to Credit Ratio”. I had over $62,500 avail credit limit on various cards, now it shows I have TOO MUCH OF A BALANCE with little available. That’s because those banks are now penalizing the good credit people to protect themselves!!
YES, there should be a class action lawsuit filed and a law put into place RIGHT NOW, that the FICO score and credit bureaus cannot use this to their benefit and hurt our scores!!!!
This is beyond our control and just happened without our knowing. Unreal!!
To those who have questioned mine and other’s credit worthiness with these drops in limit; I will tell you that I have never had a late payment on anything or maxed out a card. I’ve come close the last few months to pay for my wedding but other than that I’ve been a reasonable credit consumer. I had commented on this blog earlier about the closure of my LOC. I still haven’t had any limits lowered on my revolving debt but Chase just upped my minimum payment on my lowest interest rate card (locked rate promo of 3.99%) to 5% of the balance. This happened right after I made a larger than usual payment on that card. Now, I had planned to have that card payed off in about 3 years and now I have to pay it off in less that 2. I was confident in my banks and the lending rules at the time the debt was accrued but now the noose is drawing tighter and tighter.
One thing that is so frustrating with American Express business is that I spend something like 2 hours on the phone with them to find out WHY they lowered my limit. I still am not sure why. I never even bothered calling the other ones. AmEx was my main business card. It has been taken out of my wallet forever.
michael i’ve found that the cards that are straight up with me, for example dropping the limit because i don’t use the card and do not blame me is borderline reasonable. They have to keep these limit liabilities on the books (person could run up the full limit tomorrow). Any card that lowers the limit below the amount still owed is unforgivable. Again because sears blamed me for the drop in my limit, i will boycott them forever along with all my family. It doesn’t hurt me at all. I have other credit cards that continue to be reasonable and also keep the interest around 12%. Do you remember providian bank about 8 years ago. It wanted to sell it’s credit card business to another company so it cancelled cards blaming the holders. I believe (or hope) it’s bankrupt. You can only kick people so long before they bite back. Boycott is the way to bite back.
Howard,
I agree. However, I will not deal with any of these banks that have reduced my credit limit again. I have never paid late and should be considered a valued customer, but, apparently, I’m not. So, I won’t be for them. I’ll take my business elsewhere.
It’s really getting nasty out there with the current economy. In the short term by cutting down our credit lines, they are increasing the utilization ratio used to give us our fico scores thereby bringing those scores down. I’ve had to use savings to pay down cards by the amount cut on my credit lines. I have 53,000$ in credit card debt but it never bothered me becauce i always paid them on time. Before the economic crisis, i just got another card with a 10,000$ limit to keep the utilization ratio down. Not any more. My plan is to keep paying the cards off completely as fast as possible and let them cut the credit lines. When the economy gets stronger, they’ll be throwing these big lines of credit back at us. Greed will win and the credit card companies will want us back again bigtime.
I have a small business. My personal credit cards are paid every month. Most of my business credit cards (with one exception) are paid every month.
AmEx Business cut my small business limit from $15,000 to $10,000 in November 2008. At that point, I owned $9,980.00 on that card. I paid it down to a about $6,450.00 over the next 3-months and they cut my limit again to $6,500.00 in April 2009.
AmEx cut my personal credit card limit from $6,000.00 to $1,000.00 on a card I never use in November 2008.
Wells Fargo cut my $6,000 personal credit card limit that I never use to $1,000.00 in about February 2009.
In the last couple of days, Capital One cut my small business credit card limit that I never use from $10,000.00 to $2,000.00
And Advanta canceled all their credit cards, one of which I had which a $25,000.00 limit.
Chase dropped my credit limit from 14,000 to 5000. I had never used the card. At least the letter informing me stated the reasons were the economy and not me. Sears however stated that it was my credit history that caused it to lower my balance from 4,000 to 3,500. There is nothing wrong with my credit history. I will never shop at a sears store again and i will never use the card. I keep the account open only to keep it on my credit history. Cancelling the card would only hurt my credit history. The credit card companies will get greedy again and bring up the limits. Remember who did you wrong and never use them again. Give your credit business to the companies that stayed by you.
I hate cibc bank they decreaes my credit limit from 16000 to 8000, I’m very upset it took me many years to build to this credit
I have seen my business cards dropped starting with AMEX last fall and ending with BofA and Citi this month. Chase also increased the interested rate to 31% because of what they tell me is a 1 day late payment (first time in 9 years). Banks don’t want small business customers any more.
I have news for these guys. My kids hear my wife and I talking about this stuff and will remember how these big banks were trying to screw over the family.
Much Like I remember the crap that GM and Ford put out leaving me and my mother broken down on the side of the road many times. To me their cars are still crap and I will never buy one.
My dad on the other hand still buys his chevy because he remembers the cars of the 50’s and early 60’s when he was a kid.
I am not in all that bad of shape, however if things get worse I would not think twice about defaulting on my credit cards and running them up to the limit before I did so.
The banks are greedy crooks and will get what they deserve in the end.
I had a few credit increases over the last year and thought I was pretty safe; even with my Chase cards all changing to variable rates. However two weeks before the last few grand was due for my wedding I get a notice from Chase that they are closing my line of credit and valuing my home about 100,000 less than two years ago. That sucked. I have all my investment and debt with Chase and I will be running fast from them as soon as my husband and I get a few months recovered from the wedding expenses.
I just discovered Bank of America reduced my credit limit. Thank god I pay my bills online before they even come to me. My bill came today and the amount I owed showed $902.00 and they reduced my line to $900. I had paid the bill prior so by bill was down to $852.00. The bottom line if I didn’t pay my bills promptly I would have overcharge fees. Not only that the bill I received in the mail showed my higher credit limit line. I went on line to check and sure enough it showed a credit limit of $900. This is really making it harder on everyone. Now I am terrified this will happen on all my cards. No warning. Nothing!! The banks received all this free money and now they want more and more causing us into worse financial problems. This is very frightening. What happens if you have an emergency and try to use your card and then no money. I was paying mine down in case I had a major emergency. Bank of America is the worse.
My Sears Gold MasterCard Credit line was reduced today from 4,500$ to 3,500$ just above what my balance is. Never missed a payment. Interest is very high though. I will pay off the balance and never shop at another Sears store again. I do not forget an injustice and I hope others will also boycott stores that do this. I will drink champagne if or when Sears goes bankrupt.
WAKE UP AMERICA. Don’t you see what has happened? The banks got a bail out. They saw all this money coming in and they really REALLY liked it. They liked it so much that they wanted more and more. It’s called GREED. BUT they knew some day they would have to pay it back, so, those no name, blood suckers in empty suits got an idea – Make our customers pay for it. They lower the credit limits thus lowering the credit scores on ALL customers. Now the pay-off; With lower credit scores they can charge higher interest and that gold up front money called POINTS for all refinance and new home loans. So, looking for a solution to this? Try mine.
I have unsecured credit card debt a first mortgage (variable rate) and second on the house the bank seems determined to force into foreclosure, they look good with these variable rate loans off the books. So, if you refinance only the first and second (if you have a second line of credit or whatever – but pay off ALL secured debt). After you close on the new fixed rate loan, IGNORE the credit card (unsecured) debt. In fact now is the time to top out those cards. STOP paying on them wait for them to go into collection and now you have options. ONE you can file bankruptcy, best solution. Or, TWO, find a legal firm that specializes in debt negotiation, the good ones can get the debt lowered to 10%. If you take the second choice and have enough equity, apply for a line of credit or second mtg. and pay off the 10% of the credit card debt. Of course realize that both options assume that you plan to stay in the house for a long long time because your credit rating will now be BAD. And oh yes, you will have to do without credit cards for a year or two (and is that so bad). Yet think of the pleasure you will have knowing that you stuck it to the banks just when they thought they were sticking it to you.
If every home owner did this before year end 2009, the banks would have to do an about face. They make a lot of money on credit cards and if they were to lose even 50% of this business I am sure they would be once again be offering those 0% rates to try to suck us all in again. But now we know better. Yes, my friend, this is a war. It is a war between us and the corporate greed that is out of control in this country and the FAT PIGS called bankers.
[email protected] – CEO American Express
Email the CEO personally and complain!! If enought of us do that maybe we will get somewhere.
Chase just lowered my credit limit with the same reasoning as for Brian, credit risk even though I’m in good standing. Well they lowered it to less than what my balance was! I’m on auto pmts and haven’t used the card in months. So I would have kept right on with my auto pmt amount and this month I would have been over the limit (40.00) and late (40:00) in which time my apr would have jumped to 30 %. Luckily I caught it and made an extra pmt to cover the amount that I would have been over limit. I still fully expect them to try and charge an overlimit fee which I will fight to the death about.
Found out yesterday, 18 May, that credit line was decreased by Sear/Citibank. Had a credit line of 10K; it was reduced to 3500 – $200 over balance currently on card. I called and they stated i was a credit risk because of high balances. I’ve had this card 6 yrs and have never been late. Same for all my other cards. I think this is totally wrong. They’ve just hurt my credit score.
i have a big problem sir?my card got into the limit but im not able to pay my monthly bills because of financial problem.recently an agent called me and said that if im not able to pay my due date on May 11,2009 my card will be cancelled so i will force to pay the whole amount.i bothered do i really got into jail sir?but im willing to pay my card but not this moment.
Sadly this is one of the most frustrating and ignored problems of the US economy. I find myself dealing with AMEX best new practices! How long the american consumer and customer should remain silent or passive and allow AMEX (and/or all other financial institutions who have a similar approach) to avoid responsibility and accountability! These practices, arbitrary decisions paired to increased lack of competence and manners of customer service is just an indication that the legislation regulating consumer credit protects primarily financial institutions and favors the percentage of people with large bank accounts with limited socio-economic conscience or interest in changing the status quo (unless directly affected). Note to AMEX management and HR – consider investing some money to teach your employees to speak with basic rules of english grammar(or at least screen your hires better) ” She Don’t” is not the correct use of English language! Seriously, it’s quite offensive and insulting to have to listen for more than 32 seconds to a dumb “Mr. or Miss who-who” with a 5th grade education telling you that you are considered a liability and a high risk without any evidence of a bad credit history, a credit score over 750 (likley higher than some of their management and employees), no deliquencies or negative records.
Amex management should really take the time to listen carefully to the recordings of the calls made “for training purposes”. Maybe this could help them to understand to care why an increased number of good customers are taking their business elsewhere. Myself included.
I don’t usually spend time engaging in confrontations or litigations (too much negative energy) but this really the time to do so. These idiots have first seduced customers with high credit limits, realized that in many cases they did not do themselves a favor and decided to play vigilantes. Wake up this is not high-school! They should not have the right to have a direct effect on people credit, without a justified reason; and the legislation should prevent this from happening with specific provisions. AKA in this cases (caused by a preventive punitive action), the increased percentage of used balance should not weigh and drive the review of your credit score. Maybe I am just on glue (to quote Elle Woods!); meanwhile some (bad) press and publicity could really help all of us. The potential of a “swine flu” pandemic is not the only topic we should forced to hear on every single broadcasting channel. Kathy Griffin please help!
P.S. A plea to Ellen, Byonce and Dianne Von Fustermberg – You can do so much better than AMEX; please partner to endorse a business or ad campaign truly worth of your time and talent
I’ll tell you how we got this way. Our gov. and corporations are in choots with one another. They have robbed us of our wealth our opportunity, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happens. They have done this by allowing millions of legal, and illegal aliens, to flood into our country dropping our wages, eliminating Americans from getting to good paying construction jobs, computer type jobs, etc, by replacing us with Mexican’s, Indians, Muslim’s. Since we don’t make as much money as we use to we have fewer and fewer kids, and get married less and less. Further more we are being replaced by 3rd world people.
We were given high FICA scores to lull us into a false sense of security. We also need it to make up for our dwindling incomes, and or higher costs.
Laws have been put in place to benefit the financial/banking industry. Yesterday a CA senator clearly stated that the banks have to much power in Washington, so little will get done, they have to many lobbyists he said.
The last time we experience crap like this was just before the American Revolutionary War. It’s time for a new revolution, everybody must talk about it every body must say it. We have talked about the Mexican invasion, Amnesty and other problems since Reagan, and nothing gets done it’s time to stop the talk.
I think the only resolution is the obvious one. Given the watering down of the last “credit card law” congress has shown their true colors, on both sides of the aisles. The Banking industry owns them lock stock and lobby money and there will be no relief save what we can do on our own. How did we get to this point? How did we become so afraid of 4 letters? FICO, is not all powerful.
We seem to forget that we are the customers here. These banks serve us. How long will companies like AMEX, CHase and BofA last if we don’t give them our business. If we don’t use them they will go the way of the dodo and the newspaper.
All of you that are “paying in full” every month, do you really NEED a credit card. More and more, as I am getting out of debt, I am finding that pulling out a debit card is just as easy as pulling out a credit card and much less agravation.
Today I was checking my online statement for my CC and my available credit was slashed more than 70% without warning. I have never been late. I always pay my statement balance in full and have a credit score in the 700’s. They slashed my credit on the same day as my statement was issued, which made my outstanding balance exceed 50%. No letter, no call, nothing. Luckily i have paid off my statement balance today.
Bottom line you cannot trust these services-it is not just AMEX or large CC companies-my bank is a small local bank-this card was thru my bank, which supposedly has a strong portfolio. Banks and CC companies are cutting their balance sheets and WE will all be screwed as a result.
citibank has reduced my credit limit from 12K to 500$ for a late payment of 60$ for a month. How ridiculous can they get. first they ruin my credit history and then use the reason to reduce the limit. The worst part is I never used for revolving credit and paid all bills on time for the last 5 years. Unfair practice. Is there any resolution?
Seems like this trend may be increasing. Like “K” and some others above, I have a high credit score, I have two cards (Amex & BofA) that I’ve used for a long time, I’ve always paid the balance, and my credit balance has always gone up…
That is until my last statement – BofA went down from $21K to $11K – I called and they raised it to $15K, but if it affects my credit score, then I’ll have to do something.
-CB
How is this in keeping with the government’s edict to free up credit to spur the economy on once again? Some of these companies have already received TARP money (i.e., American Express) and/or are in line to receive more. Isn’t the whole idea to spend, spend, spend so as to prevent economic collapse? Haven’t the banks been ordered to free up additional funds for mortgages and mortgage bailouts? Why do these financial institutions feel that they are immune to the “stimulus” edicts and are free to clamp down on credit and, thereby, hinder consumer purchases?
Personally, I believe the “stimulus package” proposed and implemented by the current administration to be a sham and merely the means to breed further reliance on a centralized government. The behavior of the financial institutions is further proof that there is little interest in reviving the economy UNLESS the government can somehow benefit. It is sad to see the increased intrusion into our lives under the guise of doing what is good for the economy and best for the citizens of the USA. And, unfortunately, what we are witnessing from these financial institutions is, I believe, just the beginning. From now on, we can’t depend on the private institutions that we have developed trusted relationships with (by paying on time, etc.), but will be turning to bloated government bureaucrats to bail us out in our time of need. What a shame. God save our country!
Michele, This doesn’t surprise me, but it is bizarre. The whole credit thing is a master fraud. It use to be if you closed accounts after paying it off you were considered a good credit risk. They make the rules to suit them as they go, just like the fraudulent stock market. You can’t trust any of them or our government who turns head for a “buck”. The whole country needs to be torn down in anger and in the name of hatred and we need to start all over. Remember the FRENCH REVOLUTION. The rich and government r out of control.
This is another weird one that just happened to me. I recently paid off the last of my Sallie Mae student loan. They closed the account, paid off, and my credit score dropped by 7 points. It just amazes me that doing the right thing, paying off loans, still dings you.
Story on CNN of a guy with 800+ score getting limit reduced.
http://moneyfeatures.blogs.money.cnn.com/2009/04/21/802-credit-score-still-not-good-enough-2/
Earlier this month I got a letter in the mail saying that BoA had reduced my Mastercard (which I’ve had since 2000) from 30k to 15k. Personally it’s not really a big deal for me since I just use credit cards as a firewall between my bank account and internet purchases or automated payments, always pay it off, and never get close to my max. It’s more of the principal of the thing and I am currently debating how to protest this the most without hurting myself too badly. This is still my largest account and my longest opened account (got it in college and started out with a $500 limit they have continually increased). My problem is it does affect my credit score. They also just bought out Country Wide, who has my mortgage. I’m thinking the best recourse is to let the card go inactive and refi with another bank who I can be fairly certain won’t sell my mortgage(which has never been late in the few months I’ve had it) off…
I also believe I’ll pester them as much as possible, mainly just to eat up their time without giving them business…it’s the small things that add up.
My credit limit on my fia mastercard was just reduced from 40,000 to 20,000 without a warning. When I called their customer service the rep. explained that the reason for the cut was that I had never approached the old credit limit.
All my AMX cards including platinum have spending limits. Never had a late payment on any AMX cards for the last 15 years. American Express is making bad decisions about how they treat their best customers.
Thanks for the info. With all the bad information we get online with crazy credit websites, it is good to read something from someone who knows what they are talking about.
My credit limit has been reduced twice since January with Care Credit (GE Money). I took they line of credit in order to have Lasik surgery and have been making timely payments ever since. Despite my timely payments, however, they reduced my credit limit back in January when the layoffs reached the all time high and the economy was going haywire. Shortly after that, my wife got laid off from her job. When I asked them why they did this to us, especially since we were being good debtors and making our payments on time, they told us they determined their decision based on a consumer report. I couldn’t believe that they were judging me based on past credit incidents AFTER they approved me for credit and I had already made a solid 2 years of good payment history with them. But they wouldn’t budge, so I gritted and beared it. Just recently (beginnning of April) I was checking my credit report, because we’re trying to get approved to buy the home we’re currently renting, and I saw that they did it again with no warning. They decreased my limit so much this time that I was $900 OVER the limit AND they reported me as deliquent to the credit angencies and slapped a major “ding” on any chances I had of getting qualified to buy my home. If I would had known about this ahead of time, I would have been able to prevent it by paying the acct off with what I had left in my savings, but now I owe an extra $900 to them, plus fees.
A stellar credit history with absolutely no late payments to any creditor and what does AMEX choose to do? Like the rest of you, they clamped our Costco AMEX credit line twice in as many months – now at ~$6k just following a $10k payment! To say I am angry about this would be an understatement. And then a supervisor at AMEX had the gall to lie to me and tell me that some of my accounts were delinquent was an outrage! I ended my conversation with then by canceling my account which, inevitably, will have consequences for Costco as well (as it already has). AMEX is going down and taking Costco with it!!! What is so ironic about this is that at least some of their customers, including myself, are now attending graduate school and, in 3 years, will have the 6-figure incomes they will be seeking to secure as customers. Not this kid. I do not intend to do ANY business with them in the future. There are obviously better credit companies out there to deal with.
Are there any legal actions that can or should be brought to bear against this paranoid, now-deplorable company? Might a class-action of some kind save this company from themselves, and maybe help put Costco back on some sure footing?
my own line of credit has been reduced and I survive. I will for everyone who’s not knowledgeable enough to respect those who are taking their time to explain what happens. trust me no one wants to sit down for 8hrs a day five days in a row listen to card members who want to vent about line of credit reduction. those of you who are kind enough to understand and respect the individual who’s providing that message to you God bless you all. remember you don’t know people’s heart amex is a big company with maximum protection but that individual have enough info to mess up so bcareful. it’s not an individual fault you’ve been reduced. we are human and we understand we’re simply there to deliver you a message. Just because of our race, religion, etc… or people like me with accent it does not give you a right to disrespect. there’s always a nice ways of going around some you don’t like or unconfortable with. I’m glad that Tamara Hogue the super american can make fun of people’s accent but hey we are all god’s creature. good for you you don’t have an accent. people like you dont affect me because you don’t me
You know what I have to say is haven’t yall realize that amex don’t give a shit about yall. Especially those who think it’s theirs to keep remember you are borrowed it’s not your money. all of you who pretends you don’t understand people with accent there are no tru americans living in america. Especially Tamara Hogue who was making fun of people’s acct you can kiss my ass to answer. you are very lucky I could not cussed your ass wanted to speak with manager who speaks english.
I SAY A CLASS ACTION AGAINST AMEX and SOON and a NATIONAL BOYCOTT as well
I will not leave this alone.
Amex got me today and embarassingly so , They reduced my credit limit from just $ 12, 000 to $ 3,700 yesterday , apparently they sent me a letter yesterday- so as usual this morning during my grocery shopping my card was rejected and I had to use my debit card—-there went my reward points. What sucks is that I had chat with a supervisor Karen after a rude discussion/exchange with a Mr Chang or Ching or Chung (I wonder why this guy is in customer service) and she could not help either, instead referring me to a credit bureau who sent in some information about me that I do not know about.- By the way the bureau is closed weekends so no help for me (Note : the customer rep had asked me if I had bought a house or car recently – which I affirmatively replied – NO – I could tell he was fishing). I have used amex for a number of years (both personal and corporate cards) and have stored away my other cards chosing not to activate or spend on them and now this slap on the face. Amex needs to get what’s coming to them and the communication needs to be stern and extremely public. If they are indeed discriminating then this needs to be visible and they can (politically correct ) carve out their “niche” market without making it illegal- My loyalty to these guys is totally eroded and I can’t wait to make sure that they focus their business elsewhere whether thru’ word of mouth or getting media audience…..It’s just not fair that they should go on with business as usual when they are just messing around with people’s finances (people who probably never settle minimum balances but total amounts)
I’m one pissed off customer.
Anyone out there who knows how we can take this to them and stick it there? I will explore some more avenues.
December 2008:
Juniper – card closed for no activity
February 2009:
First Equity – card closed for no activity (never notified and previously rate jacked on this card in 2008)
March 2009:
WaMu card 1 – I recently paid the balance down to $0; they closed this card
Chase card 1 – I recently paid the balance down to $0; they closed this card
WaMu card 2 – $3K CLD
Chase card 2 – $2.7K CLD
I called BoA to do a small direct deposit on a 0% card and the representative asked me why I wanted to do a direct deposit. Why do I need this money? The rep. made a soft pull on my report and then asked me why I was carrying some debt on my other cards. Then he denied me and dropped the credit limit on both of my BoA card’s; $2K on card 1 and $3K on card 2.
Merrill Lynch – $2K CLD
Citibank – $1K CLD (previously rate jacked on this card in 2008)
My utilization prior to the decreases and card closings was 25-33%. Now my utilization is 90% on these cards.
I went ahead and used the credit I do have available on another card, because I’m sure it’s likely on the way to the chopping block and given this economy, I think it’s better to reserve a little more cash. Use it before you lose it – sigh.
This has been so frustrating. Twice I went to use my credit cards and they were denied. I worked so hard to keep my utilization reasonable and now this. I paid down some of my debt to only have the cards closed and reduced.
Per this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123664459331878113.html
“Currently, there is roughly $5 trillion in credit-card lines outstanding in the U.S., and a little more than $800 billion is currently drawn upon. Over $2 trillion of credit-card lines will be cut inside of 2009, and $2.7 trillion by the end of 2010.â€
I requested that my Bank of America AMEX card be increased from $3,000 to $5,000 and in the process not only was it denied but my 2nd Bank of America Platinum Plus credit line was decreased from $15,000 to $5,000.
All the while Citi increased my credit line by $1,500 bringing it up to $8,300.00.
This all happened within about four days, and my credit score which I just pulled my self less than 30 days ago was 755.
I have a master card and Amex from Bank of America
my MC limit was reduced to $500 from $8500 (i have no balance on that) and my limit on my amex card was reduced from 8000 to 5200 (i have 5100 in debt),
called BOA , said they would reduce my limit on Amex
even furhter once i have paid my balance .(now i hate BOA). Interestingly, Citi has increased my limit from 9500 to 10,000.
i am just afraid that i would not have much to spend when i am in need ..
Hope BOA goes under..
B of A did the same thing to us. We had credit lines of 10,700.00 and 11,000.00 with $500.00 balance. They reduced our total crdit lines down to $2500.00. What a joke. No notice, nothing. Credit Score has dropped significantly.
Bank of America Cut Limit from $49k to $35k which was the balance on the card. Amex reduced limit from $31k to $3k which was the balance. I don’t have any deliquent or derogatory accounts and never made a late payments. My score is in the 700s but is dropping very quickly given the decrease in limits. Amex was my #1 card so with the drastic reduction I was not able to use the card. I paid a $3k balance in full each month for a couple years now so somehow Amex figures I’m higher risk. If I was high risk would I be paying a $3k+ bill in full each month?? No! I hope a class action gets started because I’m upset due to the damage on my credit AMEX and BofA has caused.
3/26/09 I just got a call from Capital one today, reducing my credit card balance immediately from $10K to a little over $2K (my balance) . I mean “immediately”, no late payment ever and had this account for 10 years. Reason due to recent drop in credit score AMEX did on my Costco card, reduced from 7K to 1500 (pretty much waht I owed). My credit score drop dramatically due to balance ratio.
As I can see, there is a pattern in all of this. And I’m just afraid it will have a domino effect on everybody.
Just pray hope everything will go back the way they use to be.
Up until this morning I had 2 amex cards with a combined limit of $30k. I was notified the limit on each was reduced to $1K. My credit score is 790, and I have never been late. AMEX is fueling the problem. They will never get my business again.
AMEX just cut my business lines of credit:
Card #1: $29K to $1K
Card #2: $24K to barely above current balance
Credit score is 794.
How am I supposed to run a business with no credit?
Not only are they trashing my credit score, but they are causing small businesses all around the country to shut down. No wonder the economy sucks.
F you AMEX – you suck.
Where is MY damn bailout.
PS – Sign me up for that AMEX class action suit immediately…
Nancy, people can’t trust the corporations. You and millions of us are twist and confused, we don’t know what to do either. If I pay my cards off my cash cushion is gone and I have helped the very business criminals that put me in this quandary. If I don’t pay them off I help them with the interest I pay out. What happens if you stop paying completely?
Our government has failed to do it’s duty to a watch these scum who have put us/society into this dangerous position. Remember the term deregulation, it’s a euphemism for “no laws for business”. Our representatives were bribed through lobbyist to eliminate laws like “Glass/Steagal Act”. Business criminal’s got rich, representatives filled there coffers. And we are robbed by both.
My Amex card was just reduced from 25K to 15K with less than 24 hours notice! That reduction put me $500 of going over the limit. I don’t know how to treat this account now as I’m afraid if I use ALL my savings to pay them off, that I will have no financial cushion, a reduced credit score (which is 776 right now), and that Visa will do the same.
I need some info. I have 35,000 dollar debt on one credit card where I’ve put balance transfers on in the past. Is there a credit card that is available that I can use to transfer this balance so I can get a smaller interest rate than what I have now.
Thank you
Been talking to my mom and she has had two Chase cards cut from 15-20k cut down to i think 5k and 10k.
let me preface my comments by saying that b of a cut my credit limit from 20k to 10k; fortunately, i did not have a balance. i am still waiting for the letter with their explanation as i, like many of you, have stellar credit. i also have a 0% interest rate card with chase with a balance of 9k. i can pay this off if i really want to but at 0%, why woud i? the limit, to date, has not been reduced so kudos to them, so far.
with that being said, there may be some method to the bank’s madness. i think they may be taking advantage of those of us who have the resources and are worried about their credit scores to pay off their balances. in my case, b of a really has no excuse other than i hardly use the card but if chase reduced my limit to the balance i owed, your damn right i would pay it off as the debt to available credit ratio would go through the roof and reduce my fico. they would immediately have an extra 9k to play with and that’s what it’s all about these days. just my two cents…..
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106716/How-to-Blow-Your-Credit-Limit-Without-Spending
well I guess the top reporters are finding what we already know.
I spent 3 days on the phone at least 4 calls a day to Am Exp
my payment was due yesterday and after another cut in limit down to 120 available from over 2000 I asked if they would put off the payment date till Monday so corporate headquarters could respond to my 2 fax letters. NO, I was told midnight is midnight and so . My payment did not get there and for the first time i am late in over 17 years.
We shall see if they reverse the late fee etc. I doubt it.
Note in the article link above w/ Smart Money. None of the credit card comp. had a comment!!!!
congress has been alerted by several of us and more on other sites but they could not care less either.
new laws .. oh wow! lol lol who the hell will care by 2010 .
Maybe this was all in the works when the new bankruptcy laws began.
they are all crooks.
Madoff goes to jail where’s the money? taxpayers pay for him to live in jail. He will have a private room and get pardoned down the line probably.
I hope we all have a great day and stay well!
My credit is great. No payments ever missed, but AMEX closed my account which I just opened a few months before. Oh well, I’ll never go with AMEX again!
Has anyone else called Fair Issac? They were very polite but did not have any answers to the question of how they are going to set the score when its not our maxing the card but the banks.
They could not even tell me approximately how long it would take from not paying cards till the score would go up again.
I will post a class action law firm that is fighting Chase right now regarding a $10 a month extra so called finance charge which is really an annual fee = $120 a yr on accounts that did a special rate transfer or something.
For people on SSI I am almost positive you can send an award letter requesting the acct be closed paid as agreed if you have not missed any payments nor been late since they can not take your SSI check money for debt. Be sure to get your savings out of the bank though.
will post soon
we need a class action attorney. this is total insanity
My homebuyers loan pre approval was a joke for where I live. My scores now run from 625 Trans Union to 710 Equifax down over 60 points due to Am Exp maxing me out
It back to WE Shall overcome … the banks!!
I have had a credit limit reduced and an interest rate raised. What all Americans should be outraged about is this. These banks have gotten bailout money and the way they repay the taxpayer is to not use the money as intended, to turn around and reduce many credit limits, thus causing your credit score to lower. I.E. balance to limit ratio. It does matter.
Then, they turn around and will raise your interest rate and jump on all the fees if you go over limit or anything. Somehow, this is wrong.
I think most of America has realized we need to try to get our debt down and most of us are not intending to continue using our credit cards except in emergencies.
Yet, both the government and the banks are out of control. Congress has befriended the banks and credit card companies giving them free reign to abuse the consumer and they turn their backs on us.
It is true, that some people won’t stop the credit madness. At the same time, the credit card companies and banks are making it hard to stop, but impossible to use.
Until they change the entire structure of the credit process and change what the banks are allowed to do and how they are allowed to offer credit and cap interest rates, nothing will ever change.
People have to take responsibility for their spending. By the same token, people who are running these companies and the country into the ground should have to take responsibility as well.
As for those with high credit scores and low balances on your credit cards……………..they just haven’t gotten to you yet. Trust me, an 800 credit score will not stop them from touching you at some point.
I know this for a fact. Two years ago, most of these institutions could not give out enough credit and often raising limits for people without a basis of expanding their credit.
Now, they are taking our hard earned tax dollars and sticking it to the consumer again and again while telling us to not use credit and then telling us to spend.
Personally, I think more of these banks should have been collapsed and still do. I think that it could have no worse affect on the economy than things about to come our way.
Shut down certain banks that have shaky legs, delete all of the credit(liability accounts they own) and simply forgive the consumer those debts. I am not an advocate of people not living up to their obligations, but just as these banks have been bailed out, so should the consumer. All consumers should be entitled to the same bailout as the banks that have abused the bailout money.
It’s atrocious how we hear how the average american overuses credit, the government lives off credit and then the banks get rescued off our tax money that should go to education, our soldiers and protecting our nation and taking care of our elderly and children. Then, they can turn around and abuse the consumer, break every usuary law they feel like and Congress looks on.
Sad. I love my country. Our Congress needs to get it’s head out of it’s butt.
Amex Lowered onced from $23,000 CL to $10,000 owed 9$,000 interest rate raised from 9.9% to 12.9%, have been making mostly double the minumum payment the last year and a half, never missed a payment in all 25 years with them.
Six months later got balance down to $ 7,000 and lowered limit again this time to $ 7,500 and raised to now 15.9 %.
Now Capital 1 did the same to us, but went from 5.9% to a whopping 17.9% again a 735 Cr Score and never missed these or any other payments, have a relatively ow mortgage of $890 with 9-10 yrs. left, and a moderatestable income of $ 75,000 annually . No car payments for now, but will need new or used in next 6months.
Only negative is some student loans for our son, even though he and us were fortunate that he got over half of his tuition paid on scholarship, these past three years, that are due upon graduation in 3 more years when out and wiil be certified in the health care field with a shortage, and will then consolidate and pay back us and his other loans. We are just paying interest for now,, that helps reduces loan balance. The only other thing is we now shop as we have our last college student in 1more year, may join the Air Force as a cadet, at places like Walmart and Costcos, instead for college and dorm stuff and even ourselves for due diligence knowing that we will need more, for future costs, car repairs/replacements, more college loans, risng health care etc.
It’s sucks that they are making hard working Americans that sacrifice and scrimp , to make their payments on time and then seem like we are being punished, and thiose that decide that they do not need good credit for the next three years, default on purpose and renogotiate for half.
Good luck to all.
Hello,
I had my credit reduced with Bank of America from
$5,000 to $700.00, with a balance of $450.00. Good credit history no problems. I Called BOA customer service and asked why, they said a late payment with Sears. I do not have a Sears card. They did reinstate the $5,000 line of credit on 2/26/09, and also sent a letter stating this. On 3/3/09, while on the BOA website, saw the $5,000 had now been reduced to $1,000. When I called and spoke to some arrogant BOA credit person, I was told they should not have reinstated the $5,000 amount. Yeah right…Mad, you bet…They just seem to treat you like dirt, and really could care less.
I have had bad comments numerous times. In all fairness I just recognized Citi Bank has drop my interest rate from 17 to 12.9 % over the past year. I pay on auto pay and I pay the min. plus about $1,500 a mo to $2,000.00 a mo.
HSBC cut my limit from $5300 to $300. I had a $0 balance for months, never late, and always paid well above the minimum. I’ve had this account for 3 years, very disappointed HSBC treats its “valued customers” as such. I’ll just put the card away until the economy improves, never use it again. So long HSBC!
Hi Everyone – I don’t pretend my credit score is 800 – but it’s decent. My story isn’t that traumatic – I had my Orchard Bank card cash advance limit slashed from $1200 to $300. I have been with them for 3 years. I am grateful the guy on the phone didn’t insult me or my record – by simply stating that “Orchard is just trying to manage risk” – as opposed to attacking my record (flawless) or my spending habits (lunacy!) The credit score I was trying to build after my divorce is slowly failing – and I have just about given up…
But unless you run a business or are a consultant – we just need to stop listening to these jerks personally insult us – and just “vote with our feet”. Oh – and file a lawsuit – against the 3 credit bureaus that invented these fake numbers that dictate one’s worth. It’s becoming virtually impossible to defeat these people – and with job loss – loss of home values – loss of investments – the playing field is grossly against our favor.
We need – to fight…hard.
We are not alone. I want to say that it has been great to see that I am not the only one getting pushed further and further into the dirt. I do not like what the banks are doing to all of us. So here is a link to someone who is fighting back. It may be a good example of how to start turning the tables back to a fair place and at least we will be heard if we do what this Dr has done.
http://www.changeinterms.com/join-the-fight/
My son and my accounts once again have had their limits lowered to within a few dollars of what we owe. My son had 2 cards GM ( HSBC) and Discover which took all his available limit away after a few months of not using it since he paid it in full.
reason: debt to credit available ratio was too high
Ame Exp called me. I did not recognize the number so to be safe called customer service. I found that my available 3000 was now 151 dollars after making last months payment. The reason the supervisor gave was that I did not make a payment on my Triumph card in Oct 2008. I told her I had no such card. She said oh you do and it was opened in 1989. I told her no that I was on General ASsistance then and had no cards because I was very ill and had to leave work to go on disability. I told her I had all three credit reports in front of me and none mentioned such a card at all. She reported it to fraud.
I spent 3 days talking to the credit reporting agencies. None had any record of such an account and told me to tell Am Expr it was their mistake.
My return call ended up taking at least an hour and each call transfer I had to repeat my card number and the info.
The last supervisor said the notes only stated that my limit was taken away due to my high debt to limit ratio. I said well gee. I wonder why that is If you take the available credit away I am maxed out. Maxed out caused my credit score to drop now a total of 55 points. I was getting a pre approved 1at time home buyer loan and now that is not happening. I have never missed a payment in 14 yrs. I pay more then the minimum
My son had a credit score of 750 and its now down to 690 and he has no available credit left on the cards he paid off between May 2008 and Oct 2oo8.
I am going to do what the Dr did. I never even recieved a letter telling me that some cards were closed. Care Credit for one. I went to the eye doctor and thought I had 5000 available and none owed. LOL
card had been closed over 8 months ago and to date I have not recieved any notice.
They are keeping the money from the bail out. Chase is going to get the tellers to push credit cards. Some boss guy was giving them the run down in front of customers and said if they could not deal with it to walk.
after all my trying to pay so i could get a home and some health issues taken care of is wiped out of reach.
The company’s all can take their card and eat them
I am not going to go along with the changes. My score will come up again in 8 mos or so and by then maybe they will be loaning again. So screw them. We all work to hard to be left hanging out like dirty shoes blowing in the wind …they have the smell not us!!! Rotten business ethics , greed and more. Shame on all of them. Shame on congress.
we need a class action lawyer we can trust and a way to tell President Obama this is not change this is corruption. This is not acceptable!!!!
We the people . . WE can do it . all of us on this site.
Originally I did not get any new posts Now I get at least 3-5 a day.
Thank you all for speaking up. Thanks for having this site Mr Five Cent nickel who ever you are Bravo!
WE the people will suceed in getting fair credit actions!
B of A:
I recently called to request that B of A stop automatically increasing my credit limit. Last week they just increased it. I have 2 accounts with low balances and high limits. Upon my request to stop increases they unilaterally decreased my line by a significant amount. I undertstand what they have done from a business perspective but it pisses me off. There is 0 chance in the future I will use B of A for more lucrative business such as a mortgage, home equity lines, brokerage, etc.
AMEX SUCKS !! these …er reduced my limit twice in past few month ,and when you call them ,the answer is that ‘s what we do.f…er,what you do is screwing other life,I hate the and I with they go under,i’m gonna file a complain,ant help?
Seattle, tons of layoffs here and housing market is crashing.
I never carry a balance either.
Ken,
Do you live in an area that has not been hard hit by housing foreclosures, or by the ensuing layoffs? Just wondering since it seems people with high credit scores (800+) who live in my area have also taken hits like the ones described on this site.
My accounts are still holding strong, except the WAMU/Chase card that got closed since i never used it.
Amex 30k and 20k
Cap1 12.5k
Have an 800+ score.
I was checking my balance on HSBC card yesterday and saw that my CC line had dropped from 3,300 to 590! No notice; called and got the seemingly standard no answer. I pay balance off and just have one utility bill running through on auto-pay. I hesitate to cancel account because if my other two cards do that (zero balances on both) do that I will be hard pressed in an emergency. I guess we just have to eat it. The economy is so scary I don’t feel like I have a real choice and just have to suck it up. What loan sharks these companies are.
At the beginning of December, I had a $1500.00 limit on my Discover Card, which I did run up around the holidays to around 1300.00. In January I paid off $1000.00, and earlier this month another $400.00, leaving me with a balance of around $100.00 (when you take into consideration other purchases made this month).
Just went to check my Discover card balance so I could finally pay it off this month, and I found out that with no notification, my Credit Limit had been reduced to $590.00. I called Discover to find out what gives, and someone in India said “This was a business decision and effected almost all our clients.”
Unlike the other people on this site, my credit is nowhere near perfect… I had a Bankruptcy 2 years ago, but since then I have been spending on my two credit cards and paying them off. Since the Bankruptcy (do to the mortgage crisis) I have not had a single late payment, and am actually 2 months ahead on my car payments. In only 2 1/2 years, my credit it within 20-30 points of where it was before the Bankruptcy (I was able to keep myself current right up to the bankruptcy). Luckily, this Credit Limit decrease is not going to derail my plans as my balance will be paid off, but you can bet I will NOT be using my Discover card again except for the occasional $5.00 – $10.00 purchase that I will pay off to maintain my good credit history.
My HSBC Visa was cut from $5,000 to $1,160. I’ve never been late with them since I transferred another card balance to them for a lower rate. I’ve also always paid well above my the minimum payment to keep making the ratio better each month. I will be paying them off soon and will never use their card or bank services again. I guess their business decision is to tick off their customers enough so thy loose them all; real smart!
My credit limit with HSBC was cut in half, even though I’ve always payed more than due, and well before the due date. My credit score is around 700. This credit card was a transfer card, and not used for daily purchases at all. I called and they said it was a business decision. They did lower my interest rate, however, when I asked. What can you do? Work fast to pay it off, I guess.
my hsbc card limit was cut from 2500 to 620. acocunt balance 698, overlimit.. news came via email that i am overlimit.
will fair issac change its way to calculate score, now its whole u.s. problem ?
this is the first card.. lets see what happens to others..
We’ve had a Sears card for almost two years. Our initial credit limit was $6500. and increased about 6 months ago to $6900. We had a balance of about $500. because we buy appliances using the deferred interest promotion and always pay in full before having to pay the accrued interest. Two months ago they offered a balance transfer promotion of 5% for 12 months. We transferred over about $2700. Our balance was around $3150. when they (for no reason at all) decided to lower our credit limit to $3300. thereby giving us a credit utilization ratio of 95%! We immediately paid $2650. leaving only the balance of the appliance which still has a zero interest rate right now. That left us with a balance of $480. and a credit utilization ratio of 15%. We just found out today that they lowered our credit limit to $600.! Now our utilization rate is back up to 80%! We have never been late on ANY of our payments to ANY creditors. Sears/Citi is maliciously attacking and alienating loyal, good paying customers! Why? They got themselves into a financial mess and continue to demonstrate that they are unable to make good business decisions. CONGRESS: LET CITI FAIL!!!
Bank of America lowering credit limits, and recalling PRIOR transactions. I processed an online transfer for $1150 to pay another card off (which they constantly entice you to do), on Jan 21, 2009. At that time my limit was $5000 with $2600 available for transfers. The transfer posted to the receiving account Feb 05. On Feb 17, I received a letter, dated Feb 07, from them announcing that they LOWERED my credit limit on that account to just above the past balance. When I checked on line I saw that the $1150 had posted to the receiver of the transfer and that B of A (Bunch of A..h…s) had pulled it back causing an insufficient funds charge from the recipient and of course not to be left out, B of A also drew a NSF fee. By doing this they have lowered my credit score to a point that I will be unable to refi my house as I planed and PAY this card off. What they have accomplished in their greed to get a measly $39 is to put me in a situation where I will no doubt be filing bankruptcy. SO in the long run they have blown their own foot off.
I called and pleaded with them to undo this. My contention is that they DID authorize the transaction (proved by the fact that they sent it to the receiver) and 2 days later they pulled the check back. I find this to be an unethical practice and urge everyone that has any accounts with this bank to reconsider and close all accounts and find another bank that won’t stab you in the back and urge everyone to boycott this bank.
There’s nothing stopping them from closing the accounts. The report I heard is that AmEx is doing this simply to “keep up” their “good” image with consumers.
Yesterday, it was reported that American Express started offering $300 “gift cards” to some people who agree to pay off their balances and close their accounts. Has anyone on this site been offered this “deal?” I am wondering what is to keep AmEx from closing accounts if people reject their offer.
Just discovered by checking online that one of my credit cards just cut my limit to $360 (!!), an amount just above my last balance. The crazy part is that I was online to pay off the balance, like I do every month. I pay all my cards in full every month, never carry a balance, never pay late. There is no reason for them to have done this. My credit score was 800 last time I checked. But now I expect I will have a comment on my credit report that this credit line was reduced by the creditor, a negative, or if I go ahead and close the account, I get another negative. Even if I keep it open, I’m unlikely to use the card again (partly out of irritation, partly because of the paltry limit, and partly out of fear that the limit will have been decreased again without my knowledge, and it will be embarrassingly declined). If I don’t use the card, it will most likely be cancelled, with the ominous “closed by credit grantor” note in my credit report, another negative. I don’t really have any option here that’s not negative, although I haven’t done anything wrong!
However, my BIGGEST fear is that this will domino, and my other credit card companies will do the same thing, giving me a LOT of negatives on my credit report, including a REALLY small available credit number. After all, they’re all watching what the others do. I don’t “need” the credit cards, except that our society measures every financial move you make by your FICO score, and having a substantial available credit line is a huge factor in a FICO score. This is absurd!
I am beginning to believe that we are not going to have to worry about some of these vultures much longer. From looking at the prices of bank stocks, I believe that Darwin’s theories are going to prove themselves to be correct, at least in the banking and financial sectors! As for the arrogant CEO’s and their future, I say “LET THEM EAT CAKE!”
One other thought I had as a result Lynn’s comment is that these predators are going to commit as many atrocities as possible before the new regulations take effect. I am alerting all my Senators and representatives to this fact and asking “WHY WERE THE BANKS GIVEN A YEAR AND A HALF TO CORRECT THEIR “USURIAL” TACTICS?” Could it be that the financial sectors own Congress? HMMM? These people can be very “creative” if given that much time gouge their customers.
Following the recent criminal activity of AMEX (comment #87), Capital One just sent a notice that my interest rates were going up. Like the AMEX abuse, theirs following my paying the balance. This is just part of a large and growing movement by credit card companies to exact every dollar they can before upcoming regulations force them to become something remotely akin to human and fair. So, it’s goodbye to Capital One. These people need us. If every one of us can find a way to ditch them now when they need us most, write letters to them about why, boycott all of their subsidiaries/holdings, keep posting our stories all over the Web, and write our legislators we will shut them down. We must also write to the credit reporting bureaus because that is the weapon credit card companies can use against us. In short, fight back.
Hi all., first off Ame Express did it again after I paid my monthy payment. I went to see if I had enough to pay a medical bill and found out I had 100 left out almost 1500 they were so kind to leave after cutting me 3000.
I called them and they said it was because I did not pay my Triumph Card. I said what. Oh you Ame Express Triumph card . You stopped paying in Oct. 2008 I said you have the wrong person. I told her my credit reports ( 3 ) were in front of me and none mention such a card. They got the supervisor who told me I got the card in 89. NOT!!! I was ill in 89-96 on GA etc. while getting interferon for 2 yrs etc.
She said she would investigate it as fraud. Right like someone is going to get a card belonging to someone else and pay it up to date for 20 ys. Experian said they never heard of such a card.
so now I am maxed completly, My score is down 50 points and the loan I was trying to get as a first time home buyer is not coming through due to Am Exp and discover.
What is the commitee w/ Barney Franks????
Please post again I do not see the link or name.
( my eyes are not the best and the lenses the doc gave me blurr my vision after and hour or two. )
Thanks Annie
How do we do a class action??? Someone must know a lawyer out there from the list.
We need to speak up
How do we start some kind of online protest??
I am in if we can do it. willing to put out time to cirulate. already contacted the congresswoman no help there.
I had both the AMEX and the BofA experiences exactly as described by others. Had SIX perfectly paid BofA accounts frozen and had my AMEX limits lowered three times in four months. So far since December, AMEX has left me along and BofA has also since they swacked me last year.
CitiBank took a different approach and actually offered a 10% rebate on interest if their bill is paid on time for ten consecutive months. That seemed like a positive approach in light or the crap AMEX and BofA pulled.
Anyone else had any kind of positive experience with a banking institution recently?
If for some reason I cannot pay all my bills, guess who I will pay first?
Everyone here needs to write there rep’s, congressman, and both senator’s. Also write the banking committee I mention above. Barney Franks is on the committee.
email me with updated infor.
Yes, American Express lowered my limit from 20,000 in which I hardly ever used to 1,800 in which my balance was which can really mess up my excellent credit score they informed me it was due to their financial backings?? I was outraged and reported them the same thing is happening with Bank of America. they either cancel you for no apparent reason on the consumer side or lower your limits to what you owe which has a derogitory affect on your credit report lowering your fico scores I reported them too. I am watching them closely everyone should report them immediately so they can be regulated closely because they are asking for our bailout monies and in return hurting the few consumers who acted responsible with their monies and credits and due to their mishandlings and poor money managment they are still passing the blame on others. Report them to Attorney General Office, BBB and Consumer plus I am willing and hopefully we can file a class action suit against them for hurting our excellent credit reports for unjust cause and malicious derogitory business practices
I’d like to add that the comments above with regard to how the bailout money should have been spent are spot on. People who can demonstrate they are working as many hours as they can, and keeping up with bills as best they can should have been given the money that the banks got in the bailout. American Express became a bank holding company so that it could get access to low-cost financing from the Fed. They and other financial institutions are getting every break. The TARP money should have been given US citizens. And now the new gov’t is about to repeat the colossal errors of the Bush administration.
AMEX substantially reduced my credit limit today (on the Delta SkyMiles card I have had for well over a decade). I made a payment of $750 on a balance of $1250 on February 3. Their gratitude was displayed in the swiftness with which they decided to lower the credit limit just 2 weeks later. They cited a negative credit report. I’ll have to look into that, but I suspect it is due to the only credit card company with whom I have something of a balance, and with whom I was in a dispute over rapidly escalating interest rates. (That dispute was just resolved and they shifted my balances to a much lower rate.)
I cancelled my AMEX Gold account and the SkyMiles account and wrote AMEX an email saying that my being a “member since 1988” seemed to mean little to them.
So the bottom line is that we consumers have to fight back. I was lucky to be able to pay AMEX in full today so that I could show them how I felt by closing my accounts, and to be able to front 3-times the minimum payment to the other card company to sweeten the rate-lowering conversation. The lesson I just gave myself: pay as much as you can as soon as you can, cancel accounts with those who abuse customers, and write to these crooks to let them know you are not going to be treated badly.
Capital One just informed me today that my $10500 credit limit has been reduced to $3300. This will effect my credit score derogatively as I will no longer be below the 50% use of credit that mortgage companies like to see. There was also some comfort that the credit line was there should an emergency arise.
I’ve had my credit on amex reduced by them every time i make a payment reduced by the payment amount. I normaly wouldn’t have a problem with that except that it destroys my credit making me look like I’m constantly maxed out! and what is their reason? To protect themselves because they realized after 10 years they never should have extended that much- but then again- they were counting on me getting in debt. I’m seriously considering not paying them back at all. It isnt the first time i was upset with thier selfishness. The first was when i asked if i could send them a seperate check targeting the cash advance i took out years before that they were charging me up to 30 percent a month for and they said “no” you have to pay the lower interest pricipal first. Screw them.
My husband and I just had a similar frustrating letter come in the mail. We made a payment of $2250 on one card and $3750 on another. I lost my job in September and it took me 3 months to get my unemployment benefits and applied this amount as soon as I received my check, never late minimum payments, but still they sent a letter of reducing our limits to $100 above or balance on both cards … we have a credit score of 740+ never late on ANY payments and this is how they treat us ggggrrr… I haven’t checked our credit scores to see if it had any negative effects, but I have worked hard to make sure our credit is flawless and this is BS to say the least 🙁
Annie, I have called my congressman’s office a couple of times. Once on each issue Amex and the Chase cohesion. I have emailed the Senate Banking committee. If I have done this thousands of others must have. I hear nothing in the news about what banks are doing to people who pay there bill’s. IT IS NO WONDER THAT THE ECONOMY IS COLLAPSING. No one can trust the system, banks, and or the government, who has given them hundreds of billions. Billions that have gone to bonus’s.
If the government would have given us the money we all could have paid off our credit cards and none of us would have a problem.
When no one listens what happens?
UGH!!!
I have had three things occur within the last 2 months:
1. Credit Limit Decrease By Juniper, with a lame explanation (now cut-up with $0 balance, only used to get 6 mth free financing on my MAC).
2. Credit Limit Increase by Citi
3. Citi, Plan A or B
A. Accept an interest rate increase of at LEAST 19.99% OR
B. Keep my current interest rate until my card expires, at which time they will cancel my card and I can re-apply
When I phoned Citi regarding A & B, the telephone rep said this is based upon the default rate of it’s customers; NOT MY OWN PERSONAL CREDIT. When did credit become a group thing?
I agree with Mike…WTF?
BofA cut my Business Visa Card credit line from 29000 to 17500 without notification. At the time I had 17100 on the card, leaving me 400 to work with for my small CPA firm going into tax season! I immediately sent in 2100 to leave me 2500 to work with. Hopefully they don’t reduce the limit to 15500 on me!
My credit score is 800 and I usually pay off each month but have been carrying a balance for a few months due to carrying to homes … our old home closes this month.
No call from BofA. I’m sure this will effect my credit score thanks to them reducing the credit line which was just raised in December 2008.
Who knows, maybe next will be an interest rate increase from the present 7.99 to who knows what? 24%?
I think we’ll be paying BofA back and change accounts to a local bank who would maybe appreciate some more business.
I hope BofA has a plan for the backlash brewing due to their recent actions.
I have already notified my congresswoman. I gave her receptionist the link to this site and another one that I came across. Today I had three new postings come through. I think it is time to go to my local newspaper and see if I can get a reporter to pick up this story. If that works then iit may get in the San FRancisco Chronicle. This is really getting to me. My credidt score has gone down as well for what ever they say that is worth. Enough is enough. Any other ideas???
I believe a conspiracy, against citizens, between gov. and corporations, has been in place for sometime. Just think about the timeliness of the new bankruptcy laws. They were put in place just before this credit crisis started hitting. They knew it was coming because they manufactured it.
The gov. should have given us the 700 billion and we could have paid off our cards with the money. Instead they gave the money to the corporations to pay their CEO’s millions. These people should be tried and executed for crimes against the people. It is the only way they will get the message they are killing us, and our families. And if this doesn’t work then their whole families need to be executed in order to send them the message.
What’s worst beside them lowering the credit limit is it effects the credit score. about a month after Citibank lowered my credit line from 15K to 2300 I checked my FICO score and it was lowered by 30 points. There is no other changes in my credit history except this one. This is not fair as I always pay my bills on time. Instead of our corrupt government penalizing these criminals they just bail them out by giving them our tax dollars.
Capital One is doing it also! Today I was shopping, I tried to charge $100. My card was declined with a huge line behind me. My husband had my debit card. I was so embarrassed. All I could do is walk away from a full cart of bagged items. I called Capital One because I knew I had a $12,600 credit limit and I only had $3000 charged. After talking to 3 foriegn reps. and getting no answers to when or why they lowered my limit $9000. They finally admitted to lowering on the 23rd. (one week ago) No call, no e-mail, no phone call to notify me, (still nothing). They did say they usually try to call. (not that they did) And the reason was that I don’t use my card enough. That is such BS. I have been a loyal customer, never make late payments, pay down frequently and have excellent credit. Is it legal to not notify people. I tried to charge only $20 over my new limit and was declined….wow! You are correct Mike “OUR GOV. AND CORPORATIONS HAVE BECOME A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION.”
Chase pulled a dirty trick.
2 yrs ago I did a balance transfer of $20k to Chase. The offer from Chase was 4% for the life of the loan. The payment is $250.00, and thats OK.
The last bill said may payment is a WHOOPING $680.00 a month.
They have taken my payment from a min. 2% to the 5% the LAW has allowed them to take payments to. This 5% was put in place by the corporate run government.
Chase gave me the option to continue with the $250.00 a mo. if I would except 7.99 % intrest rate. I agreed under duress. What could I do except to just stop paying????
May god wtf is going on in Washington. All the money paid out should have went to us, the citizens. A trillion dollars would pay off every mortgage in the country. And we would have plenty of money to pay our cards and to buy again. OUR GOV. AND CORPORATIONS HAVE BECAOME A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION.
Yea they cut my limit from 27K to 500$. I called and they wouldn’t increase it–so I told them to keep the card 😉
F*** AMEX. They don’t want our business, we will go somewhere else.
I agree with everyone hear. One of my credit cards are from Barclay’s bank. Well I never missed a payment and kept the card at a zero balance. Most of my credit cards have a negative balance where I over paid.
Anyway about a month ago I get a letter from Barclay’s saying that my credit limit was cut to $500. The good thing is my balance is 0. But it makes me wonder? Why would you cut the limit of people who use their credit wisely? “To reflect my spending habits?” There is no way that I will use any of my cards now. You do everything right and they hit you in the rear. I hope that they all go down.
So today, Kenny Chenault complained that American Express’ earnings declined by 72 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, due in part because consumers were not using their cards…What a shock!
My credit limit for AmEx was cut by over 90% (30k to 2600) (see comment 37) back in early November, so I cut my use of the card by the same amount.
How do you ####-ing like it, Kenny??!!!
I logged into my online account with BOA a few days ago to make a payment on my credit card. A small payment for a small online purchase. Since I keep about $15k in total limit available between various cards but no balance on any, the last thing I expected was my credit limit to be cut by 75%. AS I HAVE SEEN IN MANY OF THE BLOGS HERE, NO ADVANCE NOTICE. Never a late payment. I called and cancelled the card as I don’t need a card with a small limit but asked “why the decrease?”. The rep would not tell me why, claiming they had sent a letter several days earlier. Still no “alleged” letter.
BOA has no idea what they are doing. I have a checking account and savings with BOA and will soon be taking my money elsewhere.
Jbrare- ditto here too. makes me ill.
I got a form from the local DA on Consumer Complaints but all they will do is mediate or pass the complaint on. I read up in the Fair Credit act and they can change the limits based on what they say they found in your credit report. Like to high balance to income ratio. They are supposed to notify you within 30 days . I was only notified in one case and I have no idea when they did the change.
no lates in over 15years This has sent my score down below 700 Which will prevent me from pre qualifying for a 1st time home loan.
The banks do not care at all.
This is all the same old, same old going ons.
Keep posting – any ideas on how to fix this situation?
I am pretty sure that all these ba****ds are going to do everything that they can between now and next year to create situations that allow them to up interest rates based on credit ratings and “excessive” use of credit lines. If I understand the new restrictions that will not go into effect until next year, lenders will have to have specific reasons to change your rates and not be able to change your terms as long as you are paying on time and not exceeding your limits. Congress left credit cards companies a huge loop hole and plenty of time to
cover all their bases in the meantime. Congress always underestimates the resourcefulness of predatory lenders. While our tax dollars are keeping banks and financial institutions afloat, they will be plotting ways to circumvent the new restrictions and setting themselves up to “milk” the good paying customers even more. Let’s just stop paying everyone of them who try to change conditions that they set up and “agreeeeed” to in the first place.
I am mad as hell and am not going to take it much longer!
To JBRARE I was told by my congresswoman’s office that we are supposed to get notified in advance. They stated 15 days as per the small print. I have yet to verify that but I am sure they need to notify in advance.
Please post if you find anything that states otherwise. I am going to read the Fair Credit Act again.
they get bailed out and we get stiffed.
Some stimulus eh?
BofA just closed six perfectly paid accounts without any notice. They did that when my wife called to request a $200 transfer into our checking account. The “customer service agent” Damon was so arrogant and seem pleased that he we “shutting down ALL of our accounts”! Not one late payment or fees have ever been applied to any of our accounts. Found out two days later that our MC with our credit union was also frozen since BofA apparently administers that account . We received written notices several days after the accounts were closed, nothing before.
We sent a letter to the CEO of BofA, Mr. Kenneth Lewis detailing how unfair and short-thinking such actions against good customers are. We pointed out that we had only applied for two of the accounts in the first place and that all the others lines of credit were initiated as a result of offers made by BofA to us because of our credit history. Does anyone know if this is legal or who we should contact protesting such actions? Our first reaction was just to tell them to “stick it” and we may still do that. Now, we are guessing that BofA will raise our rates at the first opportunity.
Anyone that can give further advice, please do so!
PLEASE, everyone take a look at the bailouts. They will not stimulate the country. I was just getting a pre approval on a 1st home. Due to AMEX , CARE CREDIT and DISCOVER i now do not have a high enough credit score. The credit score itself is a joke.
I contacted my congresswoman and her Receptionist DID call me back. YOU are supposed to get a 15 day notice before any action is taken on your account in either direction. I got no notice in advance.
HOW do we start a class action? This has to stop.
The Senate intends to establish new rules but I heard they will cap the APR at 36% That is also a joke and I am very disappoined in all both sides of this system
Give them money and they charge us 36% on the tax we paid to big with!!! Shame…
So again. how does one start a class action Case???
Be well and keep sharing the knowledge
What a change for these companies. I used to throw away no less than 5 credit card offers a week but have seen very few in the last few months. Like most of you, I have a high credit rating because I have never even made a late payment in all these years. BOA sent me some checks with a 0% interest promotion through October 2009. I set them on my desk for a few weeks and was considering if I wanted to use them for something. Three weeks later they sent me a letter dropping my line of credit from $18,600 to $1,000. The cheap punks gave me the same lame excuse as most of you on this blog have received. Also, Amex dropped my credit line from $26,000 to $10,600. I wish now that I had maxed out BOAs 0% percent offer and put that money in the bank. That would have prevented them from sacking my credit line for no good reason.
I am going to send BOA back their card and tell them to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.
Part of your credit rating is how much of your available credit you use. Each time AmEx or some other entity cuts your credit limit down to near what you owe, that lowers your credit rating. The resulting lower credit rating can and will be used against you by those same companies later.
What people need to do is to write their Senators and their representatives in Congress and let them know what is happening. If they hear from enough of their constituents, they may not be so quick to provide bailout money to the worst offenders, and, with any luck, might even demand repayment of some of the bailout loans so AmEx and others will know how it feels to get cut off at the knees.
John D and everyone else. American Express applied for Bank status with the past month and now has already gotten the bank bailout money.
So had GM financial services who did the GM loans. They are now a bank as well and got a double bailout
one as car manuf and the other as a bank
Discover is doing the same.
this is not about helping people at all.
I never had any lates, but now several of my cards are withing 100 of the limit and credit score has dropped
I was just aoout to get pre qual for a mortgage.
Fair Issac must know whats going on but does not give a hoot.
Actually Amex has already asked for bailout money. They got themselves reclassified as a bank holding company specifically so that they could do that.
But they have been doing this balance reducing thing for more than a year now. Its just that they started with their less than stellar customers, you know, the ones who carried high balances and only paid the minimum or near to it. Or were a day or two late with a payment here or there. That was me. Funny how when I started talking about this in forums 6 months ago, I was ridiculed and told I deserved being treated like a criminal by Amex and BOA, but now that they are targeting all their customers equally everyone is ready to file class action suits.
The only advice I can offer is the same advice that was given to me. Pay them off and cancel the cards and don’t use credit if you can’t handle the terms you agreed to. Thats what I am doing. I have learned in the past year that I really don’t need them as much as they advertised me into believing. The best revenge is living well and as Amex and BOA struggle to stay alive, I will be here still earning paychecks, conspicuously consuming, and I won’t need them.
American Express management is making bad decisions about how they treat their customers. This will affect American Express profits for years to come. My Optima limit was reduced from $24,000 to $17,000 which was a few hundred over my balance at the time. My response was that I made an additional $1,000 payment to my regular payment in order to stay under 90% usage on the card. Once again American Express has reduced my limit. This time to $15,000 which is just a few hundred dollars over my balance. The balance is charged a low promotional rate so I am not inclined to pay it off by any more than the minimum payment. But, after the first limit reduction I called Am Ex to ask how I could be a better customer and how much I should pay in addition to the minimum. The customer service representative suggested I pay $50 to $100 more than the minimum each month so that is what I have done. I have been a member since 1985…never been late with a payment and have never gone over my limit. If I treated my customers that way I would be out of business in a few short months. I wonder how long it will take before Am Express is asking for a government BAIL-OUT ? ? ?
I just called BoA to see if they would lower my interest rate a little bit; not only did they not lower the rate, they cut my credit limit on both BoA cards to right at the balance level. Thanks a lot, jerks. Can’t wait to see what that does to my credit rating.
I just received a letter today from Juniper MasterCard stating they are lowering my limit from $6000 to $650 because quote: “you are only using a small portion of your available credit”. I have had this card for 3 years with spotless record. I have a 782 FICO. (Well, I did last month!!!!). This really makes me mad.
How do we start a class action lawsuit. Count me in,
This is really disgusting. I am glad I finally found a site that even mentions this . Nothing on the AM radio about it at all.
contact me too just like #57 asked.
thanks
I agree with all the people who HAVE HAD A LIMIT DECREASE. What gives. I payed off the cards and did not want to over spend so now I have no credit – like $300 is going to help if I need to go the MD or get the car fixed. I have no late payments and pay more then the limit. Discover, Amer Expr, HSBC, GM CARD all the saME. IF YOU DO NOT GET IN OVER YOUR HEAD THEY DO NOT WANT YOU.
Maybe we should lose the cards and just let someone have a good time. They certainly are having a good time messing us up and keeping their money.
why would you lower a limit on someone who pays off their cards. I am very disappointed in the congress.
they do not even answer email. Pelosi emailed me back and said it was against the rules for her to communicate with me as I am not in her district.
well she may not have a district if she keeps up that attitude.
sorrry but I do not like being made to look like I have gone over my lmits and most of all they never even gave notice. They just did it and then sent the letters.
not good . at all!!
I just received the letter regarding my interest rate increase along with a notice from Blue stating that my credit limit is going from 10K to $4400. This is totally reidiculous and unacceptable. In the statement they claim, among other things, that the decision was based the fact that my debt is too high with AMEX. That’s total BS because I just made a $4000 payment in May bringing my balance to $0.00, which is where it has been until the last month or so because of Christmas shopping. They also refer to my credit score from Experian, which again is bogus because my most recent Experian score is 721. I am soo sick and tired of these coporate sleezebags sticking it to us that are just trying to get by. I will be contacting AMEX tomorrow and if i do not get any satisfactory answers, I will be contacting an attorney. If someone has already initiated a class action lawsuit, PLEASE contact me.
I went to Pay my fiance’s Best Buy card this morning since its right before the holidays & i know we have used it a small amount. We always keep it at under a 30% credit usage, especially because he just payed off his car so that is the only thing on his credit report right now. Without so much as an email they cut his limit down so there is only $38 available credit!!!! He has had the card for about 4 years & uses it rarely, probably about 3 times in the last two years & has only paid late once & that was over 2 years ago. So now right before the holidays we are going to have to come up with the money to pay it off or risk him losing a good 30 points or so on his credit. We’ve been saving for a house so we can’t let that happen. Good job Best buy & the rest of you credit “know it alls” at these banks, now someone who was making good credit decisions so they could buy a house next year will have to dip into our savings or risk having their credit wrecked!!! Once again the middle class is taking it on the chin for something a bunch of rich arrogant fools did. Welcome to America.
I have heard about this issue but it hit me first hand today. Barclay’s Bank reduced my credit line from $10k down to $2 and what’s worse is that put me over limit. To top it of, I haven’t received notification of the decrease, I had to have a purchase declined to find this out. When I called the credit card company they didn’t care and wouldn’t raise my limit back up except to cover my current purchases so that I’m not over limit. However I was warned that the limit could be reduced again in the future.
I warned them that they are losing a long-time loyal customer, no “might” about it!
I urge everyone to contact House Committee on Financial Services and complain to them about this credit card problem. Go to the following website:
http://financialservices.house.gov/contact.html
Last night on CBS world news with Katie Coric, they had a good report on this probelm. A nurse’s credit was 780 and a credit card company cut her credit in half. As I recall that dropped her score 60 points. This gave reason for a drastic raise in her interest rate’s, they moved up to 21%. She just stopped using her cards. Thats ok for her she very seldom used her cards. For most people this will be crippling or worse.
The point of the story was how the cut in credit card level effected a person that doesn’t use there card that much. I hope to see a program on how it will effect the rest of use who use our cards regularly.
I urge everyone to call there congressman and senator’s, please call. I have.
I just noticed my credit limit for my Citibank Professional MC was reduced from 15,000 to 2,300. When I called they said it’s because I only use less than 5% of my credit limit. I have a credit score of over 800, I wonder if this will affect my score. Citibank told me it won’t but I’m not sure.
my credit score is 710 due to the fact i just started building my credit about 2 years ago, my amex and capital one limit has not changed but my paypal buyer credit and my citiflex credit line lower my limits to about 30% of what they used to be, i’m never late on my payments, allways send a lot more than the minimun payment due and allways finish paying everything quick. i really don’t like to use my credit to buy small stuff but it’s needed to build my credit, i guess i’ll be using my cash more and cancelling a couple of credit cards.
Is there someone here that would/could supply me with the wording of the letter you received from your credit card company in regards to lowering your credit card limit?
This is a strange request .. but my alcoholic husband, refuses to stop using MY card. I would like to “tell” him that my limit has been reduced. If that does not work, I will attempt to “conjer” up a letter documenting this.
This is very manipulative, I know .. but husband will not listen to me and continues using my card. I KNOW that if he thinks that the limit has been lowered, he will finally get it through his head that he cannot continue to use for his “entertainment” pleasure.
For those of you who believe that this is being dishonest and manipulative on my part .. my husband, I believe, is in a cycling stage of his bipolar depression and it does not matter what I do or say, I have not been able to reason with him. If I have to be somewhat underhanded and extreme, I have resigned myself to this .. at this point and time.
Thanks in advance for anyone that may have some compassion and might supply a “generic” form of the letter that they received.
I have noticed a few people on here making comments like, “I have a credit score in the 800’s so they keep people like me with good credit happy…” Well, a little newsflash: My credit score is in the 800’s, have NEVER been late on any of my payments, but AMEX just cut my credit limit in half with no prior notice. What ticks me off is the fact that we never used it until 3 weeks ago, when my husband bought me a new ring for our anniversary, and we decided to put it on that card. Today, I checked the account and they lowered the limit to 300 dollars above our balance, so now the card is almost maxed out which is something I never do. I am extremely upset, and will be cancelling the card once it is paid off in a month or so. AMEX is a bunch of crooks.
Talk about “Discrimination” by American Express. I feel i’m being slapped in the face and their is nothing i can do about it. I just read a paper on American Express and it states that one of the ways they come to the decision to lower ones credit limit is based on several accounts. They base it upon where you live, where you shop and who holds your mortgage on your home. Even tho i pay my bill every month on time, and have never been late, These fools seem to think its good business practace to slapp me in the face with a letter that they are lowering my credit limit by more than half. I will never use this card again, and i will be sending several letters. I urge you to shop around and find another company to do business with. AMEX Sucks!
I contacted my congressman, Trent Franks in Arizona, and they looked into the problem they said. They called me and told me they can’t help. I told them that this was happening all over the country. It’s a nation wide, “NATIONAL”, problem. They said, only, that the congressman is aware of the problem. If they won’t act on this what the hell is going to happen. This credit crisis will just keep getting worse.
I have also written my Senator, Kyle. I didn’t bother writing that worthless fool McCain.
Just this morning the news said that home interest rates could drop from 5.5% now to 4.5%. What the heck good will this do us when our credit rating is dropping. Home prices are dropping also. How can a person get re-financed under these circumstances. What the heck is going on. What a joke.
Just an update to my previous post. Amex attempted to raise our interest rate on us after chopping our credit limits to nothing. That was the last straw. I cancelled them. I hope they go bankrupt- just like their business sense and ethics.
Melissa: Are you sure about cause and effect here? 75 points is a really big drop in response to a credit limit reduction. Is it possible that your score dropped (at least somewhat) which prompted Amex to reduce your credit limits, perhaps further reducing you credit score.
Yep, same thing happened to me. Six weeks ago Amex cut my limit by half. Just yesterday I checked my credit scores, and they all three dropped by about 75 points (average). I am LIVID. I have always made my payments on time, but the credit score analysis said that I have too high of a debt ratio. I didn’t prior to them lowering my balance. Sure when it goes from $30K down to $15K, my debt ratio is going to be higher.
I am paying the thing off and never paying them another dime. The whole “banking/credit card/credit score” practice is the most idiotic, unethical thing I have ever witnessed. Amazing that I’ve turned into high-risk when I have not changed one thing in the way I spend, work, or pay bills.
just had a nice arguement with 3 of boa’s card services managers. they cut my limit from 14400 to 4400. my balance is 4200. they left me 200. i did not even get any notification. i happened to see it through my on line banking. i have Never been late with a payment on any of my accounts.When i told them they were going to lose a good paying customer they really didn’t seem to care. screw bank of america i will just transfer my small balance to another card with a 0% transfer for 1 year
I always pay on time and I pay over the minimum. My score is 774.
Last week American Express cut my credit in half, down to what I owe. This act on, the part of American Express, will damage my credit by showing that my credit is extended. Won’t this create a domino effect, that will have a serious effect on my credit? I say yes it will.
I have contacted my representatives on this. This is a serious problem. I urge everyone to write and call them.
Just found out that AMEX lowered our limit by another $4000 on Wednesday, November 26! Found out when my wife went to purchase gas. They had just lowered it by $4000 10 weeks ago. As soon as I sent them $3000 for this month’s bill, they lowered it another $4000 putting me over my limit immediately.
As a result, I will not send them any extra and will pull $ out of a mutual fund and send it to another creditor freeing up more credit with them and cease to use the AMEX.
My wife and I have spent over $680000 on our AMEX cards in the last 19 years, but now we are “high risk!”
We will also boycott businesses that accept AMEX and buy from those who do not accept AMEX. We will let the merchants know why. We are in our sixties and have 82 credit accounts “paid as agreed” without a single late payment!
I suggest that anyone else who has just gone thru this send a letter to the CEO, Kenneth I. Chenault @ Amex, World Financial Center, 200 Vessey Street, New York, NY 10285, and express your complete dissatisfaction.
AMEX cannot survive if people do not use their card.
Still at 30k Blue and 20k costco with amex. 800+ score.
Haven’t touched the blue in a year.
Max on costco is about 2k in a month.
AMEX SUCKS!!! My husband and I have credit scores close to 800 (we just checked w/credit union) and today I get an email stating that our credit limits have been lowered on both our Blue and Costco cards. We have been card members since 1999. Our Costco card went from $29500 to $10600 and our Blue went from $22500 to $10600 but our Discover card was just increased. We do not carry large balances on these cards, but have been using them (for rebates & points) to decorate our new house. AMEX is totally screwing with people credits and I am very disappointed in their business practices. I too hope they go under or somehow is able to be reported on their unfair business practices. We are planning to pay the balances off and not use them again. I wish I could sue!!
Amex cut my credit limit from 8000 to 5500 without any notice, I was confused if there was a fraud purchase on my card. Amex stinks, I never made a late payment and gave them a lot of business. no more but.
My Costco AMEX credit card had its credit limit lowered from $30k to $2600 in one fell swoop last week There has been no change in my credit score (720s) since I applied for the card two years ago. AMEX is turning into a bank and trying to limit its risk so it can qualify for some gov’t bailout money. I hope Costco picks up a different creditor.
citi keeps increasing my limit and lowering apr but target just raised all apr on there cards by 3% they suck
Out of all my credit cards, the one card I haven’t used was reduced. It was my IKEA card and it went from $500 to $221 (which is an odd number, to say the least).
They reviewed my spending patterns too and adjusted the card accordingly.
My cash doesn’t have credit limits, so I’m not concerned.
Ironicallly, I got a notice today that my credit limit on Citi has been raised about 10%. However, they have consistently raised my limit any time I get serious about paying down the balance. So, despite the current credit crisis, Citi is trying their best to entice me to spend more.I’m paying (literally) for past mistakes, but I have no intention of repeating them.
I don’t have any other cards, so as far as my experience goes, I don’t see reduced limits.
Mine have actually been increased. I would say that’s because the companies are issuing less to new customers, and are maybe trying to make up for that by allowing their current customers with good credit to spend more.
No reductions yet on any of the cards yet including AmEx blue (13K credit limit). Higher limit (from 10K to 18K) on one of the cards.
Got a couple of pre-approved 0% offers for 15K; I don’t need it so I just tore it up and threw it away.
@Funny about money — I also have Chase (Amazon) and I got the same type of a letter; since I also pay my balances in full, I couldn’t care less. I’ll continue using it for amazon purchases since I like their rewards. This one is set up for automatic payment of the full balance, so there is no way it can ever be late.
@Shadox – if you feel strongly against their raising your limit, you can call them and tell them you don’t want the increase. They will lower it back. You can also tell them you don’t want further increases, and they’ll mark it on your account.
I have had limits reduced on three of my cards recently. Amex, US Bank and Bank of America. All lowered my limit to within $100 of my balance. Stated reasons was my credit usage/high balances.
I have been making large payments to try to pay these cards off and each time I pay them down by $500, they lower the limit by that amount.
we have two that have no limit, so i guess those don’t count. others, they have increased limits and we continue to get 0% BT offers on all of the cards.
I haven’t seen a reduction yet, but I did get this “IMPORTANT NOTICE OF CHANGE IN TERMS” from Chase’s Visa card:
“Your default APR will be changed to a variable rate of 29.99%.”
Nearly as exorbitant are rates for “overdraft advance APR” and “cash advance APR,” both variable rates now pegged at 20.99%.
Since I don’t carry a balance and, because I’m less than fond of Chase, rarely charge much on this card, I don’t suppose it matters. But it is…well…jaw-dropping.
IMHO, rates of this magnitude ought to be illegal.
No reductions yet, but just signed up for the AmEx Blue Cash card and only got a $5000 limit. Anyone have any thoughts on the best strategy to get them to increase it? Maybe a couple of months of full, on-time payments?
Although it hasn’t happened on American Express, two of my other cards have actually raised my limits.
American Express has stayed the same for about a year now…
Amex lowered our limit by about $3k, that is the only card we use regularly, not sure why it was lowered. Never late, no other problems on other cards or any loans for that matter.
AmEx increased our credit limit unsolicited.
I actually don’t like when they do that.
Quite the opposite, some of my limits have been raised recently. I don’t have AmEx though. I think people with top tier credit will become more valuable to creditors, hence they’ll do more to keep them happy like higher limits.
I’m like Tony, I’ve had multiple AMEX cards over the past couple of decades, never been late, never missed a payment. I have several other credit cards with high available credit and no missed payments… and yet, inexplicably, AMEX has lowered the rate on my Blue card from over $10K to just about $2,300 in the past year — all without notice. I absolutely HATE AMEX and hope they go under. They are a disreputable, dishonest, sleazy company.
No reductions yet .. not even on my Amex, which I just got a couple of months ago. I am still getting at least one credit-card offer in the mail every day. I thought credit was hard to come by?
My wife and I have various credit cards, all with limits ranging from 5K to 35K on each card. Most of our cards have RAISED our credit limit by carying amounts- 3K to 5K. American Express LOWERED our credit limits twice in the last 18 months. It went from 20K to 3K to $1,500. They claimed it was because of delinquent credit on our other cards. My wife and I have credit scores near 800 and have NO blemishes, late payments, etc. Delinquent my a*$. I hope they go bankrupt. They will NEVER see another dime of our money.
I have an Amex SimplyCash card and so far no reduced limit….yet
Actually, quite ironically, Citi just recently gave me a credit limit increase!
I’m with capital one, and so far, so good!
Had an AMEX line dropped from 25K to $500 a couple months ago. Hadn’t used the card for any purchases, ever. But did use it to balance transfer 21K at 0%. Paid it off before paying any interest. Just applied for an auto loan through Capital One auto and was approved literally in 30 seconds for 30k at their lowest rate. Interesting times…
My Sears MC (Citibank) was reduced from $10,000 to $6,000, with the explanation that they reviewed my spending pattern (I only used this card once ot twice a year), and lowered my limit accordingly.
I closed out this account – one less card to manage.
I haven’t had any changes of credit limits but Citibank sent me a letter saying they were canceling my credit card with them because I hadn’t used it in a year or two. I charged something on it (small item) so I don’t lose my credit history with them.
Nope, no decreases. They have stopped increasing my limits, though. Last year, Citibank increased my limit twice. At the beginning of the year, my credit limit was $9000. By the end of the year it was $17,900.
Decrease? What Credit Crisis? Discover has INCREASED my limit TWICE this year!
I don’t really get it, but I think they are trying to get me to use that card again. They were even nice enough to lower my now Variable APR from 28.9% to 25.9% since I’ve been such an awesome customer!!!
I hate them… And have already told them what they can do with their limit increase. I would starve before I would ever use that card again.
Nope, no Credit Limit decrease here either. But, I got a Terms of Agreement change from Chase (in which I don’t have a balance) increasing the APR to 20% something. Yikes! I will be cutting that card up for sure.
In the Philippines, credit card credit limits do not decrease. Card companies usually increase credit limits on a yearly basis.
None of mine have decreased, but I just got a notice from Citibank that my visa card with them actually increased! I was like “What the heck???” I definitely wasn’t expecting that.
Actually, oddly enough, some of mine have increased.
My Wife’s Sears MC (Citibank) was reduced from $11,000 to $7,000, with the explanation that they had reviewed her spending pattern, and reduced her limit accordingly. There was actually mention of Sears / Citibank doing this on the national news this morning. All we have on the Sears card at the moment is an HDTV we bought last November that has 18 months 0% interest … so, of course, we’re not making other charges with the card until that’s paid off.
Still have my $30k Blue and $20k Costco AMEX limits.
Haven’t touched the blue in a year. Most i ever used on a card was about $10k when i had 0%.
Oddly enough, AMEX doubled my credit limit from $5,500 to $11,000 in September. I do not have anything on the card but I do have some debt on other ones. I have not had of the other ones get decreased either. I wonder if the individuals that had their limits decreased have bad credit.
Oddly, Chase raised my limit from $4,500 to $5,300. BofA hasn’t changed my limit with them at all.
My wife’s American Express CL was reduced from 10K to 500. Prior to the CL reduction she hadn’t used the card for about 6 months. She got an offer from them to use the card at some specific stores and she would recieve a $30 credit. After the first use she got a letter reducing the CL.
None of my limits have dropped, but I’m still early enough in this process that I’m still sitting fairly close to the limits on my cards. One thing I will note however, is that Discover is usually pretty quick to RAISE my limit when I sit as close to the limit as I am now, but they’re not budging it right now. That’s fine because I don’t want more credit, but I did find it interesting to note the difference.
My credit limit on my one credit card has not changed which probably means that because I don’t use consumer credit, they don’t bother with me. “Reducing credit limits” is another way of saying “Adding reason and logic to the credit marketplace.”
I have no clue if any of my limits have dropped. I never get any where near the limit to begin with so it wouldn’t matter anyway.
Though with a FICO score exceeding 800 I doubt I’ll see my credit denied or lowered.