Anybody else get dumped by a CC company?

[Norasmomma]

I just did my yearly credit check and LO and behold I got dropped on my zero balance, emergency card, the DAY before the new laws went into effect WTH?! I just love how these laws were put into effect and the companies can STILL hose you, due to the fact they were given like a YEAR to do whatever they want. I find it so insulting that we pay on time every month and they can still do this(well i guess they can't now). Lame.

I guess damned if you do, damned if you don't. UGH.

[A&A]

So, a card you haven't used in awhile? Yep, I've gotten the same treatment.......cards I didn't have a balance on, hadn't used, that got closed. So now I occasionally use cards I want to keep.

[sophiesgrandma]

My son had extra money from tax return and payed his credit card in full. A few days later his card was cancelled. He was so mad. He said he was trying to do a good thing and get rid of his debt and now he has no credit card.
Why did they do this? It's like he is being punished for paying his debt.

[BathrobeGoddess]

We paid off a card with our taxes and it was closed as well...we weren't planning on ever using it again but it was still lame...

[Ygle]

Yep, capital one is the worst for this, followed by Chase and Discovery (I think Discovery sends out a warning, use this or lose this) -they drive me nuts because they keep trying to woo me and then drop me and then woo me all over again... I refuse to use these companies any more for just this reason. On the other hand, I've had my citibank visa for over 20 years and have only used it twice -love 'em for that! (and for adding photos).

What is this new law, anyways?

[sunnysandiegan]

DH had a personal (his name only) credit card for 20+ years. It was his first credit card and he kept it open for sentimental reasons (as well as financial reasons). He used it randomly every so often, but not much and paid it in full any time he had a balance in recent years, but had used it more traditionally for 10+ years. First, he got a notice saying his interest rate was going up to 20+%. (He / We have excellent credit, so this was highly unusual.) He called to ask about that. They put it back to his regular rate at that time (?%, but reasonable). Then, last week, he got a notice saying he was now going to have a $60 annual fee, but he could spend $2400 on the card each year and get the $60 refunded. He called and canceled the card.

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

It really makes me upset that the credit score is partly determined by how much available credit you have, so if they close on your for not using it then your credit score gets dropped. And then if you need more credit in the future you will get a higher interest late for having a lower score. All because you paid off your debt.

[kittywitty]

Our Citi card keeps dropping our available balance to $1 after we pay part of it off. And they pushed our APR to 24 or 26 percent about a week before the new law and it was 13.99 before that (with good credit).

[Norasmomma]

Originally Posted by A&A

So, a card you haven't used in awhile? Yep, I've gotten the same treatment.......cards I didn't have a balance on, hadn't used, that got closed. So now I occasionally use cards I want to keep.

No I used it often to keep my score up, but always paid it in full, on time every month. I got the letter yesterday after posting this and their reasoning was my bankruptcy from 9 years ago, I find it funny when they gave me the card it was a non-issue, and NOW it is. Whatever, now I am nnot going to be able to get anything probably because my history is not long enough and I don't have enough accounts. It's just so BS.

[Norasmomma]

Originally Posted by sophiesgrandma

My son had extra money from tax return and payed his credit card in full. A few days later his card was cancelled. He was so mad. He said he was trying to do a good thing and get rid of his debt and now he has no credit card.
Why did they do this? It's like he is being punished for paying his debt.

That's what we did. We used it and paid-oh well they made nothing off of me, which is the REAL reason of closing my card.

Originally Posted by EarthyMamaofDaisy

It really makes me upset that the credit score is partly determined by how much available credit you have, so if they close on your for not using it then your credit score gets dropped. And then if you need more credit in the future you will get a higher interest late for having a lower score. All because you paid off your debt.

Yeah now I'm basically SOL due to the fact my debt ratio is now higher, so even if I pay all my bills on time, and more than minimum my score is still suffering. Whatever, my main thing was ridding us of any debt other than our mortgage. It still sucks.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

That's what we did. We used it and paid-oh well they made nothing off of me, which is the REAL reason of closing my card.



.

But they do make money every time you use the card. The company you use the card at has to pay the cc company a merchant fee, which is usually 2--3% of your purchase price.

[sallyg6]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

DH had a personal (his name only) credit card for 20+ years. It was his first credit card and he kept it open for sentimental reasons (as well as financial reasons). He used it randomly every so often, but not much and paid it in full any time he had a balance in recent years, but had used it more traditionally for 10+ years. First, he got a notice saying his interest rate was going up to 20+%. (He / We have excellent credit, so this was highly unusual.) He called to ask about that. They put it back to his regular rate at that time (?%, but reasonable). Then, last week, he got a notice saying he was now going to have a $60 annual fee, but he could spend $2400 on the card each year and get the $60 refunded. He called and canceled the card.

Exact same thing happened to me. I kept it open because it was in my name only and I'd had it for a long time . . . I had a small recurring charge on it every month that I payed off. Cancelled it when they instituted the annual fee. Oh well.

[raingyrl]

In my experience citibank has been the worst!

The day before the laws changed, they cancelled one card, raised the apr to 26% (from 7.9) on another, and decreased the limit by $2000 on another. No clear reasons. After several long phone conversations, the apr was dropped back down. I plan to pay off what I can and cancel as I go along. I don't care if this hurts my credit temporarily. The headache is too much!

[_ktg_]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

DH had a personal (his name only) credit card for 20+ years. It was his first credit card and he kept it open for sentimental reasons (as well as financial reasons). He used it randomly every so often, but not much and paid it in full any time he had a balance in recent years, but had used it more traditionally for 10+ years. First, he got a notice saying his interest rate was going up to 20+%. (He / We have excellent credit, so this was highly unusual.) He called to ask about that. They put it back to his regular rate at that time (?%, but reasonable). Then, last week, he got a notice saying he was now going to have a $60 annual fee, but he could spend $2400 on the card each year and get the $60 refunded. He called and canceled the card.

We got the same notice for DH's card for this change. When I read it and what they suggested I just started to

The games these companies are playing now are worse than before this law was voted on. I also agree with you Raingyrl - citi is the worst in my book.

[DisplacedYooper]

Yep, had a card we never really used but kept around for travelling out of the country (our main card is Discover) cancelled on us. And now, last couple of weeks, we've been getting offers to start a credit line with the same company!

[Geigerin]

I did, with no notice, but it was on a card I don't use. Still ticked me off because I have very good credit. And aren't they supposed to notify you??

On the upside, AmEx has been great through all of this crap with the cc companies. Our rates and annual fees haven't changed (our card is through Costco...don't know if that's why). We pay in full every month, and we get points for just about everything we buy. My parents said their AmEx was the only card that didn't get jacked in some way, too (higher rate, annual fee, etc.).

Our Sony Visa is the same. We even just got a free camera with points we've been collecting for a while. It's nice to know that there are at least a few good eggs out there.

Just wanted to share that there are some good options left these days.