Chase canceled my credit card

[ziggy29]

It can cause a ripple effect. There was a local news story of a lady that had her limit lowered by a credit card. (No payment issues, the change was initiated by the company) This dropped her credit score a few points which triggered her other credit card company (BAC) to jump her interest rate from 10% to 24%.

THIS is the sort of thing that should be illegal. If your rate is jacked up because you defaulted on an account, fine. But when your interest rate rises because of something a card issuer decides to do to you when you've been in good standing, that's just wrong.

 

[OAG]

I got a letter in the mail today saying that I havn't charged anything on my Chase card for two years, so they were cancelling the card. It wasn't that long ago that I had to argue with the card company's to cancel a card.

I also was asked by my bank to cancel a line of credit that I had since 2001 but never used.

A sign of the times, or is it just me?

Welcome to the Chase Cancellation of CC Club (now known as the C/5).

 

[samclem]

THIS is the sort of thing that should be illegal. If your rate is jacked up because you defaulted on an account, fine. But when your interest rate rises because of something a card issuer decides to do to you when you've been in good standing, that's just wrong.

Why should it be illegal? The agreement you sign when you get the card spells it all out--they can raise the rate at any time. They don't need a reason at all. Carrying a balance is a risky thing. Any card company is free to compete for business by offering better terms ("we'll never raise your interest rate on amounts you charge--the rate in effect on the day of purchase will always be the rate you pay"), and such cards might find favor with some consumers. But the credit caps would probably be low and the rate would usually be higher than the floating rate (Just like mortgages). And, since the card company would probably credit payments against the lowest interest rate increment first (again, per their card agreement), it wouldn't end up being such a great deal for many folks who carry a balance for a long time.

Less Nanny State, more adult behavior and individual responsibility.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Why should it be illegal? The agreement you sign when you get the card spells it all out--they can raise the rate at any time. They don't need a reason at all. Carrying a balance is a risky thing. Any card company is free to compete for business by offering better terms ("we'll never raise your interest rate on amounts you charge--the rate in effect on the day of purchase will always be the rate you pay"), and such cards might find favor with some consumers. But the credit caps would probably be low and the rate would usually be higher than the floating rate (Just like mortgages). And, since the card company would probably credit payments against the lowest interest rate increment first (again, per their card agreement), it wouldn't end up being such a great deal for many folks who carry a balance for a long time.

Less Nanny State, more adult behavior and individual responsibility.

Yep. I agree. People need to take personal responsibility. Dont use the damn things. The majority of the people probably dont even bother reading the contract.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I heard on the radio (so it must be true) that the gummint is going to limit the card companies' ability to change rates and how they apply rates to existing balances. Tomorrow!

Federal Reserve Board to vote on credit-card rules - Dec. 16, 2008

If approved, the Fed's rules will mean an end to double-cycle billing, which averages out the balance from two previous bills. That means that consumers who carry a balance can get hit with retroactive interest on their previous month's bill - even if they've already paid that off.
Consumers would also be given a reasonable amount of time to make payments, and payments would be applied to higher-rate balances first, to reduce interest penalties and fees.
Credit card statements would clearly list the time of day that a payment is due, and any changes to accounts would be in bold or listed separately.
And, finally, no more universal defaults - policy which allows credit card issuers to increase the interest rate on one card if a customer misses a payment on another card.

 

[samclem]

I heard on the radio (so it must be true) that the gummint is going to limit the card companies' ability to change rates and how they apply rates to existing balances. Tomorrow!

Federal Reserve Board to vote on credit-card rules - Dec. 16, 2008

Hmmh. So, we've got a bunch of banks that are teetering, and the Fed has decided to reduce their perfectly legal mechanisms for making money. And do it with no notice.

How about having the new, tighter rules apply only to banks which take the bailout money? If you take the money, you have to do these particular things (send your customers a toaster every year, call them every month to assure they aren't having an adverse emotional reaction to their financial situation, etc). If you don't take the government money, you can continue to write any legal contracts you want with your customers.

Same as the auto industry: If you take the government bailout, you have to build the Congressionally-mandated 4-wheeled mopeds that get 50 MPG, that can fall apart in 3 years, and that no one wants. If you don't take the money, you can build cars as you see fit to meet customer demand.

Soon we'd have two tiers of banks/cars. The Government-"assisted" ones (think Renault/British Leyland combined with the charm of the DMV) and the free enterprise companies (think Honda). I wonder which would do better, and which would really be helping the country more.

 

[Rustward]

What's the reason; somehow freeing up available credit on their books?

Not a credit card guru here, but my guess is there is some limit on how much credit the cc company can have outstanding and they would rather extend that credit to someone who will use it, indirectly producing transaction fees from merchants and possibly interest (and fees) from you when you carry a balance. There is also a tangible cost to maintaining a dormant account. I am sure the cc company can tell you to the penny the cost of maintaining a dormant account.

 

[TromboneAl]

What are the reasons you guys have credit cards that you don't use?

 

[CuppaJoe]

What are the reasons you guys have credit cards that you don't use?

For me, it might be just plain laziness. The card Union Bank just cancelled was locked in a file cabinet, maybe being kept in case of what, emergency? A couple of years ago I did a sweep and cancelled several old department store accounts. I always liked to keep two Visa/MasterCard accounts because years ago one expired during my typical vacation time and I would use the other one. Also if there is fraud on one account I like to stop charging on it until it gets straightened out; that happened once.

Funny story, if there is any humor in credit: I had an old Macy's card and bought some furniture there. The clerk took the card, turned it all around, looked at it upside down and said, "this looks like's it's been in a drawer for years!" It had been. He did a quick numbers thing in the computer, updated it, increased the credit line, and saw to it that a new card was mailed out right away. Don't tell Gimbles!

 

[cantlogin]

What are the reasons you guys have credit cards that you don't use?

Had one and found another with better terms.

And

Signup for a new card today and get a discount, cash back or other bonus promotion.

 

[shoe]

I got my letter from Chase yesterday. I feel sooo rejected! BWahhaaahaa!!!

 

[dm]

What are the reasons you guys have credit cards that you don't use?

There must have been a promotion of some sort. We generally use discover for most things, and have a Visa for places that dont take discover.

In the past, it was sometimes a pain to cancel a card. They either kept you on line or tried to pitch you something else. I don't even remember having this card or where it might be. We might have even cut it up when we got it. I guess I should be glad they cancelled it.

 

[OAG]

Got Amazon's VISA Card on a promo - $30 off first order of any amount. Bought a 8 GB Flash Drive (which I wanted) that was selling for about $40 with a $20 mail in rebate and free shipping. So spent $40 got $30 off and after getting the $20 mail in rebate the cost of the product became ($10) so "they" actually PAID me about $10 to buy. Still got the card tucked away in the file cabinet and will probably never use it again and the Flash drive is used daily.

 

[Urchina]

I wonder if it just costs them too much to maintain an account that isn't generating cashflow. They've got to pay for paper and mail the statements every month, even if there's a zero balance on the card, right? So let's say they spend 30 cents a month in printing toner, paper and postage, per account, and multiply that by several thousand per month. (Say, 10 thousand). That's $3K/month that's just a bleed, and if you haven't used the card for two years, odds are good you aren't going to use it this year, either, and if you are it's because you're in dire straits, and they don't want that either.

T-Al, we have several cards we don't use because we haven't cancelled them yet. Sheer laziness on our part. We also have a large balance outstanding on our HELOC, and cancelling a card would negatively affect our debt-to-credit ratio, so we're going to pay off the HELOC before we cancel the cards.

Hey, we're procrastinators AND lazy! Hooray!

 

[jazz4cash]

Chase Credit Card Holders Beware

Having your card cancelled might not be so bad. Chase has been very busy making changes. I heard something about it on CNBC and followed a link to a consumer website. The main complaint was that Chase imposed a $10 per month service fee to retain a low rate til paid balance transfer offer. This was alarming to me because I have been stoozing on one of these for about two yrs now. I got my statement today and there are no changes to my account.

Consumer Complaints about Chase Credit Cards

When they cancel your card, do they at least give you advance warning, or is it likely that you could be trying to make a purchase and the card was cancelled yesterday? I keep mine for stoozing emergency use by my spouse and kids.

 

[jazz4cash]

I wonder how long before they say "you're being cancelled because you only used the card x times in xx months".

 

[bright eyed]

I have a chase card and they had credited a payment twice in one period vs for the next period - making me late, upping my % from 0 to 14% and tacking on a late fee.

Calmly, I called, complained - first ignoramous practically yelled at me and said i was irresponsible and why should they refund me the fee and that there would be little chance of getting the promo rate back...i calmly asked for the transfer to the appropriate person who kindly, quickly refunded me the late fee, got the payment credited to the correct period and I got my 0% back!

I thought i might not get the 0% back given the times and stories going on around, so perhaps there's still good things out there for those of us w/ sparkly credit?

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I have a chase card and they had credited a payment twice in one period vs for the next period - making me late, upping my % from 0 to 14% and tacking on a late fee.

Calmly, I called, complained - first ignoramous practically yelled at me and said i was irresponsible and why should they refund me the fee and that there would be little chance of getting the promo rate back...i calmly asked for the transfer to the appropriate person who kindly, quickly refunded me the late fee, got the payment credited to the correct period and I got my 0% back!

I thought i might not get the 0% back given the times and stories going on around, so perhaps there's still good things out there for those of us w/ sparkly credit?

I use the Pen Fed visa. This forum turned me on to the card. IF you don't carry a balance its pretty good. Specially when gas was 4.50 a gallon I have not found any other cards that offer better cash back rewards. Not saying they are not out there.

 

[Rustward]

...
T-Al, we have several cards we don't use because we haven't cancelled them yet. Sheer laziness on our part. We also have a large balance outstanding on our HELOC, and cancelling a card would negatively affect our debt-to-credit ratio, so we're going to pay off the HELOC before we cancel the cards.

To keep them from being canceled, you might want to use those cards once or twice a year, at least for some token purchases.

 

[tjon72]

i have a Citi card which I have not used since issued (use mostly discover for cash rewards) apparantly it has expired, received a replacement in the mail yesterday, oh well, into the 'sock' drawer.......

 

[BanDit1]

Wondering...For those of you who have credit cards, why don't you use them?

I use my AMEX Green for online purchases (must be paid in full every month)

I use my Discover for all grocery, gas, and pet supply purchases (paid in full every month)

I rotate other purchases on my AMEX Blue, Chase, and FIA cards (all paid off each month).

I make 5 on-line payments a month from my checking account for virtually all purchases I make.

It keeps all the CC's active, current, and in good standing, and greatly simplifies my life.

Just wondering...

 

[REWahoo]

Wondering...For those of you who have credit cards, why don't you use them?

Just wondering...

See post #33 above. http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/chase-canceled-my-credit-card-41252-2.html#post760595

 

[ziggy29]

I have a Visa with my CU that I've had since the early 1990s. I almost never use it any more because it doesn't offer points or cash back like my other two credit cards (a Schwab Visa and a USAA Amex) do. (Even my *debit* card gives me 1/2% cash back now.)

But because it has a $20,000 credit limit and it's been in good standing for over 15 years, it's good for the credit score to keep it. So I charge one $10 item with it every few months just to make sure the CU doesn't close it.

 

[frayne]

Wondering...For those of you who have credit cards, why don't you use them?

I use my AMEX Green for online purchases (must be paid in full every month)

I use my Discover for all grocery, gas, and pet supply purchases (paid in full every month)

I rotate other purchases on my AMEX Blue, Chase, and FIA cards (all paid off each month).

I make 5 on-line payments a month from my checking account for virtually all purchases I make.

It keeps all the CC's active, current, and in good standing, and greatly simplifies my life.

Just wondering...

Four or five credit cards to keep track of, makes your life easier. One credit card, paid in full every month makes my life easy.

 

[BanDit1]

frayne: I do see your point. However, I have had these cards for eons, going back to much younger, less wiser days. Now they predominantly make up my FICO score. I don't want any longstanding cards to be cancelled due to non-use, and thereby hurt the FICO score. Yes..Using only 1 card would be infinitely simpler.