Card Issuers Closing Inactive Accounts
Are you aware that many of the credit card issuers are now closing accounts that have been inactive for 12 months or more? In other cases inactivity will cause the credit card company to lower the credit limit of the cardholder – without notice.
Either way this does pose a potential problem for many credit card account holders and can even result in a lower credit score. And sure enough it is a direct consequence of current credit morass.
Banks and financial services companies are not only severely limiting the number of new credit card applications that they are approving, but are also closing down existing accounts wherever possible in an effort to mitigate their exposure to defaults and charge-offs.
Now if you do not currently carry a balance and have one or more cards already you may not mind having your account closed. But for many it may be their only card and something they like to have in case of a financial emergency. A safety net, if you will.
If this happens to you and it becomes an issue there are several things you can do to remedy it. First off, check your credit card disclosure statement to see if this is something they have previously disclosed as something that could happen.
If it is not then call your credit card company and (respectfully) object to it. You would be quite surprised to find out how agreeable card issuers can be if you only ask. Negotiate with them.
We have written a few articles about how to negotiate with your credit card company that you can read right here on our site. Read our tips for dealing with your credit card company for useful advice.
The best case scenario is that you get what you want. But remember this, credit card issuers are hurting in a big way right now. If you are a good customer with a good credit history they will not want to lose you. Use that to your advantage.
Related Information:
- Consumers Are Angry with Credit Card Issuers Consumer anger with credit card issuers has reached a new high....
- American Express To Pay Cardholders To Close Their Accounts American Express is actually giving some cardholders money to close their accounts....
- Credit Card Issuers Getting Creative with Their Fees Credit card issuers are finding new ways to charge their account holder's fees...
- Credit Card Accounts Being Closed Without Warning Gas credit card accounts are being closed on cardholders without warning....