cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

American Express closed my girlfriends account

tag
debell
New Member

American Express closed my girlfriends account

Good morning everyone. 

 

First, I'd like to say that I am very credit concious. I take a great deal of pride in my credit and score and very careful with any credit that I am using.

 

Now, my girlfriend comes from a family that unfortunately does not take credit seriously. She's 27 years old and has made a lot of mistakes related to credit (late payments, collections, etc) largely in part due to her parents using her credit for things they need or just not teacher her any basics on these accounts. She's at fault and she realizes this and has been working to get herself back on her feet. 

 

Since we started dating in 2009, we've really worked hard to get her credit back. She was able to get a car loan, a charge card from Amex and has really cleared up some things on her account history. She has had her Amex charge card since 2010 and has been very good with it. She pays it off every month on time. 

 

Recently, she paid off some credit cards she had that had high balances on them due to family members using her credit. Those cards were paid in full and canceled. I did explain to her the benefit of keeping them open, but she felt more comfortable closing them out as she has some family members who really took advantage of her. The Amex charge card worked great since it had to be paid off every month and kept her on the right track. 

 

Yesterday, she received an e-mail from American Express stating that they would be closing her account and not much more information. She called and was informed that they do a review of her credit history from time to time and found she was delinquint on a few accounts. We pulled her credit report from all three credit bureaus and she does have two student loans that she had gone past due on just recently. She's working on getting those loans deferred at this time.

 

American Express did state that she had credit cards with high balances and we explained to them that those cards were paid in full and closed. They said she can appeal and to fax the information over to them. I am curious if anyone else has been through this with American Express and what their experience was. She's very disappointed in this entire process and realizes she's made a lot of mistakes.

 

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Message 1 of 21
20 REPLIES 20
Cageym
Established Contributor

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account

I'v enever had the experience but if I were her I would be having serious words with my so called family about screwing me over.


What's in my wallet: Cap1 Venture NFCU Sig Visa Delta Gold Amex BCE Citi Simplicity IHG World MC Amazon Visa CSP
Starting Score: 5/2010 550-ish
Current Score: 6/20/2013 TU 800 6/20/2013 EQ 770 6/20/2013 EX 775
Goal Score: 800 accross the board
Message 2 of 21
CreditCrusader
Valued Contributor

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account

Amex is notorious for paranoia over the contents of cardholders' financial profile...including CR developments...probably the source of their prestige and allure. Only advice I can give is to get all accounts current and forge forward, as this Amex is likely lost.
In my wallet: Apple $5,000, local CU $15,000, Bread AMEX $5,000. In my sock drawer: A few other cards Smiley Happy

Current scores (EQ, EX, TU): 787, 788, 796
Message 3 of 21
Open123
Super Contributor

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account

One of the less than pleasant aspects of dealing with Amex is their propensity to "surgically" cancel accounts. 

 

At least, they somewhat shared with the reason with your girlfriend.  From what I gather, being "late" with a student loan payment once in a while is fine, but two in a year is probably something Amex would be concerned about, depending on her overall profile. 

 

Most issuers would find "deferrment" a sign of financial issues.

Message 4 of 21
Duncanrr
Valued Contributor

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account

I would appeal. It may cost her a HP but if the information has been updated then it should be fine. The recent lates on student loans maybe a problem. Was she able to get them deferred and could she get the lates removed?


Starting Score: EQ 551 TU 548 CK 607on 6/8/12, EX 542(AMEX pull 3/4/12)
Current Score: EQ 808 TU --- EX --- CK 804(FAKO-EX 821, EQ 823, TU 803)
Goal Score: 750

Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
Message 5 of 21
enharu
Super Contributor

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account

she ought to first contact the company that issued her the student loan to see if they're willing to remove the lates, out of goodwill. if she can get rid of them, that'll help a lot.

 

JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).
Message 6 of 21
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account

I have been through the closing from lates on other accounts.    It was futile in my case, and since your GF has recent lates on student loans, I suspect the odds are slim, but probably worth trying.

 

If GF does not have any other major CC, she should work on getting at least 3.   You need a backup in case account get closed, card is stolen, or fraud which would make card unavailable for your use.   Of course, keep them secret from her family.   

 

.

 

 

Message 7 of 21
debell
New Member

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account

This has been an ongoing battle for me. Her parents are very bad when it comes to credit (although they make about $8,000 a month between pension and salaries). They have instilled these poor values in both of their daughters (one of which is my girlfriend). She has come a long way since we first started dating. She was very lost when it came to credit and she was finally on the right track. She just paid off all her credit cards (Kohls, Target and an HSBC card). Most of the debt that was on those cards were from her parents and/or her sister. 

 

When we first start dating, she had one card. I helped get her credit on track, helped her get a car loan and helped her clear up some oustanding debt. I am not looking for a pat on the back, but we worked hard for quite some time to do this. A few summers ago, her sister and her mother decided they were going to go clothes shopping for her nephew on her credit card and ran up a bill but promised they'd pay. Her mom's word is nothing to me anymore after this. We were lucky if she paid the minimum payment, and she always had excuses. My girlfriend has been in out and of jobs and has had a rough time finding work, so in the meantime her parents have helped her out. This has made it very difficult for her because while she's getting help from her parents, they're not fulfilling their obligations to pay off their debt on her credit cards.

 

Finally, with her tax return she received this past year she paid off all remaining debt on all of these cards. She had cut up the cards several months ago when I suggested she do this to be able to decline anyone who asks for the card. Her parents are good people, but when it comes to finances they are a mess. It was always very hard for her to tell them no when asked to use her credit card. The easier method was to tell them the cards were cut up.

 

Fast forward to now, her parents have not asked to use any cards anymore. They do occasionally use the Amex for gas and such but always give her the money on the due date. This whole situation was unfortunate because just as she was taking an understanding to all of this she lost her charge card with Amex. I explained to her that I felt it was most likely due to her being late on her student loans, which she has since worked on getting deferred.

 

She understands that she's dug herself into this hole and she's very upset with her family . She won't talk about it to much with me because she knows how I feel about it (there's even more to the story with her parents borrowing money from me a few years back and taking their time paying me back - which caused some friction in our relationship) but that's since been cleared up and will not ever occur again.

Message 8 of 21
debell
New Member

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account


@Wolf3 wrote:

I have been through the closing from lates on other accounts.    It was futile in my case, and since your GF has recent lates on student loans, I suspect the odds are slim, but probably worth trying.

 

If GF does not have any other major CC, she should work on getting at least 3.   You need a backup in case account get closed, card is stolen, or fraud which would make card unavailable for your use.   Of course, keep them secret from her family.   

 

.

 

 


 

I have been looking for some others cards that would work for her. Her FICO score is in the range of about 620-630 so it's not great. It's very difficult to find her a credit card with her credit history. I recently applied for the Capital One Platinum card with the $19 annual fee for her. What other cards would everyone recommend for someone with a score like hers?

Message 9 of 21
debell
New Member

Re: American Express closed my girlfriends account


@enharu wrote:

she ought to first contact the company that issued her the student loan to see if they're willing to remove the lates, out of goodwill. if she can get rid of them, that'll help a lot.

 


She's working on this and hopefully going to get it done this week. When and if they'll do it is another question. It is my feeling that this American Express charge card is probably lost.

Message 10 of 21
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.