BOA CLD Number Two. This one is a big deal.

[FretlessMayhem]

BOA CLD'd my Amex card with them yesterday from $5700 to $500. The CSR told me "There are reasons we cut credit lines" on the phone last night, which severely agitated me.

Today, BOA cut the CL on my MC from $20,000 to $6,000, which is hardly above my balance of $5700. Now my util is maxed out, and I don't know what to do. I'm going to have to mull it over for a bit. 

This isn't fair. The bailout money was supposed to loosen the credit markets. It makes me completely sick to my stomach that BOA can demand some 40 billion from the US govt under the pretenses of lending and then cut my CLs. I have had those accounts for a year and have never missed a payment. 

[techman2008]

See that worries me.  I have a boa amex and boa visa.  I would understand if they at least give you a notice, these cld without warning sucks cause we don't have time to react or allocate the right amount of money to a zero balance.  I'm sorry to hear that fretlessmayhem and you're credit score is not that bad.  I hope they increase your credit line back, but who knows with these banks.  I know that I'll be switching to a cu if boa reduce my cl. 

[wmarat]

That sux. Sorry that happened to you. As for bailout, do not be naive.

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@FretlessMayhem wrote:

BOA CLD'd my Amex card with them yesterday from $5700 to $500. The CSR told me "There are reasons we cut credit lines" on the phone last night, which severely agitated me.

Today, BOA cut the CL on my MC from $20,000 to $6,000, which is hardly above my balance of $5700. Now my util is maxed out, and I don't know what to do. I'm going to have to mull it over for a bit. 

This isn't fair. The bailout money was supposed to loosen the credit markets. It makes me completely sick to my stomach that BOA can demand some 40 billion from the US govt under the pretenses of lending and then cut my CLs. I have had those accounts for a year and have never missed a payment. 

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[Anonymous]

FretlessM, I am so sorry to hear this! That just... beyond sucks. Did the CSR provide any additional information as to why they cut your credit line? Did you try a BoA backdoor #?

Have you pulled your credit reports directly from the CRAs recently? If not, I think you should, just to make certain that nothing untoward has popped up. Aside from that, are you aware of any other actions that might have even remotely precipitated BoAs AA against you?

1. Have you recently requested CLIs with them?
2. Have you recently gotten a new mortgage?
3. Opened any new accounts with anyone else?
4. Do you bank with BoA? If so, have you had any overdraft fees, or have you recently moved a large sum of $$$ away from them?
5. Do you receive unemployment benefits? (I was reading an article about BoA and CITI related to unemployment benefits just last night)
6. Have you recently changed your spending or payment habits?
7. Have any of your other creditors CLD'd you, perhaps flagging BoA to follow suit?

Sorry for all the questions. It's just that in the current climate, it's just about impossible to know if there was some reason (rational or not) or just an across the board cut. Obviously, the possibilities for what rationale BoA might come up with are almost limitless, but these seem to be some of the more common 'reasons' given.

Also, I'd encourage you to write to your congressional representatives about this. Obviously, writing to them won't "fix" the problem, but I firmly believe that they need to hear from their constituents about the very real impact and harm that consumers with positive histories are suffering as a result of AA from lending institutions who took our tax money under the guise of opening up the credit markets. The lending institutions giveth, and they have the right to taketh away, but our entire economy and way of life is entertwined with this mess. If not correcting the banks, then the legislative branch needs to take another strong look at how credit is reported, manipulated, and has the power to disproportionately harm the consumers who are at the mercy of it.

[llecs]

Double bummer.

[Red1Blue]

Looks like they are doing a balance chase.

[FretlessMayhem]

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@Red1Blue wrote:
Looks like they are doing a balance chase.

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I'm wondering if that's the case. I just dropped a payment on that account to bring to $4000 on a $6000 CL. 

I called the back door number and the credit analyst said she agreed with cutting the CL, and that my current CLs are "sufficient in the current credit climate". I brought up the bailout issue, and the CSR said nothing at all except "Is there anything else I can help you with?". 

I guess BOA trained them to completely avoid the issue. 

[Anonymous]

I have heard that banks are lowering CL's for people who live in CA, AZ, NV, and FL as those are the high foreclosure states.

Just due to the property declines they are targeting those areas.

My friend who is a senior credit analyst at GEMB told me that GEMB started to do that back in 9/08 as well.

[Changingmantra]

I am in NY and I got hit by both HSBC and GEMB this week with GEMB hitting the hardest.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry to hear about the CLD's, fretless.

You wanna know the ultimate hypocrisy???

Bank of America took out a full-page ad in today's USA Today

entitled "Giving America the Credit it Deserves." 

The ad is on page 7A.

The last full paragraph really caught my eye. It reads:

"We want people in this country to do more than just get by.

We want them to get ahead. And we're giving them the credit

to do it."

So the next time you call BofA's backdoor number, ask them how

they can brag about extending credit to customers in a major newspaper

while actively chasing down your limits at the same time. Then listen to them

stutter and stammer while they attempt to give you a canned BS excuse.

Personally, I think this kind of thing is despicable.

I feel for you, fretless. Your example is further evidence that our

"too big to fail" banks continue to say one thing and do another...

CanDo

"The right attitude is everything"