Chase closed my account because I requested an interest reduction

[Anonymous]

I called Chase bank, where I am a loyal customer (3 bank accounts, 2 credit cards), about two weeks ago to inquire about getting my interest rate lowered (it jumped from 13% to 27.99%, recently). I was told that they are having a credit freeze and that my request couldnt be accomodated. I politely thanked him for his time, and we hung up. About 5 days later I received a letter in the mail from Chase saying that they regret to inform me that they could not reopen my account. Confused, I called them immediately and asked why I would get such a letter, as Id never closed my account. The representative told me that the person who took my call about the interest rate had closed my account, most likely by accident, and then requested that it be reopened, but Chase had "tightened its approval rules", and the account was not approved to be reopened. I was stunned. I have been calling back every day for the last week to speak to a different supervisor, as this was my one and only credit card, with a high limit and great history, and now I show a $0 availability with a $9k balance! Chase refuses to budge, even though this was a mistake on their part. Do I have any leverage here?

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I called Chase bank, where I am a loyal customer (3 bank accounts, 2 credit cards), about two weeks ago to inquire about getting my interest rate lowered (it jumped from 13% to 27.99%, recently). I was told that they are having a credit freeze and that my request couldnt be accomodated. I politely thanked him for his time, and we hung up. About 5 days later I received a letter in the mail from Chase saying that they regret to inform me that they could not reopen my account. Confused, I called them immediately and asked why I would get such a letter, as Id never closed my account. The representative told me that the person who took my call about the interest rate had closed my account, most likely by accident, and then requested that it be reopened, but Chase had "tightened its approval rules", and the account was not approved to be reopened. I was stunned. I have been calling back every day for the last week to speak to a different supervisor, as this was my one and only credit card, with a high limit and great history, and now I show a $0 availability with a $9k balance! Chase refuses to budge, even though this was a mistake on their part. Do I have any leverage here?

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Welcome to the forums although I am sorry you wrote under these circumstances.

One of our long time posters, creditwherecreditisdue, has suggested many times that perhaps calling and asking for a retention specialist to bypass the regular CSR's might be helpful. You might try this.

Good luck to you.

[mgs2010]

I used to work for Chase and I am sorry to hear about what happened to your account! They DO record ALL calls for quality and training purposes so if it were me I would demand to speak with a supervisor, or the supervisors boss....climb the ladder as high as you can and request that they pull the call and listen to it, and nowhere during that call did you request the account to be closed. They do have ways of overturning mistakes made by representatives....they are just thinking that you called to close the card, but you need to be consistent (and don't be nasty, it wont get you ANYTHING trust me...I worked in card services...if you are rude you won't get anything done) make sure that you tell the supervisor the full story and tell it like it is...You've been a long term customer for a long time, you have several accounts with them, you can easily take all of your banking business elsewhere. Just have them pull the tape. Its that simple. 

[Anonymous]

It really does not sound like a mistake. It looks like they didn't like the fact that u asked for a APR reduction and decided to close your account. Try for another card with another company and transfer the balance. If u get a good transfer rate you'll save money and best of all you won't have to deal with Chase again.

[Uborrow-Upay]

Sorry about your trouble with Chase, Nikole00.

I called a few months ago about a ratejack I got on a Chase business account.  They wouldn't budge.

A short time later, I got another letter from Chase, ratejacking me an additional 2.74%.  And it wasn't an error, either.

Guess that's their way of telling me to go f*** myself.  My way of returning that sentiment is charging $5.00, once a month on that card.  I normally ran thousands thru that account, every month, and normally PIF.

Forget them.  You don't need 'em, they need you.

[Scamp]

Nikole, sorry to hear this happened to you, and as others have said, welcome to the forums.

The suggestion above to request a retention specialist was an excellent one.

However, if that gives you no luck, one more option would be to check the Backdoor Numbers thread stickied at the top of this board (and linked in my signature below) for Chase numbers and try talking with their credit analysts there directly.  However, be prepared for a hard inquiry by them to reconsider the matter, and be prepared for it not to work - the current credit climate does have lenders really tightening up, and you may not have any luck getting this card reopened.  You may end up having to apply for a new card with someone else.

Good luck!

[Jazzzy]

As another poster said, I urge you to apply for another credit card. You can get great ideas here in the credit card forum as to what card might work for you.

In today's credit climate, it's not good to have all your eggs in one credit basket. If you check your FICO scores and give the posters here a bit more information on your situation, you'll get lots of good suggestions.

We have a Chase with a $15k limit. When we started to read about Chase closing cards without notice, we applied for other credit to replace the Chase card. We still have the Chase, but we use it only a couple times a year to keep it open. We didn't want to be one of those who is caught at the convenience store (after filling the tank) with a credit card that was denied at the register. You are very lucky that you didn't try to use the card in those 5 days. It would have been declined. We were NOT about to let Chase do that to us (or to our 16 y/o daughter who also carried the card).

Believe me, life will be easier once you are Chase-free.

[Ryan2151]

I wouldn't bother dealing with Chase at all. I was one of the lucky WaMu customers who ended up with 3 Chase credit accounts and then had the APR's on those accounts jacked to 29.99% when my Friday online payment was not processed until Tuesday, 1 day after their Monday due date that was just changed during the billing cycle. 1 "late" payment in 5 years with these accounts and my APR more than doubled! I PIF'ed all 3 accounts and won't even be charging the $5 that someone else spoke to. Chase are one of the worst as far as customer support and care go, they don't deserve our money or time.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, everyone, for the help!!! I think I will try to call Chase once more today, and speak to someone "higher up". If it gets me nowhere, does anyone have any idea which banks are actually issuing credit during this supposed credit crunch? Id hate to apply and get declined because banks arent opening new accounts (like Chase said).

My credit is at 699 right now---not great, but certainly not BAD...but bound to get WORSE when this Chase thing hits my report!

[voidman]

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@Uborrow-Upay wrote:

Forget them.  You don't need 'em, they need you.

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Thats not entirely true. They are there coz we need them.