Home Depot cut my credit limit by $9999

[Lel]

I misplaced my Home Depot card.  I had let it sit idle for well over a year, but decided to use it again to keep it active.  I know it's somewhere in the house, but when I couldn't find it, I called HD for a replacement card.  When it arrived today, the accompanying paperwork said that my credit limit was $5001; the previous limit was $15,000.  It was one of my highest CL cards.  So sad.

I didn't actually report the card as lost, and they said they were not going to cancel the old card or change the account number.  Could the mere act of requesting a replacement card for a missing one lead to the CL decrease?  Maybe this is HD's way of limiting potential losses just in case the other card is floating around outside my home.

Does anyone think this it a possible scenario?

[Chopbrocoli]

Sorry to hear, but of all CL's, they stated $5001? Random. I think its just that since the card has not been used for such a long time and there have been no recent payment history or pattern, they might consider you a tempoary risk.

[Lel]

Yep, $5001.  Go figure.

Now I see the thread started by Creditaddict, where HD sent him a 10% coupon to get him to use his high credit line, and he also hasn't used his card in a long time!

Oh well.....

[Anonymous]

Its possible due to the times we are facing that the credit limit was lowered. Any recent account openings or CLI's with anybody else? Also a point to remember is that the issuer is Citi and they are known for closing accounts that go inactive, or reducing the limit because of non use.

[emartin82]

i've been reading the news and keeping up with the boards. without knowing the intimate details of your credit reports and financial history, i can still say the likely reason they reduced your credit limit after a year of inactivity and then finally requesting a new card is that the Bank believes that--in this unstable economic climate--you finally need to use up that 15000 line of credit because you're in a bad situation and this makes you a bigger risk.

i'm not saying this is the case with you, but that is the bank's mentality. I read somewhere that 30% of prime lenders are reducing risk by reducing CL on their card holders. 60% of subprime bank lenders are reducing risk by decreasing CL on their customers as well.

you can also find out if they did a soft pull to review your account before they re-issued the card. if this is the case, take a look at your revolving balances and any recent inquiries. too many new accounts/inquiries and high revolving balances is often a reason why they reduce CL's in this economic climate.

[Anonymous]

when I got my home depot card the limit was $1001 go figure. They've since CLD me to $500 but card is collecting dust in my wallet. Refuse to ask for a CLI because it;s an hard inq so they do like that ending that limit in a 1

[Lel]

Well, just out of curiousity I called the HD credit card to ask why the CL had been decreased.  I was told that since it was sitting idle for so long, they cut the CL.  Apparently, this was done back in November, and thus was not in response to my call about my misplaced card.  They sent me a letter, but I probably trashed it without looking at it.

Anyways, they asked if I wanted to request a CL increase.  Since we are, in fact, thinking about doing a major remodel, I said sure, and voila!  My CL is back up to $15k.

An interesting question they had during this process: in addition to asking about my income, they also asked whether I would be paying off my balance in a lump sum after the 6 months no interest/no payment period for purchases over $299.  I told them that it would probably be a lump sum, but I wasn't certain (how can anyone be?).  I wonder what would have happened if I said that I was going to carry a balance.  Theoretically, they should want me to carry a balance, and a nice high one at that, but I wonder if saying that I would carry a balance would have actually led to a denial of CLI, because it might make them think that I would have trouble paying them back.  Hmmmm...... 

[Creditaddict]

I'm going to buy paper towels tonight to make sure this account stays active now... I have been holding on to this thing for years just waiting to buy a condo, If I lost all my CL I would cry!

[Lel]

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@Creditaddict wrote:
I'm going to buy paper towels tonight to make sure this account stays active now... I have been holding on to this thing for years just waiting to buy a condo, If I lost all my CL I would cry!

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Yeah, me too!

Give me your coupon!!!! 

[emartin82]

Great news! Congrats on getting your CL back.