topic Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do! in Credit Cards

SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:40:36 GMT

You know, I wouldn't listen when people told me to stay away from Amex because I was doing so well, I had never been financial reviewed.

I was freaking because Amex is one of the two cards I don't have on autopay- my server went out and I payed them 6 days late.

Then, this weekend I got an email saying that my CC limit had been lowered to 6K from 20K, and TODAY I GOT ONE SAYING MY OTHER ONE WAS LOWERED FROM 5K to 500 bucks!

I am nearly crying, I have worked so hard to bring up my credit, those of you that remember me, Hauling, NewWorldMan, Ducky, Timothy, Concord- all the others- etc- I am freaking out!

I called them up today and they say they ran my credit report and I had FOUR ACCOUNT showing delinquent. I told them I didn't know what the hell they were talking about- I don't have anything delinquent- and they said they couldn't tell me who was reporting me delinquent.

After going round and round she told me I needed to dispute w/ Experian- so I ran to Experian and got their report, having finding NOTHING delinquent, I went ahead and pulled TU and EQ adn NOTHING is delinquent! Nothing!

After pouring over them, I did find where two student loans from back in 2003 were sold and showed a 60 day late, but that was BEFORE they issued me the cards in 2007.

I don't understand, and the one jerky lady I talked to said they would review my account after six mos, I told her- what the heck am I supposed to do because now you are making my util go up which will affect my credit score even more.

Addtionally- this is the last thing I need because I have student loans that are going to come due in Dec.

Update- I just got off the phone w/ someone overseas, she says I can fax a copy of those reports tommorrow to them, but didn't tell me what they would do.

I don't understand why they did this- this is the first time I have ever been late w/ them- the lady on the phone said it wasn't because I was late, it was because of the delinquencies.

I don't even understand why didn't they financial review me?

Any advice?

netpanther

Message Edited by netpanther on 10-06-2008 05:40 PM

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:42:54 GMT

basically, the cost of the credit companies/banks to lend you the money has went up ridiculously high. Because the cost of short term financing for the banks, etc is extremely high (if they can find it at all) they are cutting out credit lines. Even people with long term histories and great FICO and payment histories are getting cut down. The reality is that the banks/credit companies just do not have the money to lend right now so are cutting everyone back. Do a search on here and see how many AMEX cut back...

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:46:12 GMT

Oh- and one more thing- I have NEVER, never made minimum payments. I always PIF until I had to charge some tuition last year, and always pay at least 200 dollars. My balance is 3K- out of 20K. I have never charged any higher on that card, and my 5K card has had a zero balance for almost as long as I have had it. I might have charged a couple things here and there- put always PIF that one card.

I am so upset. Now my util on that card looks like **bleep**. Please forgive the cussing, I worked too long and hard to get where I was/have been/are now.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

MidnightVoice — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:52:29 GMT

Knowing what Amex is like, I have set up for them to automatically pull the minimum payment at the end of the grace period unless I have paid already.

I did this to be **bleep** retentively safe with Amex!

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

elsijfdl — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:52:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I told her- what the heck am I supposed to do because now you are making my util go up which will affect my credit score even more.

hence the term "credit crunch"

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:04:47 GMT

Yeah, it sucks. That is just the times we are living in right now. It is frustrating but if the companies do not have access to money to lend freely, then this is where we end up.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Red1Blue — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:09:01 GMT

Though I dont have to pay on my charge card until the statement cuts, I have been paying on my charge card once or twice a week and keep my balance very low. I even took my credit cards back from my wife so she would not make any charges on my cards with out my knowledge. Times are so tough, you dont want to make any mistake. I am sorry this happend to OP. Look at the brighter side, the account is still active and in good standing. Keep using and paying on time and wait this financial storm weathers out and I am sure you'll get your CL up again soon.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:44:13 GMT

NP:

When they chopped my limit they also considered things that were on my report long before my card was issued by them. It happened to me at the 51 week mark -- the card was ONE week shy of being a year old.

Amex cut my limit in half at the same time that Target Visa increased my limit by 2k taking it to 7k. The point? Not everyone gets spooked by a soft inq.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

CreditAble — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:58:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

When they chopped my limit .....
.....the card was ONE week shy of being a year old.

Amex cut my limit in half

In one year Amex has had its stock price chopped in half.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

jaxstraw — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:02:42 GMT

There seems to be no reason to who AMEX has been doing this to lately.

I'm sorry to hear about this though Netpanther. I've seen some of your posts when I search for certain topics.

AMEX's recent CLD's are on all the credit sites right now though, and situations and limits much higher than yours.

I keep checking all my accounts daily, you never know. I'm even keeping a close eye on my CU cards although some here feel they are going to be the last to do anything like this.

I'd SD them and wait it out.

Jax

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Scamp — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:12:35 GMT

NP, sorry to hear you're the latest casualty!

ETA: That late is a really tough thing to overcome, sorry to say.

Only advice I can offer is to fax that stuff ASAP tomorrow and then follow up by phone with someone, if possible.

If AmEx isn't willing to work with you on restoring your CL, I think that in your case, the glaring light of publicity might be worth trying. If you try everything you can think of to reason/negotiate with AmEx to get your CL back (I'd even be willing to let them freeze the card, if that'd do it), then get hold of your local TV stations and newspapers, the We're-On-Your-Side department they all seem to have these days, that handles stories of consumers being screwed and tries to help them.

If all else fails, maybe your going to the media with documentation of everything they've alleged as their reasons for this AA and everything you can show that disproves what they allege, etc., will help persuade them to change their minds about working something out with you.

ETA: That late is on their side, though, so I'm not sure how successful even going to the media would be.

Good luck, and post back to let us know how it goes.

Message Edited by scapegrace13 on 10-06-2008 04:12 PM

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:28:35 GMT

I had an American Express Gold charge card with no limit, charge about $1,500 a month and always pay in full each month. I also had an American Express Blue credit card with a $5,000 limit and carry a balance transfer of $3,400 with a 4.99% lifetime interest rate. I had an American Express Clear credit card with a $1,000 credit limit, and never carry a balance greater than $100.

AmEx reduced my no-limit Gold card to $1,000, my Clear card to $500, and my Blue card to $3,500 (just $98 higher than my current balance). They also eliminated the Sign & Travel feature of my Gold card. I called immediately after noticing the change online and was told I have derogatory items on my credit report and that I will be receiving letters in the mail shortly. Today I received my letter and it states: (1) Your total debt is too high relative to your payment history with us and other creditors, and other information in your credit bureau report. (2) Other customers who have acquired their residential loan from your mortgage lender have a poor repayment history with American Express. (4) The revolving balance on your American Express account is too high. (4) You have had an outstanding balance on your American Express account for at least 12 months.

I guess I'm guilty of playing the balance transfer game and getting the most out of my lifetime APR, guilty of buying a house in south Florida, and guilty that my mortgage was sold to Countrywide without my consent. I guess I'm also guilty for not knowing a revolving AmEx credit card is really a charge card in disguise, guilty of recently renewing my $135 annual membership fee for a Gold charge card that is now useless to me, and guilty of maintaining a spotless track record of excellent payment history.

I'm going to cancel the Gold card - it's not worth paying a membership fee for nothing in return. I'm undecided about the Clear card. I'll hold on to the Blue card for now because it keeps my Membership Reward points from being forfeited... that and low lifetime APRs are hard to come by. I'm using negative word of mouth influence on friends, family, and coworkers to spread the word about AmEx.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:35:13 GMT

This all sucks, but is just a typical overreation by the compaines to the tightening of the credit markets. We all lived off their "generosity" the last few years are now suffering the blowback.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

smallfry — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:38:07 GMT

Sorry netpanther about your problems with AmEx. That 6 day late is a killer good luck once they make up their minds it is next to impossible to get any satisfaction. Get a couple of good credit unions as soon as possible this thing ain't over yet.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

CreditAble — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:34:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

I don't understand why they did this-
They do this because they are running out of money and are running scared.

Amex has its own credit worthiness issues.

Monday October 6, 4:30 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Express Co (NYSE:AXP - News), the fourth-largest U.S. card issuer, said on Monday it would have enough liquidity to satisfy its funding needs for at least 12 months if access to fixed income capital markets were interrupted.
The card issuer and processing network, part of the Dow Jones industrial average, said that through September 30 it had raised 85 percent of the $27 billion of term debt targeted for issuance under its 2008 funding plan.

American Express has $20 billion in debt maturing in 2009, but the company said it had access to various sources of cash -- from U.S. Treasury and government agency securities to bank credit facilities -- to fund its financial needs.

"The company believes that it would have the liquidity to satisfy all maturing obligations and fund normal business operations for at least a 12-month period in the event that access to the secured and unsecured fixed income capital markets were interrupted," American Express said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

American Express is more dependent on short-term capital markets to fulfill its funding needs than some of its bigger rivals with huge deposits.

Investors have said the current credit squeeze would significantly increase American Express funding costs and hurt its profits.

American Express stock closed down 2.59 percent, or 80 cents, to $30.07 on the New York Stock Exchange,

The credit card company's earnings have slipped this year as credit cards' net charge-offs and delinquency rates jumped, and as the company increased its loan loss provisions.
In July American Express abandoned its earnings outlook.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/081006/business_us_americanexpress.html?.v=1

Amex claims to have access to all the money it needs to stay solvent. First Amex decreases taxpayer's credit limits and then assumes that the taxpayer will not decrease Amex's line of credit when it is on the brink of failure.

Message Edited by CreditAble on 10-06-2008 08:34 PM

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Miner — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:22:17 GMT

Yeah, I think AMEX's problems are a reduce access to funding so they can't afford to have everyone charging money they may not have. Of course, this also means that they are losing their profits since people aren't/can't use their cards which makes the problem even worse.

Hopefully they survive this crisis as I need them in the not to distant future to re-age my credit history via that closed green card from 1989.

Message Edited by Miner on 10-06-2008 05:22 PM

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

cabarkeep — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:32:50 GMT

My suggestion is to be happy you can remember having a AMEX card and get over it ... go get yourself a Discover Card and treat yourself to a nice dinner tonight

I used to be a pretty good AMEX fan til they CLD'd me too and the explaination of the CLD was pathetic so fret no more ... I replaced em and I feel much better lol

Took about 90 seconds online to apply and poof AMEX was replaced

Sorry to hear about your CLD though ...

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:50:36 GMT

i really get annoyed by thier bs reasons. hope you fair better than i did, and sorry to hear about the cld's (good to see you back though).

amex accused me of being late on my mortgage, i did the fax thing. didn't help, they just didn't like that we have a mortgage in an area w/high foreclosure rates.

i kept mine open and only use it for credit secure and securing hotel/rental cars. i ALWAYS pay w/another card though, let's them see the action they missed out on.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:05:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I had an American Express Gold charge card with no limit, charge about $1,500 a month and always pay in full each month. I also had an American Express Blue credit card with a $5,000 limit and carry a balance transfer of $3,400 with a 4.99% lifetime interest rate. I had an American Express Clear credit card with a $1,000 credit limit, and never carry a balance greater than $100.

AmEx reduced my no-limit Gold card to $1,000, my Clear card to $500, and my Blue card to $3,500 (just $98 higher than my current balance). They also eliminated the Sign & Travel feature of my Gold card. I called immediately after noticing the change online and was told I have derogatory items on my credit report and that I will be receiving letters in the mail shortly. Today I received my letter and it states: (1) Your total debt is too high relative to your payment history with us and other creditors, and other information in your credit bureau report. (2) Other customers who have acquired their residential loan from your mortgage lender have a poor repayment history with American Express. (4) The revolving balance on your American Express account is too high. (4) You have had an outstanding balance on your American Express account for at least 12 months.

I guess I'm guilty of playing the balance transfer game and getting the most out of my lifetime APR, guilty of buying a house in south Florida, and guilty that my mortgage was sold to Countrywide without my consent. I guess I'm also guilty for not knowing a revolving AmEx credit card is really a charge card in disguise, guilty of recently renewing my $135 annual membership fee for a Gold charge card that is now useless to me, and guilty of maintaining a spotless track record of excellent payment history.

I'm going to cancel the Gold card - it's not worth paying a membership fee for nothing in return. I'm undecided about the Clear card. I'll hold on to the Blue card for now because it keeps my Membership Reward points from being forfeited... that and low lifetime APRs are hard to come by. I'm using negative word of mouth influence on friends, family, and coworkers to spread the word about AmEx.

Ok guys- good to see you all back too.

TB1980- I have a mortgage w/ Countrywide too!I wonder if that is one of the problems. We also have had ton of foreclosures here too, but nothing compared to the numbers you see in CA. Also, evne though my debt was small in comparision to my available credit, I am wondering too if they are going to say that- they are going to say I carried a balance too long.

I knew that Amex NEVER likes min payments, like I said I always paid 200 or more, used to PIF until I had to charge that tuition fee, and ultimately- have been given the stick because even though they call it a "revolving" card- all they really want is for you to use it as a charge card.

And yes, I can kick myself for being 6 days late. First time I have been late in prob. 7 or more years.

Re: SCREW AMERICAN EXPRESS! Please help - haven't been here a while and I don't know what to do!

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:32:10 GMT

Aww, dang, NetP, and some of us were just the other day wondering how you were doing!!!

There's a bunch of it going around, I'm afraid. The only options seem to be grimly playing their game or leaving in a huff. And if you need what's left of your CL's, that really limits your options.

IMO, there is no way of telling where their minds will be in 6 months or a year. I figure that the cards are TL's, even if they're not the ones they used to be, and they could roll the Magic AmEx 8-Ball again and decide that they love you after all. I'd do the sock-drawer route and hang in there.

Did you ever pull off the USAA membership? I can't remember if you did or not.

Credit unions and similar institutions like USAA are looking awfully good these days.