topic Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's in Credit Cards

Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:17:34 GMT

I have been at 90-95% utilization for about a year and finally paying everything WAY down. I just paid down all of my cards to below 50% utilization and was feeling really good and watching and waiting for my score to jump up from 680's to over 700 (hopefully).

Every extra payment I make in an effort to lower my debt and improve my credit is being followed with a decreasing CL with Chase!

For example, let's say I have a balance of 10k with a CL of 11k. I pay 3k. My balance should now be 7k with a CL of 11k. But no - I pay 3k and now my balance shows 7k with a CL of $7.5k

I'm sitting here hoping that paying these down will significantly lower my UT and my credit will improve, but if Chase keeps doing this my UT will stay the same on any Chase cards!

I am actually surprised that they would do this considering I have never missed a payment so you would think they would want me to spend more and keep my UT as high as I want because they make more money off me that way.

Has anyone seen this happening to them, and if so did you do anything about it?

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:21:28 GMT

Unfortunately, you are being balanced chased. With 90-95% utility for a year or so....it spooked them. In their eyes, what's to keep you from running high balances again? They are trying to protect themselves from your spending habits based on your history.

Sorry....but I would just continue to pay down the balances. That's really all you can do.

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

simplynoir — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:27:43 GMT

@Justagirl73 wrote:
Unfortunately, you are being balanced chased. With 90-95% utility for a year or so....it spooked them. In their eyes, what's to keep you from running high balances again? They are trying to protect themselves from your spending habits based on your history.
Sorry....but I would just continue to pay down the balances. That's really all you can do.

Agreed. It would have been different if you had just carried a high balance for period of several months while paying it down but to leave a card at that high a utilization for about/over a year is gonna result in CLD/balance chasing. Like she said only thing you can do is continue to pay down.

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:31:31 GMT

Is there any chance they will reinstate them once I pay off everything in full and show good habits for a few months? I am working really hard to tackle my debt and be responsible and yet these banks make it very hard to make progress!

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:38:47 GMT

I've read that some banks will once utility is lowered. I don't know about Chase specifically, but I'm sure someone else might be able to chime in. Good luck!

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

K-in-Boston — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:38:47 GMT

That's one of the primary reasons I am in the situation I am in (around $100k of revolving debt). Chase is the king of balance chasing. About ten years ago, my wife and I both had big balances with reasonable interest rates. The markets crashed, lenders got spooked and one would lower a line causing even higher util so the next lender would see that we were maxed out on this card and that card and then they would lower their credit line, rinse and repeat over and over. Then the rate jacking began with cards that had been in the low teens skyrocketing to 25% APR!

Get the balances paid off ASAP and things will eventually recover. My wife's Chase card, while right at $20k now, is still lower than it was before they balance chased her to under $10k a decade ago but all of the other lenders that we've kept have either far surpassed where we were then or never did the balance chasing to begin with (thank you Bank of America, Capital One and Discover for not panicking).

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:40:09 GMT

You have shown the bank some bad behavior. They do not like that. They are adjusting their risk. When YOU improve YOUR behavior, they will of course adjust their actions. That payment behavior screams "I don't have enough money...I am living beyond my means."

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 18:46:35 GMT

@ K-in-Beantown

Extra props for you for hanging in there and kicking A$$ on your debt! You have my respect.

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 19:38:53 GMT

I went into debt while quitting my job and starting a business that has taken off and it was the best thing I ever did for myself and my family, and now I'm tackling the debt and they don't make it easy to recover!

I will just keep paying it off and doing it the hard way, it will all pay off in a few months I'm sure once I've paid it all off

Thanks for the input!

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

K-in-Boston — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 19:47:31 GMT

Best of luck to you. It is completely possible to recover from it. And thanks for the kind words, zipperhead. I mentioned before that it was so much that looking back now it would have been so much easier to just file bankrupcy and we'd be completely fresh all these years later, but it is peeling off $20k or so a year and that will speed up to $30k in a year or so.

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

fltireguy — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 19:51:23 GMT

OP- that really sucks
Thankfully they can't RJ you anymore these days, because, of the could they probably would!

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 19:53:51 GMT

I have a feeling that once you've paid off the balance and shown Chase you don't need their diminishing credit limit, they'll bend over backwards to try to win you back.

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 19:56:14 GMT

Considering I am a Chase Private Client and have a decent amount of assets with them, I am sure I can get them to reinstate everything at some point or I'll just take everything to another institution

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 20:07:09 GMT

I would move on from Chase. They screwed me over pretty badly in the past. I will only use them for sign up bonuses. And then never use their cards again. To me they are the worst credit card issuer by far.

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 21:44:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Considering I am a Chase Private Client and have a decent amount of assets with them, I am sure I can get them to reinstate everything at some point or I'll just take everything to another institution

Well, considering that, you must have at least 250K there, so why not just write them a check and be done? And as a CPC, how would you explain 95% until on a low limit card? For a year. Lol. Or did I miss something?

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

SouthJamaica — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 21:48:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Considering I am a Chase Private Client and have a decent amount of assets with them, I am sure I can get them to reinstate everything at some point or I'll just take everything to another institution
Well, considering that, you must have at least 250K there, so why not just write them a check and be done? And as a CPC, how would you explain 95% until on a low limit card? For a year. Lol. Or did I miss something?

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

happypill — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 22:01:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I would move on from Chase. They screwed me over pretty badly in the past. I will only use them for sign up bonuses. And then never use their cards again. To me they are the worst credit card issuer by far.

During the financial meltdown of '08-'10, Chase was clearly the most aggressive and brutal in their tactics among the major lenders. In my personal experience, I ended up with COs from Chase, Citi and BofA all at around the same time in 2010 and each for a similar $5k of so. BofA and Citi went through their CO procedures as you expect they would, but Chase went much further and eventually filed and obtained a judgment - as it turns out illegally. Chase ended up paying $166m in fines over their collection tactics (see link below), including obtaining judgements by providing false sworn statements and forged signatures, and I actually ended up with a settlement of like $100 years later.

So, I feel the same way as frogman1. I'll gladly partake in their sign-on bonuses and perks for the free money, but they'll never be at the top of my wallet again.

To the OP, it's possible that any lender will balance chase you when they smell problems. Historically, BofA and Capital One have been less aggressive I think, but things change over time.

http://blog.credit.com/2015/07/chase-to-pat-166-million-for-shoddy-illegal-debt-collection-practices-120517/

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

luxeprw9 — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 22:10:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Considering I am a Chase Private Client and have a decent amount of assets with them, I am sure I can get them to reinstate everything at some point or I'll just take everything to another institution
Well, considering that, you must have at least 250K there, so why not just write them a check and be done? And as a CPC, how would you explain 95% until on a low limit card? For a year. Lol. Or did I miss something?

Maybe it's retirement funds. I don't know! LOL! Just giving the OP the benefit of doubt because I am a Preferred Platinum Honors client with BOA and the bulk of it is retirement funds. I would hope OP wouldn't cash out those funds but instead get on a budget (or whatever) and pay his cards down some other way.

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 22:22:10 GMT

You hit the nail on the head. Having assets vs having free cash are two different things and everyone's situation is different. No way we're dipping into retirement funds an various other holdings for a temporary cash flow crunch. It's funny that they will give you whatever you want for years and years of perfect payments but when you take a risk they don't have your back. Typical bank.

We are paying it all off fairly quickly now that the new business is soaring but I just want to speed up the process as much as possible so I can be done with it.

Once we wipe it all out we will give Chase a chance to put everything back in place as it was or we will just move everything to another account. I'm sure they will do the right thing.

Re: Finally paying down high utilization and Chase is screwing me on CL's

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 22:23:33 GMT

Also, who's to say it's a small balance on a low limit card? I only gave examples, not real numbers!