topic Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay) in Credit Cards

First credit line decrease (Barclay)

masscredit — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 17:29:09 GMT

The credit world can be a roller coaster. I've had highs, I've had lows, I rebuilt to highs and now it's going downwards. The COVID/economic situation hasn't been good for me. My card balances have been increasing. I used to always PIF. Now it's minimums and maybe a little more. No missed payments. I received my first CLD this week. It was on my Barclay Rewards card. They shaved $2200 off of the limit. Reasons given were -

Proportion of balances to credit limits too high on revolving accounts

Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high - this is for a car loan I've had for a year. Paid a another car loan off just before this one.

What surprised me is they only did it to one account. It went from $5400 to $3200. I still have an Apple Rewards card with an $18K limit.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

coldfusion — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 17:33:52 GMT

BarclayUS being BarclayUS, it's no secret that they can be quick on the trigger.

Sorry you experienced this.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

Remedios — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 18:11:53 GMT

@masscredit sorry this happened to you.

Does that card have a balance right now?

If it does, CLD will affect your utilization even more, so you might want to check if you have any existing BT offers.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

cashorcharge — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 18:21:38 GMT

Sorry to hear this. Fingers crossed it will come back soon

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

masscredit — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 18:41:30 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
@masscredit sorry this happened to you.
Does that card have a balance right now?
If it does, CLD will affect your utilization even more, so you might want to check if you have any existing BT offers.

Yes it does. Currently at $2800. I was thinking the same thing about utilization. It makes the situation worst. I doubt they are going to restore the CL anytime soon. I BTed $1300 to the Apple card incase that helps to keep them from reducing that one too. It's a roll of the dice.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

JDnyc84 — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 20:45:57 GMT

@masscredit wrote:
The credit world can be a roller coaster. I've had highs, I've had lows, I rebuilt to highs and now it's going downwards. The COVID/economic situation hasn't been good for me. My card balances have been increasing. I used to always PIF. Now it's minimums and maybe a little more. No missed payments. I received my first CLD this week. It was on my Barclay Rewards card. They shaved $2200 off of the limit. Reasons given were -

Proportion of balances to credit limits too high on revolving accounts
Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high - this is for a car loan I've had for a year. Paid a another car loan off just before this one.

What surprised me is they only did it to one account. It went from $5400 to $3200. I still have an Apple Rewards card with an $18K limit.

Sorry to hear. Barclays is the only lender that's done this to me. Not a single late payment for years and mostly PIF, they sold one of my accounts to Mercury (much better service/more generous CL, though) and slashed one of my limits by a third or so. I look forward to avoiding business with them in the future.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

CreditCrusader — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 21:25:15 GMT

@masscredit wrote:
@Remedios wrote:
@masscredit sorry this happened to you.
Does that card have a balance right now?
If it does, CLD will affect your utilization even more, so you might want to check if you have any existing BT offers.

Yes it does. Currently at $2800. I was thinking the same thing about utilization. It makes the situation worst. I doubt they are going to restore the CL anytime soon. I BTed $1300 to the Apple card incase that helps to keep them from reducing that one too. It's a roll of the dice.

If I read your initial post correctly, that card is the one they CLD'd.

IMO, they're balance chasing you...and they'll probably do it again once the rest of the balance is paid/transferred, so you'd be wise to take the suggestions above for your own benefit.

FYI, this is quite typical of Barclay. They are among the most jittery CC lenders in the world.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

masscredit — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 21:47:57 GMT

@CreditCrusader wrote:
@masscredit wrote:
@Remedios wrote:
@masscredit sorry this happened to you.
Does that card have a balance right now?
If it does, CLD will affect your utilization even more, so you might want to check if you have any existing BT offers.

Yes it does. Currently at $2800. I was thinking the same thing about utilization. It makes the situation worst. I doubt they are going to restore the CL anytime soon. I BTed $1300 to the Apple card incase that helps to keep them from reducing that one too. It's a roll of the dice.
If I read your initial post correctly, that card is the one they CLD'd.

IMO, they're balance chasing you...and they'll probably do it again once the rest of the balance is paid/transferred, so you'd be wise to take the suggestions above for your own benefit.

FYI, this is quite typical of Barclay. They are among the most jittery CC lenders in the world.

I've never experienced that. I thought they reduce the limit to the actual balance when that happens. I'll see if they reduce it any more as I pay it down.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

recoveringfrombk7 — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 21:49:06 GMT

@masscredit best of luck with turning things around. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

NRB525 — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 04:06:34 GMT

My experience with multiple balance chasing events is they leave a buffer of available credit over the balance, but yeah, every few months ratchet it down again. None of those were with Barclay, but I would expect them to be the same. It avoids problems with interest charges putting you over limit.

It continues until it stops, but you don't know when it stopped until you go several months with no more CLD.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

RickNATL — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 05:02:52 GMT

Sorry to hear this; let's just hope these changes are short-term.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

mowglidude — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 21:09:29 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
My experience with multiple balance chasing events is they leave a buffer of available credit over the balance, but yeah, every few months ratchet it down again. None of those were with Barclay, but I would expect them to be the same. It avoids problems with interest charges putting you over limit.

It continues until it stops, but you don't know when it stopped until you go several months with no more CLD.

What lenders are nortorious for balance chasing? What is the main reason they balance chace?

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

HeavenOhio — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 21:43:45 GMT

@mowglidude, Barclays, Synchrony, Comenity, and Chase are all known for balance chasing. They do it when people carry balances for too long while making payments that are deemed too small. They want to see a substantial dent made in one's balance, even if it's a 0% interest situation. Paying only the minimum is something that should only be done very occasionally.

AMEX does a variation of balance chasing. They tend to decrease a credit limit once, then they'll probably leave the customer alone for a while. If the customer calls in, they'll likely offer to restore the limit if he or she pays a designated amount by a certain date.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

mowglidude — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 21:58:59 GMT

@HeavenOhio wrote:
@mowglidude, Barclays, Synchrony, Comenity, and Chase are all known for balance chasing. They do it when people carry balances for too long while making payments that are deemed too small. They want to see a substantial dent made in one's balance, even if it's a 0% interest situation. Paying only the minimum is something that should only be done very occasionally.

AMEX does a variation of balance chasing. They tend to decrease a credit limit once, then they'll probably leave the customer alone for a while. If the customer calls in, they'll likely offer to restore the limit if he or she pays a designated amount by a certain date.

I just recently paid down three Chase cards in the last week from individual UT's of 89% - 0%, 77% - 1% and 72%, to 24%. I am bracing for a large CLD on all three accounts. I have not seen any letters online yet, but still very early.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 02:25:34 GMT

Sorry for your decrease. Hopefully, it's the only one.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

Irv02 — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 02:42:15 GMT

Sorry to read about your decrease. Hang in there!!!

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

masscredit — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 04:45:43 GMT

I paid a little more than the minimum a few weeks ago. That was just after the statement closed and I saw the CLD. I just paid another $300. I'll see what happens after the next statement closes. I had some auto-pays set up on there. I moved them to another card so this one doesn't get any use for awhile.

Re: First credit line decrease (Barclay)

OmarGB9 — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 07:07:21 GMT

Sorry for the CLD and your tough situation. Hang in there! Hopefully this will just be temporary.