topic Re: Someone please help!! in Credit Cards

Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:22:33 GMT

I emailed the CEO of BOA yesterday graciously asking for a one time 30 day late from Feb of 2008 to be removed from my credit account. Today I get a call from their credit analysis dept telling me that they are closing my account with them!! I have had this card since 2002 and have had one and only one late payment! I am shocked stunned hurt and sick that they would close the card after I just sent a GW email asking for it to be removed. They said they pulled up my credit and they have decided to close, i know they can do this but it stinks. How much will the hurt my score? It was one of my oldest cards and i still have a balance of 491 on a 700$ limit.

Re: Someone please help!!

Creditaddict — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:29:47 GMT

UGH I just HATE BofA, they have been slashing and closing accounts left and right, if you have any blemishes you don't want to breath in the same room as BofA right now. I would pay the balance off right now and apply for something better with someone else to replace the credit line and say good bye for life to a bank that takes so much bail out money and then treats good customers like garbage

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:07:52 GMT

I think this violates the CARD act. For instance, they can no longer up your rate based on your payment history with other creditors...this seems similar to that...perhaps check out the guide on the main page on the forums.

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:15:47 GMT

I just paid off the remaning balance. How much will my score drop?? They did a soft inquiry they said. This is horrible horrible! I am so sick I was thisclose to qualifying for a mortgage, there goes that.

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:33:47 GMT

Calm down. A lot can be said for taking a deep breath and doing a little bit of research before freaking out about things that may not be inherently clear.

You say "there goes that" to your mortgage. Why? If losing a $700 credit line causes you to lose a mortgage, you probably weren't qualifying for the mortgage in the first place. Your doesn't go down JUST because a card is closed. It is much, MUCH more complicated than that and will depend on your individual circumstances. You'll have to provide more information, such as AAoA, number of open accounts, other credit utilization, etc.

Truth be told, you may end up with a higher score with this account closed and a zero balance than you had with the account open and a ~70% utilization.

As far as horrible, horrible, etc... A lot of people here (besides DI, she takes great pride in contacting all of her creditor freely with no fear ;-)), do everything in their power to avoid poking their bank with a stick, such as sending a GW letter. Though the intent of GW is obviously a good thing, BoA right now is just about the last entity you want to voluntarily put yourself in front of for review.

So, deep breath, more information, and a lot of people here will give you good information as long as you keep a level head about everything... Good luck!

Re: Someone please help!!

xchap — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:35:08 GMT

Jgk2383 I'm sorry to here that. For now my new rule is to stick with CU. They care more for their members.

Message Edited by xchap on 03-11-2010 01:35 PM

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:16:55 GMT

*deep breath* Thank you for your replies. I am still very overwhelmed, my credit scores are not great whatsoever. Right now Equifax is reporting at 582 but they havent updated 2 paid of cc balances yet, Transunion is reporting a 598 but they have not updated ANY of the 4 ccs i have paid off yet and Experian is reporting a 643 plus score. According to experians site i have 75% of my cc balances open. my aaoa is about 6 years my oldest one being 9. my cc balances are as of now below 30% except HD and JCP which are both below 75% and on their way down. I have two collections one from a radiology office in 04 that was PIF 5 years ago and one from Enhanced recovery collections for a cell phone bill that was not mine and im disputing that and that is paid as well. No reposessions or judgements. I graduated from college in 07... just completed my masters alst year and finally have a terrific job * knock on wood*

Message Edited by Jgk2383 on 03-11-2010 02:16 PM

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:24:15 GMT

I had also goodwilled macys asking them to remove 2 late payments from 07 and they agreed and that has not posted yet either.

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:38:07 GMT

You'll be OK, Jgk2383. It just takes a little time.

Please don't let this bring you down. With those paid off balances, and the other ones getting lower all the time, once those accounts are updated on your credit reports, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and you'll forget about BofA.

Just don't forget about this in a few years, when BofA comes to you looking for your business (assuming they're still in business). You'll get your satisfaction then, when you tell 'em to stick it.

In the meantime, grab a beer (or three), put your feet up, and forget about everything for the rest of the day! It'll all look better tomorrow.

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:49:56 GMT

LOL. I concur with UBorrow-UPay. If they shut your account down, just pick yourself up and say they did you a favor. I know the whole AAoA will hurt, but it will be short lived.

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:55:00 GMT

can anyyone give a rough guestimate at how much this might damage the score? My poor score is already on crutches... this just took it to a wheel chair.

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:14:55 GMT

Uborrow-Upay wrote: You'll be OK, Jgk2383. It just takes a little time.

Please don't let this bring you down. With those paid off balances, and the other ones getting lower all the time, once those accounts are updated on your credit reports, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and you'll forget about BofA.

In the meantime, grab a beer (or three), put your feet up, and forget about everything for the rest of the day! It'll all look better tomorrow.

+1.

BofA is going through it's version of terrible two's. I do want to point out, though, that they may have been as concerned with the high utilization on your BofA card (along with your other cards) as anything else. And other, better behaved, creditors will also be paying attention to your overall utilization. FICO scores definitely are paying attention.

In the last post, you ask about how much this will damage your score. In and of itself, it will not. Your AAofA will not be affected. If you are carrying balances on your other cards (and it appears that you are), your utilization will be affected - but you can control that by paying down.

Congrats on your good work paying down balances - you are definitely going in the right direction, and your FICO scores will reward you as your utilization continues to go down.

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:17:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Uborrow-Upay wrote: You'll be OK, Jgk2383. It just takes a little time.

Please don't let this bring you down. With those paid off balances, and the other ones getting lower all the time, once those accounts are updated on your credit reports, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and you'll forget about BofA.

In the meantime, grab a beer (or three), put your feet up, and forget about everything for the rest of the day! It'll all look better tomorrow.
+1.

BofA is going through it's version of terrible two's. I do want to point out, though, that they may have been as concerned with the high utilization on your BofA card (along with your other cards) as anything else. And other, better behaved, creditors will also be paying attention to your overall utilization. FICO scores definitely are paying attention.

In the last post, you ask about how much this will damage your score. In and of itself, it will not. Your AAofA will not be affected. If you are carrying balances on your other cards (and it appears that you are), your utilization will be affected - but you can control that by paying down.

Congrats on your good work paying down balances - you are definitely going in the right direction, and your FICO scores will reward you as your utilization continues to go down.

And I bet it will get worse.

BoA has just announced they are giving up all overdraft fees which will cause them to lose a billion $ in revenue. They're gonna have to make up for this reduction in income one way or another.

Re: Someone please help!!

haulingthescoreup — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:48:16 GMT

Jgk2383 wrote:
can anyyone give a rough guestimate at how much this might damage the score? My poor score is already on crutches... this just took it to a wheel chair.

Please read this, and apply it to your own situation. Do you have balances on other cards? If so, you might have a problem, depending on your total combined CL. The history will stay for 10 more years.

Closing Credit Cards

Re: Someone please help!!

zkder — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:32:43 GMT

It's so weird with everyone posting all the AA bofa has taken against them. I got a visa card with them less than a year ago with a credit line of 2500 bucks. Last week they call me, ask a few questions...I thought something was up. Then the CSR says, "OK sir, I'm gonna go ahead and bump your limit up to 10k....

awesome

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:36:49 GMT

@zkder wrote:
It's so weird with everyone posting all the AA bofa has taken against them. I got a visa card with them less than a year ago with a credit line of 2500 bucks. Last week they call me, ask a few questions...I thought something was up. Then the CSR says, "OK sir, I'm gonna go ahead and bump your limit up to 10k....

awesome

Hope they gave you the $3500 they CLD'd DH a few weeks after he opened. That would make me feel a little better about them!

Re: Someone please help!!

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:46:48 GMT

@zkder wrote:
It's so weird with everyone posting all the AA bofa has taken against them. I got a visa card with them less than a year ago with a credit line of 2500 bucks. Last week they call me, ask a few questions...I thought something was up. Then the CSR says, "OK sir, I'm gonna go ahead and bump your limit up to 10k....

awesome

See, even BoA can't screw all the people all the time.

Re: Someone please help!!

Lyythine — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:08:21 GMT

hahaha.... congrats on the bump to 10k! Im laughing cause I just called yesterday to ask for a credit limit increase on my now 9month old bankamericard, which I have never charged more than about 500 to the 5k line i have with them and of course, pif every month. Scores over 800 almost across the board (havent checked in 2 months, so cant be sure) and about 150-200k in available credit and more than that in annual income.

Response. DENIED.... Thank you BofA. Not that I needed it, it just kinda made me laugh, gave no reason as to why, just said we cannot grant you an increase at this time. When I asked if there was any problem, she stated "no, in fact, your credit reports are great- unfortunately, thats the most we can offer you at this time." Also keep in mind I have about 10x that amount in CD's with them alone, not to mention accounts I have with other banks.

So, like has been said and will continually be proved. BofA is nuts. Sometimes showing signs of bipolar disorder with a sprinkling of ADHD.

Congrats to you, however, and OP - sorry to hear about your AA

Re: Someone please help!!

MattH — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:23 GMT

@Lyythine wrote:
hahaha.... congrats on the bump to 10k! Im laughing cause I just called yesterday to ask for a credit limit increase on my now 9month old bankamericard, which I have never charged more than about 500 to the 5k line i have with them and of course, pif every month. Scores over 800 almost across the board (havent checked in 2 months, so cant be sure) and about 150-200k in available credit and more than that in annual income.

Response. DENIED.... Thank you BofA. Not that I needed it, it just kinda made me laugh, gave no reason as to why, just said we cannot grant you an increase at this time. When I asked if there was any problem, she stated "no, in fact, your credit reports are great- unfortunately, thats the most we can offer you at this time." Also keep in mind I have about 10x that amount in CD's with them alone, not to mention accounts I have with other banks.

So, like has been said and will continually be proved. BofA is nuts. Sometimes showing signs of bipolar disorder with a sprinkling of ADHD.

Congrats to you, however, and OP - sorry to hear about your AA

Perhaps the fact that you've never charged more than about 500 bucks and PIF is why they won't raise your limit: they don't get any interest from you, they don't get late fees from you, so they only money they make off your account would be transaction fees but you don't run much activity through the account. From their perspective, you are indeed low risk but how would they benefit by increasing your credit line? For credit increase decisions big banks use multiple scoring models, not only risk scores such as FICO scores but also in-house behavioral scores that predict whether raising your limit is likely to yield any new business for them. You might try putting more transactions on that card for six months and then ask again for a credit increase.

My wife and I also PIF every month, and we never run the utilization high enough to alarm the banks, but since we rarely buy stuff with cash we run quite a bit of purchases through our cards. I try to spread the activity around so that every card gets a substantial amount of activity every month.

Re: Someone please help!!

cdtotten — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:22:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
LOL. I concur with UBorrow-UPay. If they shut your account down, just pick yourself up and say they did you a favor. I know the whole AAoA will hurt, but it will be short lived.

Just to make sure everyone understands, closing an account has no effect on your AAoA. It factors in all trade lines, open/closed, installment/revolving/etc.

The only hit he could possibly take would be from utilization.