topic Re: Can WAMU legallly do this? in Credit Cards

Can WAMU legally do this?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:06:30 GMT

I got a letter from WAMU stating they are canceling my CC because

1. I never use it

2. My credit

It's a total scam, my credit is 713 which I pull directly from their OWN site. I haven't missed a payment in years on anything, and I've never missed a payment on this CC or ever been late etc. I've only used it a few times over the last 2-3 years. My limit is only $3500. My balance has been zero for about a year. Even before that the largest my balance would be was 50 bucks.

But get this they are going to put on my credit that I closed the account. I explained to them that I didn't close it that they did, but they said they do this to protect my credit. I find this illegal. You can't put something on my credit that is not true.

I don't use CC's never will, but I'm applying for a mtg come august and now my only active TL will be my car loan. I honestly don't care about anything once I get my mtg, I can get it now, but I'm nervous now that this is going to do to my credit one month prior to getting a mtg!

I'm going to have my attorney look at this, but first I need to speak with the right dept come Monday. The fact that I, a good customer, with 713 credit was canceled and not even told so prior to cancelation is crazy. They canceled me because I'm not an idiot I don't line thier pockets, I'm smart about credit.

I don't want or need another CC nor do I think opening one up prior to applying for a mtg is a good idea..

Message Edited by barbarino on 06-28-2008 10:06 AM

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

smallfry — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:07:35 GMT

Call and speak to a supervisor. If push comes to shove and they won't reopen it is better upon manual review if the account shows closed by consumer rather than by credit grantor believe me.

Re: Can WAMU legally do this?

Takunda1 — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:12:51 GMT

Well... I believe they can close your card if you are not using it. Like you said, you haven't used it in a year. It costs money for your account to remain open and if you are not using it.. well you get the picture. As far as reporting that you closed that card, you can argue that if you want. They can either do that or put "closed by credit grantor" when you apply for your mortgage you will then have to explain that to your LO. Check all your three CR it could be something is on one of them that has caused them to be worry about keeping your account open. I really don't think it's necessary to get a lawyer and spend more $$ for a $3500 CL. Just my opinion.

Re: Can WAMU legally do this?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:14:00 GMT

barbarino,

You don't want a new account right before applying for a mortgage but you sure as hell don't want your only credit line closed.

Using a credit card is usually a smart thing, even if it is only a small amount. If you pay before the due date you will never pay a dime worth of interest. In essence you are making a tiny amount of money off the credit card company by collecting interest on your money for the 20-25 days before you have to pay them.

Not only that, but revolving credit is the most heavily factored segment of your FICO score. Use of your credit is important, and prevents companies from pulling this on you. I would call up the customer service and state you didn't realize how long it had been since you used the card and you should have asked how often it needs to be used to maintain activity. State that you would like the account to remain open. If they refuse, under no circumstances do you want the account to show closed by creditor as the previous poster mentioned. That statement looks fishy to a manual reviewer.

In general it is best to have your revolving accounts post a balance between 1-9%, though for many, below 5% is best. Posting a balance is not the same as not paying the bill in full every month. If you do that you will never pay interest and maximize your FICO in the hopes of getting the best mortgage rate available.

Goodluck!

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:24:16 GMT

I'm worried if they re-open it, it will add a new TL to my CR... Would this happen or would it appears as if nothing happened once re-opened? I know what they are doing is better for me, but If it hurts my credit I'm getting my attorney involved. I'm ticked off I'm being treated this way.

My attorney is free, he's a client of mine if the case makes sense he handles it for me and would collect his fees on the back end. In all his cases zero of them for credit go to court, they settle 100% of the time. I think I will set them up, if they won't re-open it, I'll let them put it on my credit report as I closed it, then see what my attorney states. Then again if it doesn't hurt me than I don't care..

I have a fundemental difference of opinion when it comes to cc than most on here, I don't believe in them or use them, I only had this because ~4 years ago when my credit was horrible they accidently gave me this card, so I kept it. Now 2 out 3 of my scores are in the 700's and the one WAMU uses is 713. My last late payment was june 2004 to sallie mae.. So for 4 years I have been perfect, thus why i'm in the 700's now.

This is what the letter put in bold, and it makes me angry.

We asure you that this closure will not appear as a negative mark with the CRA , nor will it negatively affect your status with these agencies.

Message Edited by barbarino on 06-28-2008 10:21 AM

Message Edited by barbarino on 06-28-2008 10:24 AM

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

smallfry — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:38:32 GMT

Barbarino I hear ya but I use my credit cards as extended debit cards which allow me to use the banks money interest free for a few weeks if I so choose. I have over 100K available credit now use less than 2% each month and PIF. You have to use your head.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:43:38 GMT

I had the same thing happen with HSBC. I rarely if ever used the card, but I did use the available credit to help with my scores. I only found out about the cancellation after it was done and I got a letter about 2 weeks after the fact. When I called them they refused to even talk about re-opening the account, but did offer to open a NEW account with the same terms and credit limit. I was speechless - the old account being canceled would hurt and if I took their NEW account it would hurt. All I could do was be angry for a bit then make sure I never have a piece of HSBC anything ever again. It was all quite legal for them to do. I asked them why they didn't contact me about it before hand, and they just said that was not procedure. Oh well. In the end my scores didn't budge more than about 5 points, but it was the principle of the thing that got me ticked off.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

MidnightVoice — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:56:20 GMT

I use every one of my (limited number) of CCs every month. The one's I don't normally use (my CU - low APR for emergencies, and Amex - I don't take that one out in public) I use to either pay utilities or make charitable deductions. So every month they get some exercise to keep the CCC happy, and I know exactly how much so I can let them report the balance and then PIF or pay off in advance and let them report Zero balance

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 01:04:30 GMT

I think you are lucky they are saying you closed it. It looks better on your cr than if they say they closed it. From their point of view --if you don't use the card at all, why have it?

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 01:12:49 GMT

OMG who knew so if u don't use the card they close your account ain't that somthing. Well if you don't really wanna use the card how much should u charge a month to keep the ccc companies happy.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

smallfry — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:13:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
OMG who knew so if u don't use the card they close your account ain't that somthing. Well if you don't really wanna use the card how much should u charge a month to keep the ccc companies happy.

Doesn't really matter. Why not pay your cell phone or land line phone online? At least they'll see 25-50 bucks of activity. Better than a $5 Starbucks latte.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:16:29 GMT

It is not illegal for an Issuer to close a credit card account for any reason. Your attorney should tell you that you have no legal standing because of this action. The issuer gave you a reason for the closure and believe it or not, they are really doing you a good deed by showing your account was closed by you.

The closing of this account will not have an adverse impact on your credit report.

Sometimes, silence is the better part of valor.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:31:55 GMT

I had cards for years in college never once used them, and guess what, they never closed them! Friend of mine closed 13 ccs on the same day, she hasn't used any of them in years and they never closed them on her.

Closing cards is a more recent issue at least in my experience. Since I will only have 1 open TL on my credit now this will hurt, how bad remains to be seen.. I conceded as soon as my mtg was done I was going to cancel the account anyways. I have no use for credit besides a mtg but all I needed was 2 more months out of this stupid account.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:17:11 GMT

Wamu backed down, they re-opened my exsisting account, nothing on my credit will change. I wrote them a nice letter with documentation to back up everything, they folded like a lawn chair, they knew if they messed my credit up they are liable. It would be pretty hard to convince a judge that I have bad credit when their own website shows that I don't, lol... I'm not too mad at them, I would assume the reason this happened is because they probably use an algorithm and I happened to be caught in it. I told them I will use my CC more often.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:49:33 GMT

barbarino wrote:
Wamu backed down, they re-opened my exsisting account, nothing on my credit will change. I wrote them a nice letter with documentation to back up everything, they folded like a lawn chair, they knew if they messed my credit up they are liable. It would be pretty hard to convince a judge that I have bad credit when their own website shows that I don't, lol... I'm not too mad at them, I would assume the reason this happened is because they probably use an algorithm and I happened to be caught in it. I told them I will use my CC more often.

I'm glad everything worked out for you, barbarino, but Wamu was acting well within their rights to close an account for non-use.

Also, congrats on your pending home purchase!

Re: Can WAMU legally do this?

fishbjc — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:53:44 GMT

BofA closed one of DH's due to non-usage. It was a signature loan for furniture. Bastards.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:02:08 GMT

Cleanmachine and Lurknomore are absolutely correct. They CAN close your CC ... for no reason at all, if it suits them.

In the Terms & Conditions booklet that came with your card, it WILL say (never, ever seen one that didn't) that they reserve the right to close your account if they choose to. If you accepted the card and EVER used it, you implicitly agreed to the conditions set forth in that booklet.

If you try to file suit on this (and from your last post, it doesn't seem as though you will), depending on your state and it's policies towards frivolous litigation, you'd either be laughed out of court or penalized.

Penalized perhaps, because also standard in most Cardholder/Issuer agreements is the agreement to settle disputes via arbitration. You break THAT puppy and not only would you lose (since you're seeking remedy to an agreement that YOU'RE breaking), but you'd also be paying for the Issuer's atty fees and court costs.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:07:09 GMT

BTW, I wasn't trying to be a jerk or lecture you ... it's just that you gotta know that the CCCs have you by the short and curlies. They're not stupid. And they spend upwards of millions of dollars in atty fees for drawing up and refining their Issuer agreements. CCCs believe strongly in the "CYA" policy.

And I'd rather not see ANYONE get the legal version of a boot up their patootie (which you'd get if you actually took them to court -- IF you could find a lawyer willing to represent you ... though you probably couldn't -- the atty would receive censure for pursuing such a case). The best you can do is flip them the proverbial bird (if you're really angry) and close the account or call them and plead your case.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:12:53 GMT

You are fortunate WAMU reopened the acct. Now hopefully you will use it some. It helps your credit scores to use your cards and pif. Your attitude however is amazing to me. They crumpled like a lawn chair?????? Actually they were being nice.

Re: Can WAMU legallly do this?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:25:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You are fortunate WAMU reopened the acct. Now hopefully you will use it some. It helps your credit scores to use your cards and pif. Your attitude however is amazing to me. They crumpled like a lawn chair?????? Actually they were being nice.

Yeah, and I loved the part about "they knew if they messed up my credit they'd be liable!"

Honestly, am I the only person who reads those durn Terms & Conditions/Issuing Agreements?????

A good friend of mine always says: Education is reading the manual. Experience is when you don't!! That totally applies here!! o_O