AMEX Preset Spending Limit Assigned…help!

[Mellycat94]

Hello,

I received an email yesterday stating the following:

We're reaching out because we wanted to let you know as quickly as possible that after a recent review, we have assigned a Preset Spending Limit of $6700 to your account.

I was stupid and drunk last weekend and used an old bank account to make a payment and it was returned. Such a silly mistake. In the letter they said it was this + high utilization that triggered it. I called and they told me I could provide documents to support my income to raise the limit, but this seems like a pain in the butt and I don’t rwant really have the time. My question is, does this go away over time? I'm not too worried about it because I'm 28 with a decent job so I probably shouldn't be spending more than 6K a month anyway, but I guess it's the principle of having a limit and being under AMEX microscope that makes me mad. And, do I have to submit my income docs? They didn't request it, just suggested if I want to fix this now. I'm not dissuading anyone, but part of my income comes from my husband and his investments and it would just be a hassle to ask for. Curious what anyone's experience has been like? I have heard various different things, but I'm hopeful if I continue to pay in full each month and not do anything AMEX deems risky I am hopeful that they'll lift the limit in a few months. 

i have only had this card since April.  

[Jnbmom]

Amex will hold that payment mishap for at least a year, they view bounced payments as not good.

Its not hard to prove one's income for the most part . It's up to you , but that returned payment will sting a bit for a little while .

[Remedios]

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@Mellycat94 wrote:

Hello,

I received an email yesterday stating the following:

We're reaching out because we wanted to let you know as quickly as possible that after a recent review, we have assigned a Preset Spending Limit of $6700 to your account.

I was stupid and drunk last weekend and used an old bank account to make a payment and it was returned. Such a silly mistake. In the letter they said it was this + high utilization that triggered it. I called and they told me I could provide documents to support my income to raise the limit, but this seems like a pain in the butt and I don’t rwant really have the time. My question is, does this go away over time? I'm not too worried about it because I'm 28 with a decent job so I probably shouldn't be spending more than 6K a month anyway, but I guess it's the principle of having a limit and being under AMEX microscope that makes me mad. And, do I have to submit my income docs? They didn't request it, just suggested if I want to fix this now. I'm not dissuading anyone, but part of my income comes from my husband and his investments and it would just be a hassle to ask for. Curious what anyone's experience has been like? I have heard various different things, but I'm hopeful if I continue to pay in full each month and not do anything AMEX deems risky I am hopeful that they'll lift the limit in a few months. 

i have only had this card since April.  

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Hi and welcome 

Returned payment is never a silly mistake to a lender, some will close the card, so think of $6700 limit as a gift.

As far as you being mad about having present limit...you should be mad about doing anything finance related while drunk. 

Also, if by "I'm 28 ..." you meant you're young and there is plenty of time for you to get what you want - not if you're doing it drunk. 

It will be a while before Amex removes pre-set limit, sending anything probably will not change the outcome. 

There will be higher scrutiny for your account, it would affect application for a different Amex card if you were to apply, and at that time, IV would be done 

As far as income you reported to Amex, you should use only what you can prove. 

You said it's a "hassle" to get info from your husband, so are you filling joint tax returns or not? 

If not, don't include it. If it's joint, then there is no hassle, you both have access.

Same goes for bank accounts. If you have joint account, no hassle. If your finances are totally separate, don't include it. 

[CreditCuriosity]

6700$ is likely plenty in the time that it took you to put up this post you could of filled out the tax transcript request they wanted.  Return payments are one of the worse things you can do on a credit card account as basically it makes it appears one is having money issues regardless if it was a drunken mistake it was indeed a bounced payment.  Ride it out for a few years and the should remove it if you can prove not to make said mistake again.

[GMCTexas]

I had a very similar thing happen to me. I went to pay my Amex in full from a new account, several days early, and must have entered the account number wrong. The payment was returned and I then re-entered the account number and payment went through, on time.

A few weeks later I asked for a CLI and got rejected for "returned payment."  ***Mod Cut - Please keep it G-rated*** . It was a simple mistake of entering the wrong number. The account was paid on time even with this returned payment. They need to realize mistakes happen instead of penalizing people. 

[pizzadude]

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@GMCTexas wrote:

I had a very similar thing happen to me. I went to pay my Amex in full from a new account, several days early, and must have entered the account number wrong. The payment was returned and I then re-entered the account number and payment went through, on time.

A few weeks later I asked for a CLI and got rejected for "returned payment."  ***Mod Cut - Please keep it G-rated*** . It was a simple mistake of entering the wrong number. The account was paid on time even with this returned payment. They need to realize mistakes happen instead of penalizing people. 

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Sorry that you were denied a CLI but as mentioned above, a returned payment ( for any reason ) can lead to AA above and beyond AMEX choosing not to extend your available credit.   You can always call them and explain if you haven't already but this is probably a system generated denial that they may have limited authority to override. 

Also I've edited your posted above for language as noted in blue.

[Credit12Fico]

Sorry OP. Amex has way too many customers to spend time figuring out who made a genuine mistake vs who is trying to defraud the bank. Returned payments are an absolute no no with Amex or any lender for that matter.  Fortunately they didn't just throw you out on your rear. Some other banks would have done that. 

[purebulldogs]

With Amex or any other issuer, you are better off paying late than having a bounced payment that doesn't go through. 

a friend was over seas and forgot his Amex payment. He paid it a week late. Amex was nice about it and said things happen. This was his only late payment. 

a coworker who had a higher score, higher income, paid and it bounced. Next thing you know his account got closed. He got back in a year later but Amex hates bounced payments even more than late 

that's only one example but it shows they hate bounced payments 

a spending limit isn't bad. You'll be able to raise it over time 

[GMCTexas]

But the payment wasn't late. I could somewhat rationalize if you had a payment returned after the due date, but in my situation I got a notification 2 days after I tried to make the initial payment, immediately re-entered the banking info from the new account, and the payment was on time still. Seems a little harsh over a mistake, particular on a payment that wasn't late. 

[Jnbmom]

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@GMCTexas wrote:

But the payment wasn't late. I could somewhat rationalize if you had a payment returned after the due date, but in my situation I got a notification 2 days after I tried to make the initial payment, immediately re-entered the banking info from the new account, and the payment was on time still. Seems a little harsh over a mistake, particular on a payment that wasn't late. 

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Unfortunately putting in the wrong number by mistake they consider this a returned payment (bounced) it is not considered late of course but returned payment even though it is because of a wrong number it's viewed much worse .  It happened to me a few years back they held it against me for at least a year  or even more . I eventually closed the card and applied several months later for a different card it has not hindered me now as far as I can see .