Amex lowered credit limit….

[JoeRockhead]

No lender has a magic tool to search to see if someone has a bank account or filed their taxes. 

However, if there's been spend on the cards and the payments to those cards has been consistently coming only from a person's bank account that's not associated with the Amex accounts, that would be a red flag and trigger the CLDs, as well as the request for documentation.

[Varsity_Lu]

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@JoeRockhead wrote:

No lender has a magic tool to search to see if someone has a bank account or filed their taxes. 

However, if there's been spend on the cards and the payments to those cards has been consistently coming only from a person's bank account that's not associated with the Amex accounts, that would be a red flag and trigger the CLDs, as well as the request for documentation.

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Not directly, no, but there are other indicators that they have access to that may have caused them to infer certain life changes. They have a hunch and are giving him an opportunity to prove them wrong. If he recently went on Medicaid, for example. That would explain his zero income. And there is a five year look back period that may have caused alarm. If he sold or transfered his home for instance. Or, like Joe said, his payment or spending habits have changed.

[PayAndProsper]

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@Varsity_Lu  escribió:

AmEx probably already knew he had no income, they are just providing him an opportunity to make sure it was not an error. They have ways of knowing who pays taxes and who is getting checks. He should try to move as much of the credit over to a no AF card and then close the rest. Maybe he can piece together one card with a $2,400 CL.

I mean, why close the cards? If he has no income whatsoever, I am assuming that $800 credit limits should be more than enough. Do you think that is not the case?

[pauldc73]

and to follow on from the last post - if more than $800 is spent, how would he pay it back with little (no) income?

[MorPtsPls]

If your father has no savings, no income, and not even a bank account how could he use a credit card? Is it possible to pay a credit card bill with cash? Or does he spend and then you pay the card off with your bank account? If that is the case maybe he could become an authorized user on one of your cards, as you are paying the bill anyway.

ETA: If your bank account is linked to his credit cards to pay the bills maybe you could but his name on your checking account and then submit that to Amex for the review. I'm not sure, just spit balling here.

[LivingTheAmericanDream]

I would NOT consolidate the amounts into 1 card but rather keep all the cards open even though the CL is low. As an AU, having 3 good TLs w/a long history is important.

[ptatohed]

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@PayAndProsper wrote:

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@Varsity_Lu  escribió:

AmEx probably already knew he had no income, they are just providing him an opportunity to make sure it was not an error. They have ways of knowing who pays taxes and who is getting checks. He should try to move as much of the credit over to a no AF card and then close the rest. Maybe he can piece together one card with a $2,400 CL.

I mean, why close the cards? If he has no income whatsoever, I am assuming that $800 credit limits should be more than enough. Do you think that is not the case?

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I don't think OP stated which AmEx cards they are but, if there are 4, I doubt these are all no-AF cards.  If these are AmEx cards with high AFs, and Dad has little/no money and only an $800 CL, I would doubt he's getting enough value from the card(s) to offset the AF(s).  

[Varsity_Lu]

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@LivingTheAmericanDream wrote:

I would NOT consolidate the amounts into 1 card but rather keep all the cards open even though the CL is low. As an AU, having 3 good TLs w/a long history is important.

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Important for what? This guy has no income, no savings, no bank account, no property, and doesn't even file taxes. What reason would there be to keep them open? Besides, even closed accounts stay on his record for the next 10 years. 

[Janneman]

Please know that I have not asked as to whether or not my father should close all his accounts, consolidate them nor asked his ability or inability to pay anything, rather I simply asked if there is a way for him to get his previous CL back if possible...given his financial situation that he has nothing to prove them about his income. He is a guy who keeps all his money in the house than in the bank, but its not the matter of conversation. 

Anyway, it seems that there is no way for him to get his previous CL back given the fact that Amex wants only his bank statements or tax returns in order to reconsider his request to re-instate his previous credit line which he couldn't provide because he doesn't have neither of them. As of now he has decided to keep the cards open and would request for the credit line by the January of next year. There is nothing he could do anyway. Thanks everyone.

[smcj]

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@Janneman wrote:

Please know that I have not asked as to whether or not my father should close all his accounts, consolidate them nor asked his ability or inability to pay anything, rather I simply asked if there is a way for him to get his previous CL back if possible...given his financial situation that he has nothing to prove them about his income. He is a guy who keeps all his money in the house than in the bank, but its not the matter of conversation. 

Anyway, it seems that there is no way for him to get his previous CL back given the fact that Amex wants only his bank statements or tax returns in order to reconsider his request to re-instate his previous credit line which he couldn't provide because he doesn't have neither of them. As of now he has decided to keep the cards open and would request for the credit line by the January of next year. There is nothing he could do anyway. Thanks everyone.

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Once under Financial Review or other "global risk management" lockdown (that quoted phrase is from a conversation with AMEX), it's going to fall to automation as to whether the CLs will ever move again, the sole exception [I'm told] being if the lockdown is negotiated within 30 days after it occurs.  And negotiation requires giving them the proof they want in the exact form they want it -- AMEX is well known for that particular "our way or the highway" handling of risk evaluation after flagging someone.

For some more discussion about AMEX behavior in a global risk management scenario, see this thread.  Hope it is useful.

As far as the why of it all, the net would be that something set AMEX off.  Like any creditor they soft-pull CRs for review on a regular basis (monthly so far as I'm aware), and then you have usage history, payment history, and all the other they-will-haves that net out to "they are watching."  And if what they watch somehow annoys the risk management algorithm(s), away the cardholder goes to... well, exactly what you've described.

Sorry for being late to the convo but hope this helps in at least an informational context.