BOA CLD Number Two. This one is a big deal.

[Anonymous]

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CanDoAttitude wrote: :

So the next time you call BofA's backdoor number, ask them how

they can brag about extending credit to customers in a major newspaper

while actively chasing down your limits at the same time. Then listen to them

stutter and stammer while they attempt to give you a canned BS excuse.

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While the argument might work in a court of law, bank CSR's are not logical nor are they free thinking. They will give the statement they are reading from the script, and deny deny deny, or risk losing their jobs. Citi did the same thing a few weeks ago, took out full page adds, and even told congress last week it was freeing up 36.5 Billion with a "B" to lend to "consumers" taking this as a good sign many of us on this site applied at Citi, and out of the six I know of, only 1 rec'd a CC and they only got a tiny limit. The other five of us got the decline and on recons we got the script.

Honor among thieves. 

[Anonymous]

Good point, Pappy.

However, this is precisely why I suggested that fretless

call BofA's backdoor number in order to circumvent the

non-free thinking CSR's. At least fretless would contact

someone in a position of decision-making authority, but

sadly I anticipate that the results would be the same.

But like you say, honor among thieves...

CanDo

"The right attitude is everything" 

[haulingthescoreup]

Wow, looks like Bank of America is the next to step up to the CLD plate. I'm so sorry to read this, Fretless!

There seems to be speculation that Bank of America is becoming a "zombie bank":

Are Citi and BofA now "zombie banks"?

I expect they'll hit me any day. With the BT paid off, I'm not anywhere near using my CL.

[BBYGRL]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm watching my CL's closely here in Cali. Especially my BofA Amex.

[FretlessMayhem]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Wow, looks like Bank of America is the next to step up to the CLD plate. I'm so sorry to read this, Fretless!

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Thanks Hauling. I'm fearful of Chase following suit. I actually like that card (as opposed to the lame WorldPoints), so I'm hopeful they don't touch my $25,000 CL. It's my highest. 

I'm thinking I should BT whatever I don't pay off with my tax return to my NFCU plain jane card. 11.9 APR, $18,000 CL. 

[oracles]

Wow Fretless, I am extremely sorry this happen to you.

Hopefully in a month or two you can ask for a cli and they will restore most of your credit, if not all.

[armywifey85]

They did the same thing to me but my balance was zero so I told them to close the account asap and they asked me may I ask why your closing your visa and checking account and I was like you took all that bailout money and then partied at the superbowl and you cut my limit for no reason that is the worst bank. I don't care if it hurts me to close them I'm not doing business with banks like that. I have NFCU and USAA , JFCU I've closed all the rest I've decided I would rather see them bankrupt than worry about a hit on my report If all these problems keep up the banks will have to change the way your score is scored neways !!!

[Anonymous]

We should try to centralize information on this in one thread so we can try to pull out what factors are being used.

I mean, I seem seem superficially similar on my American Bar Ass'n BoA card (similar credit score at 680, slightly higher credit limit at 7200) and haven't been CLD'd yet -- though you did have a higher total credit limit both generally and with BoA than I do (generally I'm at just over 20,000 across all cards, with BoA I only have the one card).

Is it location? (I'm in Ohio.) Income? (I think they see my income as 115,000). Recent usage? (My card has carried a high balance since August, and has often carried a high balance for a few months before I PIF, but I've started slowly cutting it down).

As for why its happening - BoA probably has a negative net worth right now, even with that 40 billion dollar capital injection. Its stock value basically consists of the hope that any bailout will be a giveaway rather than nationalization. They've got the Merrill Lynch investigation and lawsuits. With people being laid off left and right, there is a large population of people who may look creditworthy, but are ticking time bombs because they may have to charge abnormally large amounts of living expenses. 

Given their fragile position, they're probably very wary of people with the capacity to charge large amounts - particularly those with lower incomes.

[haulingthescoreup]

I think in a lot of cases, it's not even how the customer looks.

I think all these banks have to reduce the figures on their books for "amount of extended credit." One easy target is those with high CL's who are using very little of it.

They also want to get some cash coming in, so chasing the balance of those with balances by dropping the CL to $500 above gets people paying faster and higher amounts than they would otherwise.

I've seen plenty of posts where my reaction is well, duh, of course they went after you. But there are plenty more where you can see that a CLD fits their needs, and I think that's their motivation, without any particular misbehavior by the customer to have triggered the AA.

[thebostonredsox]

Fretlessmayhem - What kind of MC did you have with BOA? Do you live in one of the targeted, hard-hit foreclosure states? Is your occupation in a high risk category given the current economic climate?

Sorry to bombard you with questions; I guess like others I am trying to understand BOA's criteria for reacting in such a manner. I am a long time BOA customer and although I have not yet been CLD'd, I do not have a comfort level using the card until this calms down.