CITI Sears MC CLD

[fused]

So, my wife and I check the mail and she received notification that CITI has cut her CL on her Sears MC from $8,750 to $5,000. Here is the reason they gave (verbatim):

"As always, we appreciate your business, and wanted to let you know about a change being made to your account. Your credit line is being lowered to reflect your spending. Based on your spending history, and since you are currently only using a small portion of the available credit, we have lowered your credit line to $5,000."

Nice excuse CITI, my wife has had a $0 balance on this card for a loooooong time. You can be sure she will never set foot in Sears again, let alone use this card anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

Unbelievable! It sounds to me like they're saying that they CLD'ed you because you weren't carrying a balance.

But on the other hand, lk11 on here is carrying a balance ( link ) and was CLD'ed for that.

Use your card, and we'll CLD you. Don't use your card, and we'll CLD you.

I don't know what to do with this card, either. The interest rate is insanely high, I can't (so far) reallocate any of the credit limit to another Citi card, I haven't received any decent BT offers in about 2 or 3 years, the Sears stores are a mess, and on top of that when I disputed through Sears and Equifax the way that the account was being reported Sears/Citi deleted the tradeline from all three credit bureaus.

[Miner]

Don't blame Sears for what CITI did.  And we all know that excuse stinks, but at least they tried to come up with a more polite reason for the CLD then what most people have been receiving. 

[Anonymous]

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@Miner wrote:

Don't blame Sears for what CITI did.

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I'm not saying to be argumentative. I'm wondering out loud. My understanding is that for a cobranded store credit card such as this one, although Citi is servicing the accounts for Sears, it's Sears that makes the rules for the underwriting policies for this Sears Mastercard.

e.g., over the years when I've repeatedly called the number on the back of my Sears MC and complained about the "non-negotiable interest rate", each agent has said the same thing: Citibank's hands are tied by the contract that they signed with Sears when Citi took over servicing the accounts.

Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 10-14-2008 05:18 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

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MojaveMoon wrote:
Unbelievable! It sounds to me like they're saying that they CLD'ed you because you weren't carrying a balance...

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I don't read it that way. From the letter:

"As always, we appreciate your business, and wanted to let you know about a change being made to your account. Your credit line is being lowered to reflect your spending. Based on your spending history, and since you are currently only using a small portion of the available credit, we have lowered your credit line to $5,000."

Level of spending isn't the same thing as carrying a balance.

Sorry to hear about this, fused! I'm guessing that with my $5.50 recurring monthly charge as my only activity in months and months, my $1,212 CL is in deep jeopardy!

[fused]

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Miner wrote:

Don't blame Sears for what CITI did.  And we all know that excuse stinks, but at least they tried to come up with a more polite reason for the CLD then what most people have been receiving. 

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Agreed! I have been telling my wife that this will be happening to many of us, good credit or not. As for blaming Sears, I didn't mean for my post to come off that way. My issues with Sears are deep-seated and I have nothing good to say about them.

[Anonymous]

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@fused wrote:
My issues with Sears are deep-seated and I have nothing good to say about them.

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x 2 fused, sorry to hear about the cld. the only time i set foot in a sears now is to save steps by using thier empty parking space and direct acess to the mall.

[Anonymous]

WOW- so not even close to 800 scores are not safe either-

Does she have any other CITI accounts?

[fused]

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Timothy wrote:

WOW- so not even close to 800 scores are not safe either-

Does she have any other CITI accounts?

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Only a paid/closed CITI Financial installment loan in good standing from 2004. It seems that even if you have great scores like my wife has, you're still considered a risk. Unsecured credit can turn toxic in a heartbeat, so I understand why this is happening.

[CreditAble]

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@fused wrote:

 I have been telling my wife that this will be happening to many of us, good credit or not.

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 Hmm. I wonder if the credit card issuers are expecting massive defaults across the whole FICO score range spectrum. The ramifications of that scenario are scary. 

Message Edited by CreditAble on 10-15-2008 12:27 AM