COMENITY CAPITAL BANK (Overstock) Account Closed No Explanation 30k Limit

[djmax041]

Got a notifiaction from credit monitoring Saturday saying my account closed. Logged on to account showed that 30k limit and showing 0 available. 

I called Sunday and the automation stated account closed no information available Goodbye.

I called today and was told my account was closed for inactivity. Ive had the card for 5 years and a 30k limit. I was actually planning on buying something this week but now I cant. 

I found out that they closed the card on October 26th. The 1st rep says they have a week period where they can reinstate you when they close the account but I didnt even know they closed it. The Supervisor told me they dont give a notice they just close it. They cant reinstate it and the only way to get the account back is to re-apply. When you re-apply you lose the history and no guarantee of geting the amount of Credit Limit you had before.

So beware. if you have this card. Use it or they will cancel without warning this was my highest card because I used the CLI with soft pulls for years until they had hard pulls. The last time I used it was Septemeber 2019. 

My current credit is EQ 816 TU 821 EX 808

[FinStar]

There's been definitely quite a few threads, not just about Comenity, but Citi Retail and other lenders who have yielded similar closures.  Not long ago, a poster (like yourself) anticipated on using their [Citi Retail] Best Buy CC learned it was closed after not being used for over a year.

[djmax041]

It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. No email or notification. This year I didn't use my chase slate and chase sent me a letter and email stating to use my card within 30 days or lose it. That gives you a chance at least. I wouldn't have mind if they lowered my cl but to close a 5 yr old card that I was always paying on time. This will decrease my scores it sucks because I was gonna use it this week. I guess they only people that they can make money off of. Overstock isn't gonna get a dime from me because of this as well as any other comenity cards

[Remedios]

@djmax041  you didn't use it in over a year. 

They didn't send you notice card would be closed, but in all fairness, you didn't send them the notice of intent to use the card. 

$30K is a lot. They will turn around and lend it to someone who's going to use it, and if they don't, theirs will get shut, too. 

Lender notifying consumer about impending closure is an exception, not the norm.

Considering times we live in, lenders are by far less likely to play utilization games because they have to keep money in reserves while SL sits idly.

It's not pleasant, it's not fun, I'm sorry it happened to you, but this is one common story. You can probably find several threads on the last 15 pages dealing with closures for inactivity. 

It's a business after all, and if cards were physical stores, would owner keep it open if not a single customer walked in for 13 months...they wouldn't. 

[djmax041]

Well I just don't buy stuff just to buy it. That's the only reason why it wasn't used. I wouldn't suggest anyone just spend frivolously especially at this time. I was planning on using it this weekend when I found out. I use it once a year for a big purchase and take advantage of their 6 months no interests. Now I'll just focus on my PayPal better terms and not restricted to one store.

[Slabenstein]

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@djmax041 wrote:
Well I just don't buy stuff just to buy it. That's the only reason why it wasn't used. I wouldn't suggest anyone just spend frivolously especially at this time. I was planning on using it this weekend when I found out. I use it once a year for a big purchase and take advantage of their 6 months no interests. Now I'll just focus on my PayPal better terms and not restricted to one store.

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That's kind of the catch-22 with store cards for places you don't shop at semi-frequently: you probably should at least put maintenance swipes on it if you want to make sure it stays alive, but if there's not anything at that store that you're going to buy right now you're not going to put a swipe on it.

[AverageJoesCredit]

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@Slabenstein wrote:

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@djmax041 wrote:
Well I just don't buy stuff just to buy it. That's the only reason why it wasn't used. I wouldn't suggest anyone just spend frivolously especially at this time. I was planning on using it this weekend when I found out. I use it once a year for a big purchase and take advantage of their 6 months no interests. Now I'll just focus on my PayPal better terms and not restricted to one store.

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That's kind of the catch-22 with store cards for places you don't shop at semi-frequently: you probably should at least put maintenance swipes on it if you want to make sure it stays alive, but if there's not anything at that store that you're going to buy right now you're not going to put a swipe on it.

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There's really no difference in having a 30k retail card or bank card if you arent going to use it ir at least put usage, just ask Capitol One. Any card can be closed for nonuse and if a lender feels a cards limit is not being fully utilized,  they can/ will close or reduce on a whim, though to be fair their whim probably has some merit in many cases

[FalconSteve]

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@Remedios wrote:

@djmax041  you didn't use it in over a year. 

They didn't send you notice card would be closed, but in all fairness, you didn't send them the notice of intent to use the card. 

$30K is a lot. They will turn around and lend it to someone who's going to use it, and if they don't, theirs will get shut, too. 

Lender notifying consumer about impending closure is an exception, not the norm.

Considering times we live in, lenders are by far less likely to play utilization games because they have to keep money in reserves while SL sits idly.

It's not pleasant, it's not fun, I'm sorry it happened to you, but this is one common story. You can probably find several threads on the last 15 pages dealing with closures for inactivity. 

It's a business after all, and if cards were physical stores, would owner keep it open if not a single customer walked in for 13 months...they wouldn't. 

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All true, but they should have notified her once it was closed, otherwise, what is the point of the 7 day grace period?

[Remedios]

They might have sent a letter, or one might still come.

7 days is not "grace period for reinstatement", it's just the time period during which it might be possible according to CSR. 

I haven't read about  many successful Comenity reinstatements, so if that's a possibility, it's used sparingly. 

Unfortunately, there is nothing unusual here. Most consumers find out about card closures when they attempt to use the card or via CMS.

Somewhere is T&C there is that "We can close the card at any time, for any reason" which really means "Card is ours, only thing that's yours is statement balance" 

That's one of the reasons I cringe when Wallet Galery is referred to as *Portfolio*

It's not. 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

In all fairness, it sounds like you didn't need it other than for utilization padding and the occasional promo period. The promo can be offset by other cards. Nothing you can do about padding unless you get another padding friendly card, but lenders have caught on to that trick citing individual utilization for denials recently.