@MrDisco99 wrote:If cardholders are supposed to have deposit accounts and they are cracking down on that, then I guess that would be a reasonable explanation. He could've just said so, though. And it's kind of annoying for them to be enforcing that policy retroactively.
Wouldn't the obvious solution just to open a deposit account with the bank you are getting the card through? That seems like a small hassle for 5% on utilities.
I don't think there is a requirement to have a deposit account. I was asked about the money I kept at the bank I applied with and stated zero. They gave me the card anyway (at $500). Unless there's something in there about having a certain time frame to open an account, which I strongly doubt. What are the chances you fudged the number you had on deposit when you applied? Did you close any accounts with the FI that you applied with since getting the card?
@Vinjints wrote:I don't think there is a requirement to have a deposit account. I was asked about the money I kept at the bank I applied with and stated zero. They gave me the card anyway (at $500). Unless there's something in there about having a certain time frame to open an account, which I strongly doubt. What are the chances you fudged the number you had on deposit when you applied? Did you close any accounts with the FI that you applied with since getting the card?
Perhaps each bank has their own requirements for the card?
@MrDisco99 wrote:
@ocheosa wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:I've had an Elan (Renasant Bank) MCP for the last 3 years that I've used to pay my utility bills each month. That's several hundred dollars each month and I paid in full religiously and never missed a payment. I also got an Everyday Rewards+ card that I briefly used for restaurant spend but has mostly been in the sock drawer for the last year or so.
Yesterday I tried to pay my gas bill with my MCP as is my usual routine and the transaction was declined. I called the number on the back of the card and they told me my account was closed, could not explain why, and gave me a number to call. So I called that number and spoke to someone else who looked me up and told me that "due to the terms of the deposit account agreement the accounts have been closed." I told him I don't have a deposit account, and asked what terms I was afoul of. He told me he couldn't tell me anything else.
So yeah... if you have account with Elan they might just shut you down and not tell you why.
@MrDisco99 , If you recall the app asked if you had a deposit account. I think the easy access to bank/credit union websites and issuing of cards w/o following guidelines is now being corrected.
Lately, when browsing different banks who have elan seriviced cards, I've noticed you have to login to online banking in order to apply for cards.
It was 3 years ago. I don't remember anything about that application process.
You reminded me of something I forgot to mention, though... when I asked about the supposed "deposit account agreement" the guy on the phone asked me if I'd remembered the document I'd signed when I accepted the card. Of course I told him no, because I don't remember signing anything, and even if I did, I certainly don't remember what was in it. He said I'd agreed to terms in that document. I asked what specific terms were causing my accounts to be closed and he couldn't answer. So I still don't know what document I supposedly signed or what was in it.
If cardholders are supposed to have deposit accounts and they are cracking down on that, then I guess that would be a reasonable explanation. He could've just said so, though. And it's kind of annoying for them to be enforcing that policy retroactively.
We can never be sure the exact reason why banks close accounts without notice. They can/and do use whatever reason they find best fits to cease relationship. I can confirm that elan does credit bureau account reviews often. Not sure if that may have also contributed to this decision.
My first MCP was under that direct elan general application site. I left the account relationship box empty and they sent me a Bank of Ca MC. When I applied for my 2nd MCP and business cards, I first opened deposit accounts with associated local banks .
On the application it asked-
ACCOUNT RELATIONSHIP INFORMATION
$???? Checking, Savings, and Money Mar...
$???? Investments and Retirement Accoun...
IMPORTANT TERMS AND APPLICATION AGREEMENT
"You agree that, in order to open and administer the Account that may be established as a result of this Application, we and the correspondent financial institution that solicited this Application may share certain information about you and your ongoing Account activity. By submitting this application, you certify that you read and understood the disclosures here and you agree to the terms of this Application."
@Varsity_Lu wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:
So I called that number and spoke to someone else who looked me up and told me that "due to the terms of the deposit account agreement the accounts have been closed."
So yeah... if you have account with Elan they might just shut you down and not tell you why.
Uh...they DID tell you why.
Care to elaborate?
@coldfusion wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:
@ocheosa wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:I've had an Elan (Renasant Bank) MCP for the last 3 years that I've used to pay my utility bills each month. That's several hundred dollars each month and I paid in full religiously and never missed a payment. I also got an Everyday Rewards+ card that I briefly used for restaurant spend but has mostly been in the sock drawer for the last year or so.
Yesterday I tried to pay my gas bill with my MCP as is my usual routine and the transaction was declined. I called the number on the back of the card and they told me my account was closed, could not explain why, and gave me a number to call. So I called that number and spoke to someone else who looked me up and told me that "due to the terms of the deposit account agreement the accounts have been closed." I told him I don't have a deposit account, and asked what terms I was afoul of. He told me he couldn't tell me anything else.
So yeah... if you have account with Elan they might just shut you down and not tell you why.
@MrDisco99 , If you recall the app asked if you had a deposit account. I think the easy access to bank/credit union websites and issuing of cards w/o following guidelines is now being corrected.
Lately, when browsing different banks who have elan seriviced cards, I've noticed you have to login to online banking in order to apply for cards.
It was 3 years ago. I don't remember anything about that application process.
You reminded me of something I forgot to mention, though... when I asked about the supposed "deposit account agreement" the guy on the phone asked me if I'd remembered the document I'd signed when I accepted the card. Of course I told him no, because I don't remember signing anything, and even if I did, I certainly don't remember what was in it. He said I'd agreed to terms in that document. I asked what specific terms were causing my accounts to be closed and he couldn't answer. So I still don't know what document I supposedly signed or what was in it.
If cardholders are supposed to have deposit accounts and they are cracking down on that, then I guess that would be a reasonable explanation. He could've just said so, though. And it's kind of annoying for them to be enforcing that policy retroactively.
You can try taking a look at the current (at least recent) cardmember agreement to see if there are any lines in the terms & conditions sections you see that you might have crossed.
You can also try a Hail Mary and file a CFPB complaint although given that agency's current status I don't know if there's any reasonable chance of that driving a positive outcome.
Yeah the cardmember agreement is pretty boilerplate. I can't think of anything I might have done that would have crossed any lines. I put my power, gas, and water bill on the card and religiously paid it down to zero every month.
I'm not even going to bother with the CFPB.
@Varsity_Lu wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:If cardholders are supposed to have deposit accounts and they are cracking down on that, then I guess that would be a reasonable explanation. He could've just said so, though. And it's kind of annoying for them to be enforcing that policy retroactively.
Wouldn't the obvious solution just to open a deposit account with the bank you are getting the card through? That seems like a small hassle for 5% on utilities.
Nothing implied that I needed to do that when I applied. And I'm surely not going to do it now after they've shut me down.
@Vinjints wrote:I don't think there is a requirement to have a deposit account. I was asked about the money I kept at the bank I applied with and stated zero. They gave me the card anyway (at $500). Unless there's something in there about having a certain time frame to open an account, which I strongly doubt. What are the chances you fudged the number you had on deposit when you applied? Did you close any accounts with the FI that you applied with since getting the card?
Like I said, I've never had any deposit accounts with Renasant Bank before or since applying for the card. I don't remember all the details of my application, but if it asked for amount in deposits I surely would've put zero. I would've had no reason to input anything else.
Again, this was three years ago. They had plenty of time to shut me down if I'd done something wrong on my application.