FNBO CLD ****Master Thread****

[wingennis]

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@lgtwriter wrote:

@wingennis I had my card around ten months give or take. They cut the limit and I closed the card myself. some people might want to keep the card in those circumstances, and try to groom it back to growth. For me it was a "cut my losses and move on" experience and choice however.

I will probably close the Evergreen card as well once I pay off my balance on the due date the first week of October. I really don't want to have to charge a bunch of stuff on cards to keep them. In the tightening economy, I am willing to close some cards. I don't need the padding, and I don't use the cards, so I don't mind trimming my collection here and there.

I never needed either FNBO card to be truly honest lol.  I got caught up on the "flavor of the month" hype re FNBO last year. I'm in the garden now and don't do "flavor of the month" anymore.

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Thank you for taking the time to respond to me.  I think we have similar thinking on the issue.  I think I'll close the card soon for a lot of reasons one being the current economy and lending environment.  I don't need the amount of credit I have available to draw scrutiny from wary lenders.

[difringe]

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@lgtwriter wrote:

@OmarGB9 here is what the letter said the decision was based on:

Length of time since account opened

Pattern of account use

Current balance as % of recent balances.

Since I rarely use the card, and when I do it was for a small amount, I would say I was assigned a score of "non use" and it was closed for non use.

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just an update for me

similarly, got my letter (score provided was 751) and it mentioned three reasons

length of time since account opened (nonsense to me as i have no new accounts or inquiries since dec 2021 when they approved the card)

current payment amount as a % of amount due (also nonsense bc i literally paid the card to 0, then paid much more than the payment due after charging on the card again. the credit report is dated aug 10, so it wouldn't have even had the latest balance, but even if it did, i got a decrease bc i let a new balance that was less than 14% of the limit report?)

current balance as a % of recent balances (nonsense to me bc my overall balances have been in the same range, but at least my balance on this card DID go up this month)

we all know those reasons are provided to cover their behind, and i'm sure some of us have had experiences where the reasons didn't make sense. it's possible that their account review check doesn't take into account their underwriting for their prior approval (relevant to me as this is a newish card). it's also possible that due to the economy they're treating anyone with any semblance of increasing balances as a risk that they could do without. for yours, it seems like a non-usage issue, but there's another guy in the thread who doesn't use the card and hasn't had a decrease. ymmv, as always. 

for me personally, i don't need a lender who's that skittish and takes that drastic of an action (could've cut my limit in half, for example). I'm sure that as i pay down the card, they'll keep cutting the limit, so I'll just do us both a favor and pay off the card before the 0% period ends and let the card sit unused until they feel like closing it. a couple of years ago amex cld my card with them, but it made sense, my credit usage was spiralling upward and had reached like 92% total utilization. i was annoyed bc no one else cld me, but at the same time it was extremely understandable. this makes little sense to me, but if that's how fnbo operates, that's their prerogative, just as it's mine to not use their card. 

[spmonkey]

Same thing happened to me

Score ~800

utilization < 1%

Recently started to make evergreen card as my go-to card as I liked the website and process of cashback redemption.

Got a letter saying CL being decreased from 165000 to only 1550

One of the reason is current balance compared to recent balance. 

I believe the highest balance I had (when CLD happened) was about 1500 - already paid in full - so the total ulti is < 0.5%

Very angry, called the CS. She did not care at all - kept saying : the reason is on the letter.

Asked to speak with a manager, she came back saying the decision was from the credit reporting bureau - which is BS as I am a data scientist / software engineer.

Immediately asked to close this account.

Will never do any business with FNBO again. Clearly they don't want you to use their card.

[SouthJamaica]

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@spmonkey wrote:

Same thing happened to me

Score ~800

utilization < 1%

Recently started to make evergreen card as my go-to card as I liked the website and process of cashback redemption.

Got a letter saying CL being decreased from 165000 to only 1550

One of the reason is current balance compared to recent balance. 

I believe the highest balance I had (when CLD happened) was about 1500 - already paid in full - so the total ulti is < 0.5%

Very angry, called the CS. She did not care at all - kept saying : the reason is on the letter.

Asked to speak with a manager, she came back saying the decision was from the credit reporting bureau - which is BS as I am a data scientist / software engineer.

Immediately asked to close this account.

Will never do any business with FNBO again. Clearly they don't want you to use their card.

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Wow, this is scary. I have an FNBO Business Evergreen card which I'm using as one of my main cards for the business. I wish I knew what I can do to protect against this happening to me.  It makes no sense to me so I can't figure out a strategy to avoid it.  

[SouthJamaica]

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@difringe wrote:

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@Doodlebug30 wrote:

So I call up FNBO bc I hit the 4 months mark and wanted to try for a CLI. They said no bc my account was just CLD. HUH?? I have never had a cld on any account ever and I have no missed payments or late payments on their acct or any other. No changes to my credit which sit around 765 and I'm seriously baffled. I opened the card 10 months ago. I'm carrying a 0% balance of about 3k of 16,500 limit. They slashed my limit to 3150. So balance chased? But why?? So, paid off that card and I'm closing it today. I am pretty mad bc they did this right at statement cut and now it shows I have a card at 95% utilization. Should I let one more statement generate (with a zero balance) or just close it now? I really want to close it now but I want what's best for my fico ... Thanks. 

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Btw, similar thing happened to me today. I got the FNBO Evergreen card back in Dec 2021, had an increase some time this year to $16,500. I paid off the initial balance transfer (and purchases) that I made on the card (I had like $9k on it because of the 0%), but since purchases are 0% for a year, I put $2k on this card over the past couple of months. Statement cut yesterday with the $2k on the card and showing the limit of $16,500, but today I got an Experian alert that the card was CLD to $2400.  Similar to OP, I'm just going to pay it off next month and not use the card again, that's no way to keep a customer IMO. 

FICO scores have remained in the same range (720s) as has my total overall balance (around 20% utilization). I have no card reporting as over 88% usage except this card (if they report with the new limit).  Been in the garden since December 2021, so no new inquiries or accounts. Very strange behavior.

Edit: If you check their reviews on WalletHub, there are plenty of people reporting similar behavior, so I guess this is just how FNBO rolls. Will keep that in mind if in the future they have another FOTM card.

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You're right, I looked at Wallet Hub FNBO reviews and most of the ones I saw dealt with similar instances of balance-chasing CLD's.  What the heck is going on?

[M_Smart007]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@difringe wrote:

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@Doodlebug30 wrote:

So I call up FNBO bc I hit the 4 months mark and wanted to try for a CLI. They said no bc my account was just CLD. HUH?? I have never had a cld on any account ever and I have no missed payments or late payments on their acct or any other. No changes to my credit which sit around 765 and I'm seriously baffled. I opened the card 10 months ago. I'm carrying a 0% balance of about 3k of 16,500 limit. They slashed my limit to 3150. So balance chased? But why?? So, paid off that card and I'm closing it today. I am pretty mad bc they did this right at statement cut and now it shows I have a card at 95% utilization. Should I let one more statement generate (with a zero balance) or just close it now? I really want to close it now but I want what's best for my fico ... Thanks. 

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Btw, similar thing happened to me today. I got the FNBO Evergreen card back in Dec 2021, had an increase some time this year to $16,500. I paid off the initial balance transfer (and purchases) that I made on the card (I had like $9k on it because of the 0%), but since purchases are 0% for a year, I put $2k on this card over the past couple of months. Statement cut yesterday with the $2k on the card and showing the limit of $16,500, but today I got an Experian alert that the card was CLD to $2400.  Similar to OP, I'm just going to pay it off next month and not use the card again, that's no way to keep a customer IMO. 

FICO scores have remained in the same range (720s) as has my total overall balance (around 20% utilization). I have no card reporting as over 88% usage except this card (if they report with the new limit).  Been in the garden since December 2021, so no new inquiries or accounts. Very strange behavior.

Edit: If you check their reviews on WalletHub, there are plenty of people reporting similar behavior, so I guess this is just how FNBO rolls. Will keep that in mind if in the future they have another FOTM card.

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You're right, I looked at Wallet Hub FNBO reviews and most of the ones I saw dealt with similar instances of balance-chasing CLD's.  What the heck is going on?

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@SouthJamaica, Just use the card as you normally would.

We have NO idea the people's profiles or any other things that would cause AA.

Not going to say we are exempt, so far my (3) cards are untouched.

Not changing anything. If they want to CLD, then so be it.

As of this post, nothing has changed when I log in.

I am NOT going to change my spending patterns in hopes of anything.

ETA: Current Balance on biz card

Current Balance:

$12,509.99

Has been between $12-$55K ..since the card was opened and Auto-increased..

[lgtwriter]

@SouthJamaica I know you read my thread about my FNBO closure because you kudo'ed it lol.  I am posting the link here in case anyone else is interested. 

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/FNBO-massive-credit-line-decrease/m-p/6593671#M1828708

There are some comments on the FNBO threads calling the FNBO closures "Adverse Actions" based on credit risks, but I don't think that is the case in a lot of these recent FNBO closures. At least in my case,  I always paid the card in full, never used it for anything over $50, and only did that twice. My fico was 791 and my utilization is 2% across all my cards (or less). My income is over 200k which while not a mega-salary, is definitely enough to support my credit usage.

My card was closed for nonuse.

I think other cards are being closed for not using the card much except for balance transfers. That seems to be the trend of the closures from what I have read so far.

My FNBO evergreen card was being used as a daily driver, so there were lots of swipe fees. But I never used more than 10% of my 15k limit in a month and always paid it off right away or most of it off right away. I never had a balance for more than 2 months in a row. That card has the credit limit intact. So far.

I think that FNBO wants swipes without risk, ie a lot of activity on the card that is paid off right away.

I fit the "paid off right away" but I don't fit the "a lot of activity", even on the Evergreen card.

I plan on sock-drawering or closing the card when I pay it off the $500 balance next week.

[difringe]

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@M_Smart007 wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@difringe wrote:

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@Doodlebug30 wrote:

So I call up FNBO bc I hit the 4 months mark and wanted to try for a CLI. They said no bc my account was just CLD. HUH?? I have never had a cld on any account ever and I have no missed payments or late payments on their acct or any other. No changes to my credit which sit around 765 and I'm seriously baffled. I opened the card 10 months ago. I'm carrying a 0% balance of about 3k of 16,500 limit. They slashed my limit to 3150. So balance chased? But why?? So, paid off that card and I'm closing it today. I am pretty mad bc they did this right at statement cut and now it shows I have a card at 95% utilization. Should I let one more statement generate (with a zero balance) or just close it now? I really want to close it now but I want what's best for my fico ... Thanks. 

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Btw, similar thing happened to me today. I got the FNBO Evergreen card back in Dec 2021, had an increase some time this year to $16,500. I paid off the initial balance transfer (and purchases) that I made on the card (I had like $9k on it because of the 0%), but since purchases are 0% for a year, I put $2k on this card over the past couple of months. Statement cut yesterday with the $2k on the card and showing the limit of $16,500, but today I got an Experian alert that the card was CLD to $2400.  Similar to OP, I'm just going to pay it off next month and not use the card again, that's no way to keep a customer IMO. 

FICO scores have remained in the same range (720s) as has my total overall balance (around 20% utilization). I have no card reporting as over 88% usage except this card (if they report with the new limit).  Been in the garden since December 2021, so no new inquiries or accounts. Very strange behavior.

Edit: If you check their reviews on WalletHub, there are plenty of people reporting similar behavior, so I guess this is just how FNBO rolls. Will keep that in mind if in the future they have another FOTM card.

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You're right, I looked at Wallet Hub FNBO reviews and most of the ones I saw dealt with similar instances of balance-chasing CLD's.  What the heck is going on?

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@SouthJamaica, Just use the card as you normally would.

We have NO idea the people's profiles or any other things that would cause AA.

Not going to say we are exempt, so far my (3) cards are untouched.

Not changing anything. If they want to CLD, then so be it.

As of this post, nothing has changed when I log in.

I am NOT going to change my spending patterns in hopes of anything.

ETA: Current Balance on biz card

Current Balance:

$12,509.99

Has been between $12-$55K ..since the card was opened and Auto-increased..

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i agree that if the relationship is working for you, you probably shouldn't change anything, but i'll say in my case, they literally cld me after i let a balance report, but only after i had paid off a much larger balance. i say that to say that you don't necessarily know what behavior could trigger it (you yourself said you don't even use the personal card and you haven't had a cld, whereas someone else got one seemingly for non-use)

since we don't have access to their black box, and we don't know each other's finances in their entirety, obviously ymmv on this stuff. judging from your approvals, i imagine you earn quite a bit. it could be that income is more important than we know. it could be that since you just weren't using the card at all, they don't see you as a risk (although i wonder how they consider you profitable on the personal card side lol). maybe if you started using the personal card and let a balance report they'd cld you, maybe they wouldn't. as you note, that'd be a different pattern of usage for you. 

obviously we're all rooting for each other to not have cld at any point, just noting that fnbo might possibly be changing how they do things

[spmonkey]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@spmonkey wrote:

Same thing happened to me

Score ~800

utilization < 1%

Recently started to make evergreen card as my go-to card as I liked the website and process of cashback redemption.

Got a letter saying CL being decreased from 165000 to only 1550

One of the reason is current balance compared to recent balance. 

I believe the highest balance I had (when CLD happened) was about 1500 - already paid in full - so the total ulti is < 0.5%

Very angry, called the CS. She did not care at all - kept saying : the reason is on the letter.

Asked to speak with a manager, she came back saying the decision was from the credit reporting bureau - which is BS as I am a data scientist / software engineer.

Immediately asked to close this account.

Will never do any business with FNBO again. Clearly they don't want you to use their card.

---

Wow, this is scary. I have an FNBO Business Evergreen card which I'm using as one of my main cards for the business. I wish I knew what I can do to protect against this happening to me.  It make no sense to me so I can't figure out a strategy to avoid it.  

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what disgusted me more was that the CS agent sounded really happy when I said "can you pls close my account because it seems like the bank does not want the customers to use the card" 

[M_Smart007]

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@spmonkey wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@spmonkey wrote:

Same thing happened to me

Score ~800

utilization < 1%

Recently started to make evergreen card as my go-to card as I liked the website and process of cashback redemption.

Got a letter saying CL being decreased from 165000 to only 1550

One of the reason is current balance compared to recent balance. 

I believe the highest balance I had (when CLD happened) was about 1500 - already paid in full - so the total ulti is < 0.5%

Very angry, called the CS. She did not care at all - kept saying : the reason is on the letter.

Asked to speak with a manager, she came back saying the decision was from the credit reporting bureau - which is BS as I am a data scientist / software engineer.

Immediately asked to close this account.

Will never do any business with FNBO again. Clearly they don't want you to use their card.

---

Wow, this is scary. I have an FNBO Business Evergreen card which I'm using as one of my main cards for the business. I wish I knew what I can do to protect against this happening to me.  It make no sense to me so I can't figure out a strategy to avoid it.  

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what disgusted me more was that the CS agent sounded really happy when I said "can you pls close my account because it seems like the bank does not want the customers to use the card" 

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@spmonkey, Sorry for your CLD.

But just for a second, imagine. They are just paid CSR's trying to do their job,

they have absolutely no control over a computer algorithm?

If you had several "ANGRY" people calling you, would you not be happy to assist in their request?

Think about it, She only did what you were requesting.