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I have had 2 Bank of America credit accounts for 3-5 years. I was forgetful and basically forgot my payments until around when the next next month’s were due. Without notice they significantly cut my credit limit . I’m sure this is ignorant of me, but I literally had no idea they could do something like this and I feel sick to my stomach because my credit utilization went from 30% to ~99% overnight.
Account 1: Balance 12,090. Limit was 30,000, now 12,100.
Account 2: Balance 3538. Limit was 20,000, now 3,600.
I have other cards too. My overall utilization went from ~35% to 55%
What do I even do to recover from this?
@thornback wrote:
Well since it seems you were more than 30 days late (or was it 60 days?) you'll also have a late payment hit on your reports to deal with - and it will take approx 2 years for your scores to recover from that alone.
Unfortunately there's not much you can do at this point... As you pay the balances down, BOA is likely going to balance chase you, lowering your limits after each payment to prevent you from making more purchases. And once the balances are paid, it's quite possible they'll close both accounts.
If you have the funds to pay both balances in full now, you can do that then immediately contact them to try to save the accounts from closure - tho I don't know how successful that attempt will be.
To avoid this from happening in the future, you should set all of your accounts to autopay at least the minimum due each month so even if you forget to manually make a payment, the autopay will kick in so the required minimum is paid to keep you current.
Perhaps someone that's had a similar experience with BOA will chime in with additional advice or a more concrete idea of what to expect.
+100
Everything said above. You’re being balance-chased. If you have the money to pay off these accounts, call BofA & plead your case to a supervisor BEFORE you pay. Not sure if you will have any success, but it’s worth a shot.
no matter what, you need to pay these down ASAP, as your UR Is going to hit your scores hard.
I'm sorry to hear of your troubles and agree with thornback , you may have a chance if you are able to pay off the balances and contact someone... good luck!
Well if you weren't actually 30 days late yet then that's good news... saves you from negative credit reporting which is much more difficult to overcome. However, internally with BOA, you were late.
I would probably call BOA since one account has just been down... your length of history with them is decent, so you never know, they may be will to work with you & keep your accounts open at the reduced limit - but i wouldn't expect a CLI anytime soon - you'll be on probation for a while.
@Anonymous wrote:
I actually don’t know if it was even 30 days. My Credit Karma account shows Bank of America reporting all payments were made on time, so I think it may have been <30 days late when I paid. So basically there’s is no way to get them to re-increase my limit? I basically paid the lower one down with about $100 balance remaining. Tried to increase credit limit on website and they are sending mail which means it was denied
@Anonymous wrote:
I actually don’t know if it was even 30 days. My Credit Karma account shows Bank of America reporting all payments were made on time, so I think it may have been <30 days late when I paid. So basically there’s is no way to get them to re-increase my limit?
Unfortunately, that's not the immediate goal: you are being balance chased, which means each time you pay, the bank will reduce the CL to just above the remaining balance, until they close the card. So that is what the advice above was meant to help with. If you have paid one card much more down, you a) could have made them happier so they are more likely to listen, or b) weakened your position dramatically (they now have a lot of their money) and they proceed as planned!
So talk to them ASAP to see what can be done.
@Anonymous wrote:I have had 2 Bank of America credit accounts for 3-5 years. I was forgetful and basically forgot my payments until around when the next next month’s were due. Without notice they significantly cut my credit limit . I’m sure this is ignorant of me, but I literally had no idea they could do something like this and I feel sick to my stomach because my credit utilization went from 30% to ~99% overnight.
Account 1: Balance 12,090. Limit was 30,000, now 12,100.
Account 2: Balance 3538. Limit was 20,000, now 3,600.
I have other cards too. My overall utilization went from ~35% to 55%
What do I even do to recover from this?
Hi and welcome to MyFICO
Yes, banks will take AA without notice when they don't receive the minimum monthly payment due. Was this your first late or have you been late before? If it was the first and only one, you can always call and plead your case--fall on their mercy. However, if it's not the first one, IDK, BOA is a very conservative bank and may view you as habitually late.
Your only other recourse is to get those outstanding balances paid down and PIF as quickly as possible because I believe you will be balanced chased from here on out.
I know this is a tough lesson learned, but do learn from it. You must make your monthly minimum payments by the due date. If you are paying late on your other cards, take steps to correct that now so other lenders wont follow suit.
@Anonymous wrote:I have had 2 Bank of America credit accounts for 3-5 years. I was forgetful and basically forgot my payments until around when the next next month’s were due. Without notice they significantly cut my credit limit . I’m sure this is ignorant of me, but I literally had no idea they could do something like this and I feel sick to my stomach because my credit utilization went from 30% to ~99% overnight.
Account 1: Balance 12,090. Limit was 30,000, now 12,100.
Account 2: Balance 3538. Limit was 20,000, now 3,600.
I have other cards too. My overall utilization went from ~35% to 55%
What do I even do to recover from this?
They could do something like this for any reason or even no reason at all. Credit cards and the corresponding credit limits are not a right, and the issuer or the holder of the card can terminate the relationship at any time. It is why, among other reasons, I always PIF. If you do that, balance chasing, CLD, or even card closure, will not adversely affect your credit score much. Reduced credit limits are not always a result of an action by the card holder. It can happen when an issuers internal audit indicates a need to reduce their risk across the board, or in one segment. There are low risk segments, medium risk segments, and high risk segments. The majority of profit is derived from the medium risk segment on most cards, so they may try to reduce exposure to even the low risk segment to increase profit. Some lower teir cards are catering to the high risk consumers and has the high fees and interest to make a huge profit even when their default rate is high. Some very high teir cards are practically risk free, and amazingly sometimes have very high fees as well, but unique rewards and benefits to appeal to wealthy card holders.