comenity credit decreases

[Anonymous]

i have 4 comenity accounts. lane bryant, ashley stewart, victoria’s secret, and torrid. my credit has always been crap because i suck with money but it’s been going up and down. now out of nowhere they closed ashley stewart, i hadn’t used it in awhile so okay i get that one. torrid has a limit of 900, LB had a limit of 460, and VS had a limit of 500. a few months ago, LB dropped to 250 and VS dropped to 150, RANDOMLY. i’m like ???? because i don’t use those cards much. last time i used LB was december 2017 and VS was probably june 2018 but i pay on time, not in full, every month. the balances are relatively low and yesterday, they decreased my limits AGAIN. LB went to 150 and VS went to 100 but yet torrid has stayed at the 900 limit both times with a 98% balance. i’ve used the torrid card more than lb/vs combined.

probably a dumb question, but is my sinking credit score causing this?

[MySunrise271]

It maybe a combined number of factors. Your overall utilization profile with other credit cards, payment history with other cards and any other low scoring key variables they use in their credit risk algorithm.

[Anonymous]

It’s very likely that they will also lower your Torrid CL once you pay it down a bit. They just haven’t been able to lower it because of your high balance.

Lenders are not a huge fan of high utilization and low (minimum or barely above) payments. It’s all about risk and these are two risky behaviors in their eyes.

[AverageJoesCredit]

If you list your current profile like scores, hps, aaoa, etc perhaps we can add some recommendations to help you improve your credit. Unfortunately, if you are carrying high balances for awhile with no significant decrease in balances, this can cause a creditor to balance chase you.

[Anonymous]

Another case of the Comenity blues.  Why did you get those cards if you don't shop at those store much?

There are young people.  People who mess up and then learn.  Then there are people who never learn.  Comenity's easy credit was just as much a curse as it was a blessing.

The only way it should effect your credit is if you miss a payment or your utilization goes sky high.  Balance chasing and closure might be a gift for you in the end.

[MyDataMyChoice]

This is called balance chasing...

Those cards are great for one thing... the rewards that come with them. They are meant to be PAID IN FULL each month.
Most/all are at 29.99% APR!!!

It sounds like your score went down....plus inactivity...

Banks are in business to make money... you charge... they get money from swipe fees and from interest...
They also need to mitigate risk... hence the balance chasing.

Do you monitor your credit... I bet you have something show up... a collection (old cell phone bill?) lots of inquiries? etc... something spooked them.

[Anonymous]

This is called balance chasing. More than likely, the only reason they haven’t decreased Torrid is bc it is maxed out 98%. If you were to pay $300 (for example) next month, They’d probably decrease your limit. 

There is something going on with your profile that is spooking them. It may be bc your carrying balances on high APR cards for long periods of time vs paying them off (which I feel you should do). 

Good luck. 

[Anonymous]

I used to use these cards ALL the time, hence why I have them, but since I'm trying to get OUT of debt, I figured I would stop using them.... VS was the one card that I used and actually paid in full since I only ever used it at Bath and Body Works during the Semi-Annual sale. Torrid was the only one that I had problems with actively using since the clothes were basically the only thing that fit, but I've stopped using it.

Thank you all for explaining what they're doing. It's pretty annoying, but I've had a few missed payments across the board(including a new auto loan for the first time ever and I have a few other cards :-D) and I'm trying to dig myself out of the past due dungeon 

[mikesonthemend]

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@Anonymous wrote:
 my credit has always been crap because i suck with money

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Change that!

[Anonymous]

Actively managing your credit is the single most important thing you can possibly do to establish the habits you’ll need for successful management of your finances. I strongly suggest you make a spreadsheet that lists all creditors, limits, balances, and due dates at the minimum. You can get detailed like I have and also set it up to calculate available credit per card, utilization percentages, paydown amounts to hit scoring thresholds, etc.

For some, money management comes naturally or balances are very low, and checking accounts once or twice a month is enough. I would suggest working up to that level though. Check your accounts daily. Make sure you reconcile any charges that show up, knowing whether they’re yours or not. Put each card’s due date into the calendar on your phone with an alert. If you get paid weekly, set your alert 7-8 days ahead of each due date. If biweekly, make it 15 days, so you always have a paycheck between the alert and the due date. By now I’m sure you have a feel for your rough monthly payments for each card. Add them up and move that amount into savings as early as possible, and set up autopay as a backup on each account. Do not rely on it to autopilot your way through your credit but keep it as a fallback plan, so if you forget or are incapacitated, the bills will still be paid and the money from your savings is sitting in there to cover those amounts. You could even request to move due dates for all accounts to the same date or within a couple days of each other, day at the end of the month. That way you make your payments on everything, and then start setting money aside the next check to prepare for the next round of payments. Plus you’ll remove the chances of missing a payment due to oversight because it’s lost in the middle of the month with say 6 payments on 6 different dates scattered all over the calendar.

Over time, you’ll develop habits and get a sense for what works and how to best do it, and you can adapt to it. For the short term though, go scorched earth. All bills on autopay as a backup plan, make active payments on each account, hold enough in reserve to make at least the minimum payments if not more (more is better), and take 5-10 minutes each and every day to eyeball each account. You’ll probably find that you enjoy it, and seeing payments always made, and score increases that accompany them, will give you a great feeling and help you move up to bigger and better in the future. Good luck!