UNFAIR ...how much will this hurt me?

[TeddyKG]

Spoke to the department that made the decision. Nothing changed. She was nice and sympathetic of course but basically said it was the review and other delinquent accounts on my credit report. 

My argument was there was zero credit available, I cannot hurt you and I paid 2k off in good faith. Very easily could have settled w outside collectors for much less and now being punished. I also said you can give me $100 credit line and that would be totally fair in my book just leave it open. She'll note the account 😏 but decision is final. 

[SoCalGardener]

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@TeddyKG wrote:

Spoke to the department that made the decision. Nothing changed. She was nice and sympathetic of course but basically said it was the review and other delinquent accounts on my credit report. 

My argument was there was zero credit available, I cannot hurt you and I paid 2k off in good faith. Very easily could have settled w outside collectors for much less and now being punished. I also said you can give me $100 credit line and that would be totally fair in my book just leave it open. She'll note the account 😏 but decision is final. 

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Sorry to hear that. I knew it was a longshot, but I was hoping they'd factor in your integrity and reverse their decision.

Well, now that it's a done deal, there's nothing to do but collect your thoughts and move on. Start planning what your next financial moves should be, and then get to work on them. I promise you, in a few years, you'll barely even remember this card...

[SoCalGardener]

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

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@SoCalGardener wrote:

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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:

It's not going to affect you for however long they keep reporting the closed account, which on average is ~10 years. At that point, it will reduce your Average Age of Accounts.

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How can derogatories on his credit reports not hurt his score? It's not just that a CC was closed, but *why* it was closed--delinquencies.

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OP thinks the closing of the card will hurt them further. The derogatories were already there before card closure. The closing of the card doesn't make it worse. Though, now that I think about it, I didn't ask what the limit was in comparison to aggregate. Losing enough of a limit to affect aggregate utilization could cause a score drop.

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Yeah, I can see your point.

After the OP provided the reason, it became clear that the card was closed due to delinquencies; prior to that, I had the impression that while the card was still open, there were no derogatory marks on his report.

[Phana24]

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@TeddyKG wrote:

Spoke to the department that made the decision. Nothing changed. She was nice and sympathetic of course but basically said it was the review and other delinquent accounts on my credit report. 

My argument was there was zero credit available, I cannot hurt you and I paid 2k off in good faith. Very easily could have settled w outside collectors for much less and now being punished. I also said you can give me $100 credit line and that would be totally fair in my book just leave it open. She'll note the account 😏 but decision is final. 

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Be sure and hit their social media posts often, albeit with a professional tone.  Be sure and include the info that if anyone gets behind, it might be better to deal with a CA.  Obviously, that's not the case, but in my experience, some of these financial institutions are very conscious of the social media presence, and bashing those who deserve it can be fun.

[jmw1]

@TeddyKG 

I've had two of these offers from two different banks years ago that noticed I was only making the minimum payment and sometimes incurred late fees and returned payment fees. One of them I begged on the phone for a rate decrease while the 2nd bank sent me a letter asking to close my account if I were to pay it down faster.

For both offers, it was made very clear that available credit would be zero in exchange for the reduced interest rate and the fixed payment amount that would guarantee payoff in a fixed amoount of time. Given that both offers were of the type that suggested I did not pay according to original terms, I assumed the accounts would be closed upon payoff and that is exactly what happened.  If you knew your account would be closed either way, what harm is there to go along with the gift horse of a reduced rate to resolve your debt in a timely fashion? If you were a regular customer struggling with debt but not on the brink of bankruptcy, no way Chase or Amex or whoever will reduce the rate while you are carrying a balance. 

You can try to open a new account down the road, but chances are high you will get the 7-10 day notice even if your credit comes back to 800+.

[TeddyKG]

@jmw1  I only remember it was some 12 month program (I signed nothing) and yes zero available credit made sense. After the initial 12 months and my 12 payments it was supposed to be reviewed...if it was nobody alerted me. I still owed like  approx $600. So I continued making  payments, even slightly larger at $100 per month until the final month I paid the bal in full...think $150. So now the account is zero bal and still zero available...this stayed like this for several months. My account was technically open as I received updates about my dark web searches and fico scores.

My feeling is they have zero risk giving me the lowest credit line possible as a reward for satisfying my obligation to them. What will I do, beat them for a $100 or $200 dollars after this?? Cmon its bad business.  I paid them, very easily could have paid nothing and settled for MUCH less later down the road. I was punished for doing the right thing. They rather risk a new customer they know nothing about? They now know me, I was good, went bad (lost a job) made debt good and yes at a reduced rate but still paid a total of 2k to them. 

I would encourage people to stiff now. It should be a two way relationship 

[SoCalGardener]

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@TeddyKG wrote:

@jmw1  I only remember it was some 12 month program (I signed nothing) and yes zero available credit made sense. After the initial 12 months and my 12 payments it was supposed to be reviewed...if it was nobody alerted me. I still owed like  approx $600. So I continued making  payments, even slightly larger at $100 per month until the final month I paid the bal in full...think $150. So now the account is zero bal and still zero available...this stayed like this for several months. My account was technically open as I received updates about my dark web searches and fico scores.

My feeling is they have zero risk giving me the lowest credit line possible as a reward for satisfying my obligation to them. What will I do, beat them for a $100 or $200 dollars after this?? Cmon its bad business.  I paid them, very easily could have paid nothing and settled for MUCH less later down the road. I was punished for doing the right thing. They rather risk a new customer they know nothing about? They now know me, I was good, went bad (lost a job) made debt good and yes at a reduced rate but still paid a total of 2k to them. 

I would encourage people to stiff now. It should be a two way relationship 

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To each their own, but I disagree.

Feeling angry and disappointed at a company for closing your account, after you kept your word and paid as agreed, is understandable. But doesn't it feel good knowing that you did the right thing? I know I would. Sure, I'd still be unhappy that after all that, they didn't appreciate or respect me, but I'd still be glad I'd done the right thing. YMMV.