@novabama wrote:
Hello all. I have had a capital one card with a 1500 limit, however about a year and a half ago it was restricted as it was past due. I paid this off a while ago, but it has remained restricted. I have another CO account with only a 500 CL that was restricted but then reinstated and I use it regularly.
I called them and they said there is no chance they will unrestrict it and it will eventually close out due to inactivity unless I ask for it to be closed now.
Should I leave it as an active card on my report with an available balance of 0 or just close it out now? Do either have a benefit? Right now i assume it's affecting my utilization because it shows a 1500 limit and an available balance of zero.
It's really up to you. The limit does give you a utlization cushion - which is always nice; and you'll lose that upon closure - which could suck. You basically need to decide between having the account noted as 'Closed at Consumer's Request' or 'Closed by Credit Grantor'. Neither notation has an effect on your scores, but Closed by Credit Grantor could raise eyebrows upon manual review of your reports -- thoughts of "what you may have done" to cause an account closure by the lender (the simple and innocent explanation of inactivity won't be noted). Closed at Consumer's Request simply reflects your choice to close an account -- no questions there.
Hey there Novabama, I hate how these credit companies won't work with ya when you do the right thing. We all make credit mistakes and now that you're rebuilding they want to close out an account, that sucks! If you have time on that restricted account I'd want to do whatever it takes to keep it, but if they ain't havin it then I'd let them close it. I've had really bad point drops from closing a old card. So, now I just let it ride at zero till they get my drift. If it's a newer card from what I've learned from members of MyFico, you can close it without serious point drops. My new rule is to just get the cards I want to keep long term and be happy. Good luck in your credit endeavors...
