I can't believe it. I LOVE Planet Feedback and CitiBank! The story: Back around 1996 I got my first CC - CitiBank. I would charge up hundreds of $$$ and mom would pay them and the cycle would continue. When I went to grad school I took the card and charged up the $5,000 limit (the starting limit was $500 but mom was so good on those payments it was raised quickly) in about 3 months. I was without a job and ended up with $24k in debt and MANY lates (though no charge-offs). ALL my creditors closed my accounts. With CitiBank I had at least two 60+'s and I -think- a 90+. I think I didn't make a payment in six months once. I owed $6700 on the $5000 line. I started repaying the debts on July 2001 and I'm now down to 12k in debt. The last 3.5k are at 0% interest until August 2004 ($1500)/indefinitely ($2000) so those will be paid in the next 2-3 years and the rest as soon as I can. I called CitiBank and asked to please reopen the card and that I would even send in the money to secure a $5, $250, whatever credit line they chose. They said no because it had been over a year since it was closed. The reason that it was over a year is because I wanted it repaid before asking for a reopening. I asked who else could look at the situation and was told that was it, the people who could look at it had looked at it. I wrote about it here and was advised to go the Planet Feedback route. I sent a letter (private, not public) on 4/17 explaining the situation. Since I started working I've been a model customer with all my creditors - always pay on time, always stay below my limit. You couldn't ask for a more responsible customer than I am now. I certainly learned my lesson. Lo and behold I get a call from someone in the President's Office (I think that's where she called from) who left a message in my voicemail today and when I called her back she said the card had been reopened (with the original open date, not an opening date of 2003!!!) with an unsecured $300 credit line, and lowered the APR from the 19.8% I was paying when the account was closed to a 12.XX% APR. I can ask for an increase in 6-12 months. I just cannot believe this. I love CitiBank I will get the line back up to $5000 eventually, and hopefully 25k down the line. So Planet Feedback works! And CitiBank DOES listen! They didn't make a mistake in reopening that card, I'll make sure of that. ::does the happy dance::
No they certainly didn't! They reopened for a very bright CreditNetter! This is one of the best "comeback" stories I've read in a while. Congratulations! Remember to call "R" to get P + 2.9% in 3 months. Search here for "direct to r". I'm doing a happy dance, too, even though they are disallowed.