I'm furious at credit cards who jack up interest rates and lower credit limits. I'm in good standing, make payments on time and have an excellent credit report. Target decided to lower my credit limit by $2100. Their reason: ratio of balance to limit on open revolving acccounts. I make my payments on time every month. All my accounts are in good standing. By them lowering my credit limit, makes my ratio even worse. I've put in a complaint and refuse to shop at Target now. I hope you will do the same, to show what they are doing is not helping the consumer.
If people stopped doing business with all the banks, card issuers and assorted companies that have lowered credit limits and increased interest rates, there wouldn't be anything left. Given the current climate, you'll probably just have to reduce your credit card debt load to try to bring things back into balance.
I had that exact same thing happen to me on a credit card from a furniture place. It doesn't seem like they should be able to do that.
It happened to me too, I had a Citibank card for over 15 years with a $13k limit and a 6% rate, they lowered it to $600 and 29.99%, I called them and they gave me the script out of their book. No late payments, nothing else on other accounts. Basically they said too bad, so I cancelled the account. I hope everyone does the same!!!
Be careful cancelling accounts. It can actually lower your score. Better is to pay it off, and use it every couple of months to buy gas or something to keep it active. Pay the bill when you get it. At least you keep the length of history.
Hedwig's right. Unless you have quite a few other cards and have determined that closing one won't significantly affect your CU ratio or length of credit history, it's best to just keep it open and set up automatic payments for one small bill or something.
I've got something going with HSBC right now... I'm not going to do anything about it. But I have $3,000 on this card--interest free for some furniture I bought on one of those great financing deals. When my credit started going into the tank, they understandably don't want me running up any more. I pay them on time every month...so each month, I get a notice in the mail that they have reduced my credit limit to JUST above what I owe them based on information obtained from Experian. I can't blame them really, but it's annoying and they do it every month even though I've never been late with them.
That is annoying. Do your best to avoid those furniture deals in the future...they're generally credit wreckers.
Target did much the same thing to me too. I was making my payments on time in cash at the local store and for some unknown reason they lowered my credit too then simply closed my account without giving me any notice they had done that. Unknowingly I kept on making my payments for almost 6 months. I wasn't using the card a lot since they don't sell all that much that I normally need. Maybe a ream of paper now and then. I was so angry at their treachery that I just refused to make any more payments on a closed account and I haven't to this day. That was the start of a downhill slide in my credit ratings. Soon other cards followed suit and I just gave up on them since the economy started going to put about that time too although I didn't realize it at the time. I went out and bought a nearly new car and ended up losing that too because of the economy. Things seem to be looking up right now but I'll have to fight the aftermath and soon. I'm not real worried about that. Should be fun and maybe even profitable as well. Strangely, I haven't heard a peep out of Target or most of the other cards as of yet and it has been almost 2 years now for some of them
If the contract with Target for the card permitted their actions, treachery is somewhat of a stretch. The comments elsewhere on the Card Act point to another fact that may have a good deal to do with your loss of credit. Getting angry and not paying the balance due has a certain shooting-yourself-in-the-foot component.
Could be, however although I have noticed a hole or two in one or another of my stockings from time to time I have yet to find any blood or corresponding hole in or on either of my feet. I haven't heard any shots coming from their general direction either. Of course they might be using those new Canadian sniper rifles that can kill from more than two miles away. However, they throw a chunk of lead 4 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter so even if they missed I'd more than likely find the evidence somewhere. I think the only place those rifles are being used right now is in Afganistan where the Canadians are using them to pick off Taliban snipers in the mountains. At 1 1/2 miles they still have the power to pick a Taliban sniper up and fling him clear off the mountain. Yeah, I already know what your next comment is likely to be so I'm just waiting for that.
And as I already pointed out, I couldn't care less. My corporations already have excellent credit. More than I'll ever need to use because they also have excellent income sources and you are helping increase that bottom line. Thanks, I really appreciate the bucks. Keep it coming.
No, not shortly. I'm already there long ago. Over at world headquarters I am widely known as THE BRAIN. I even have my own TV show in which I showcase my evil and sinister plans to take over the world. You can watch me Saturday mornings. My old friend the mouse is getting old and feeble these days and I need someone to take his place. I think you would make an excellent candidate to take over his place in the show. Please contact me at any time to apply for the position which gets pretty tight as the plots thicken and the cheese gets more and more binding.
Sorry about what your problem but I love Target! I do boycott certain things but for much more important reasons. Also, I don't go onto message boards telling others to boycott. If the subject somehow comes up in conversation, I may mention what I do and why. It's up to others to determine if the issue is important enough to them (without judgment) to do the same.
Well other than the obvious credit issue, their return policy also sucks. After getting married last year, we had a really hard time returning things that were on our registry but that we received duplicates of. Not that I am going to stop shopping there or anything. Just thought I would mention it since we were already speaking of Target.
