I just cancelled two Cap1 cards. One was a KMART-partner card that I just received (with a B.S. $200 limit). They generously offered to increase to $300 during the cancellation negotiation. The second was my long-standing green card with a $1300 limit that they previously offered to upgrade to gold with a $1000 increase, but for a $39 fee. They offered to waive the $39 gold upgrade fee during the cancellation discussions, but I also held out for a waiver of the $39 annual fee. They wouldn't budge on the annual fee, so I cancelled. Damn, they are pretentious to suggest that I am missing out on the benefit of holding their card. They are missing out on a valuable customer of almost three years. Anyway, since they refused to give me confirmation number, what do I need to do to ensure that they do not ignore my cancellation request in order to charge the annual fee that is due in Janurary? Certified letter? Send the cards back?
I cancelled an account with them 3 weeks ago. It already shows on my experian as closed. They are pretty quick. I dont think you have to worry. roni
In your case, was it a tedious negotiation process to get them to finally agree to cancel the card? I reached my breaking point after about ten-minutes of discussion where I said, "Sir, are you refusing to cancel these cards?" This got his attention and he proceeded to wind up the high-pressure retention efforts. I was a nervous wreck after having gone through the cancellation procedure. -Alwilda Smith
I had my mind made up when I called, so it was very easy. I had 3 accounts with them and I told the lady the account was going no matter what. She didnot even bother to transfer me to retention. But they had already given me a $300 increase the week b4 when I called to cancel. So I wasnot that strong the first attempt. Sorry, I forgot about the first cancell call. Congrats on getting rid of the it. roni
I had no hassles when I closed my Cap 1 account a year ago. I sent them a letter and included the cut-up card. In addition, I asked specifically for them to report to the bureaus: "Closed by consumer"; "Paid account"; "Zero balance." They complied very quickly, say, within a month. The one downside was that the account slipped off my Equifax report after several months. I wrote them another letter. Even though I no longer was a customer, they intervened on my behalf and got Equifax to reinsert it. Funny, it has slipped off again, but I believe it's the fault of Equifax. There never was been a problem with Experian or TU.
Alwilda, Just curious. How long have you had these cards before you cancelled today? I am tempted to call for an increase with the bluff that I will close. Thnx
I had the green card for what would have been three years in Jan. It started at $300 for about 6-8 months, then went to $500 automatically. Then after another year or so, I paid off the balance one month and sent in an extra $500, thinking that it would be the same as having a $1000 limit. When I tried to conduct a mail-order purchase for about $850, the transaction was declined (though I had a $500 limit and a $500 credit). I called Cap1 to raise hell, and they raised my limit to $1000. Then just recently, they gave me a $300 increase theough their telephone system.
