I recently received a letter stating that credit limit was to be reduced (from £4,750.00 to £500.00) on my Citicard credit account. What annoyed me was the fact that they gave only two days notice. The reason given for the reduction was related to an alleged bad credit rating. It was recommended in the letter that I check out my rating at Experian and pay £2.00 for a statutory credit report. When I checked the site (obviously concerned that my credit rating was suddenly negative) i discovered that it takes over a week to receive the £2.00 report. I felt I had no other option than to join Experian's 30 day free trial and then buy a report (£5.95) which was accessible immediately on line. My rating was excellent. I phoned the Citicard help desk and was informed that I could try writing to them, enclosing a copy of the report, and request a review of my limit. I did write to their complaints department closing my account and requesting an explanation. I ALSO ASKED FOR A RESPONSE TO MY COMMENTS REGARDING THE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CITIBANK AND EXPERIAN AND WHETHER THE LATTER'S REPORTED INCREASED PROFITS COULD BE RELATED TO THE METHODS EMPLOYED BY CITICARD TO SCARE THEIR CUSTOMERS INTO PAYING FOR UNNECESSARY REPORTS! Not surprisingly, I received an immediate response stating that they were within their right to reduce the limit with immediate effect; they also refunded the £5.95 fee I had paid. THEY DID NOT EXPLAIN WHY THEY SENT ME FALSE INFORMATION OR RESPOND TO MY QUESTIONS REGARDING THEIR CONNECTION WITH EXPERIAN. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Very interesting. I'm not sure exactly how things work in the UK, but credit issuers in the US can reduce credit limits whenever their little hearts desire. It sounds like it's the same there. Can you get a free credit report from each of the credit bureaus in the UK like you can in the US?
