Jul 21 2009 10:29 pm
Chase credit card accounts closing without warning
Last week an acquaintance of mine was complaining that his Chase credit card was closed without warning whatsoever. He had read online that they were closing counts arbitrarily and decided that he would call and check on his account…. Sure enough, CLOSED. When asked why, he was told that a recent report on his credit from Experian returned poorly and they canceled his account based on the information from that report. So, he warned a group of people, of which I happened to be one of, to call and check on their accounts.
Me, being the internet savvy web guru that I am, I decided to simply log in to my account online and check my account status there. As I expected to find, both of my accounts were sitting there looking ever so peaceful with $0 balances and full credit limits that matched my available lines. All is well in the land of Steve’s credit cards. Not good enough, he says. Tells me to call and double-check with a person. Okay fine, I’ll amuse you and call the number on the back of my card.
I call the 800 number on the back of my card and go through the automated system prompts. Enter your account number, DOB, etc. I do all that and get the automated nonsense telling me the same thing that the online system did. No payment due, $0 balance, full limit available to me, etc. So I decide to be absolutely 100% positive and talk to someone so I can put this concern to bed. Person on the phone greets me and asks me how they can help me. I tell her my concern and she verifies my account information a second time, pulls up my account, and tells me she’s sorry to inform me but my accounts were closed two days prior. … My jaw hits the floor. WHAT?! WHY?? She gives me the same nonsense someone gave my buddy. I press her a bit and she concedes and tells me the exact reasons listed as to why my accounts here cancelled: 1. My outstanding debt was too high when compared to my available credit. 2. Too many accounts open under 24 months of age.
Both of these reasons are completely false and obviously scripts that the reps are given to get people off of the phone so that they’ll get mad at Experian and chase them down, which personally I hope they get in a ton of trouble for. So many people online I read about were given the same Experian reason for their accounts being closed in the past week. So either Experian messed up big time, or Chase is hiding behind them under false pretense. I am guessing it?s the latter for the following reasons: 1. My debt to income ratio is none. I have $0 in debt. Recently paid off my car loan, all of my credit cards, no mortgage. I have no debt to anyone whatsoever. 2. Only one account I hold (held) was under 24 months old. Most went back three to ten years or more. I take my credit seriously and make sure I am never late, pay typically a week or more before a payment is due, and normally carry small revolving balances to keep my accounts active.
Back when the government went on their spending spree and started intervening with the credit companies, I had a feeling some fallout was going to come from it, so I decided to pay down my balances and get out of credit while I could afford to. It’s a good thing I did looking back, because if I had balances and my accounts were closed then my debt to available credit ratio would be far worse than it is going to be now.
I’m not normally one to get involved when class action lawsuits come around, but in this instance I’ll likely make an exception. I have worked far too hard and too long to make sure I am a worthy credit customer. When I have credit bills due, I pay them early and for more than the amount due. I was lied to, disregarded, and I feel like I’m paying the price for these banks poor decisions that got them in the position that they’re in now. So now me, who didn’t take them up on their offers of sub-prime loans for mortgages I shouldn’t qualify for in the first place, who pays his bills on time and never goes over his limits. I’m being forced to pay the price here while the ones who do go over their limits, pay their bills late, and have high interest rates get to keep their accounts. Why? Because they make the banks money and I don’t.
Update:
I’ve made some progress with my accounts… While it’s not great news, it’s at least something. My accounts have been reopened at 10% of what they were. This doesn’t go far to repair the damage being done to my credit score, but I suppose it’s moderately better than the accounts being completely closed and doesn’t show the accounts being closed by the creditor on my reports. The lady I dealt with said she did everything she could to get my cards back and that was the absolute best that could be done. It’s taken me weeks to get this far, and it appears I’m at the end of this path. But, I guess something is better than nothing. For those that want to give my efforts a try, I found the following contact page and wrote to the appropriate person listed there.
I will keep my eyes open for more being done on the matter. I still stand by this being totally unfair and will do everything I can to make sure Chase knows it.
I have experienced the same thing with 2 of my Chase cards, that were legacy WaMu accounts. i am calling to inquire today and will pursue action!
I went online today and had an email from my ISP provider that my credit card was declined. I was scared because I paid the balance in full a week or so previous. My first thought was somebody had stolen or scanned the card and maxed it out. I found the card and called the customer service number to find the info about the account correct. This was a card that I applied for from Providian which was aquired by WAMU, and then taken over by Chase that I’d never paid late or gone over it’s limit. I’ve had it since 2004. So, I speak to somebody I can barely understand and listen to him tell me the balance I had this month was ‘x’ and my payment of ‘x’ was received about a week ago leaving me zero balance…then he says my account was cancelled a couple days later because Experian had notified them I had too little balance or some such notion he wasn’t able to describe to me in English I understood in all my credit accounts. So, I say to him, are you telling me my account was cancelled because I didn’t have a high enough balance on this card? He responds by telling me to contact Experian because my other credit cards or loans have too high a balance making this account a risk. Problem with that B.S. is I have no other credit cards or loan balances. I’ve since done some research online and learned this is happening to tons of people like myself. None with delinquent payment history, most with above average FICA scores, all who contacted Experian reporting that Experian denied ever contacting Chase or having any negative info on their credit reports if Chase had even contacted Experian about them. Obviously, Chase is lying about what is going on given the evidence provided by it’s customers and Experian’s responses to them. By cancelling card holders without cause the cardholders are suffering harm that will lower their FICA scores and raise their future interest rates in the process. Whoever is responsible for this blunderous business decision needs to be fired and any negative harm done within all credit reporting agencies to each and every customer that results from that assinine decision needs to be paid for by Chase, in my opinion. This isn’t just some kind of simple error on the part of an employeee we’re talking about here. This is a managerial decision that’s obviously affected inumerable customers in a negative fashion. That is unacceptable, plain and simple.
We are ready to take action too.
Chase just cancelled our cards without cause.
In fact, our Chase payment history is pristine.
Your concerns mirror ours.
How can we unite the many thousands screwed by Chase and Experian?
“Energy and persistence conquer all things”
Benjamin Franklin
Happened to me and man was I mad as hell. It was a wamu card. I got the same BS about experian. If there is a class action, sign me up.
This company is the WORST of the WORST and I regret ever having been stupid enough to do business with them or WAMU.
Same thing happened to me. No debt, paid more than minimum balance EVERY month. Went to use my credit card and it was declined. Called Chase, they said it was something I needed to take up with Experian.
I disputed with Experian and they mailed me back a copy of my credit report and said my chase account had been “updated” but NOTHING had changed.
If anyone finds out where we can take action against this please let us know.
I updated the post with progress that I have made in getting my cards reinstated. It’s not a lot, but I guess something is better than nothing. I hope others find some (or more) success as well.
I just found out yesterday Chase canceled my low interest rate card, because it was inactive and must no longer fit my needs. WTF?? I just paid this card off. Funny how Chase didn’t close out the other two accounts that have 15% and 22% interest rates that I haven’t used for years. Just the one that was 7%. Wonder if they will close those down too. Glad I didn’t try to use the card. I hate that this is going to screw my FICO score up. It is unfair and they should not be able to arbitrarily decide to close your account without notice, because you haven’t used it in a while. Guess they couldn’t come up with any dirt on me, other than not using their card. Whatever, I’m done with credit cards anyway. My husband has $5000 left on a card with 0% interest and we will have that paid by July.
I hate Chase. They are the worst. Within a year we had three cards transferred to them. Unfortunately, they were larger balances. Chase is just so unreasonable to work with. I worked extremely hard to pay my balances down. I’m happy to report we no longer owe Chase anything. I wonder what they are going to do when they are left with only customers who will not pay them?
In the letter, they also say they will be reporting the closure on my credit report. I think that is odd. Like they were threatening me, even though, there is nothing I can do now. The question is should I get another credit account with a different company? Would that keep the damage down. It won’t be with them. I can’t stand them. Just wondering if I should see if my credit union would issue me one.
I will use my Costco AMEX for the rewards… they pay me to use their card.
For the last three years we have always paid it in full each month and then we get a reward check at the end of the year. I just cashed in a $260 check. I am wondering when that free ride will be over. I can see the end of rewards cards pretty quickly.
I got a letter from Chase last month stating that My chase buy.com will be closed based on the report from Experian that “InSufficient Credit Information” . Since I have good score and history I have called Experian to get details , Experian informed me that my report has enough information and they dint provide those kind of report to Chase who pulled report in the name of First USA as they use this company sometimes to pull the consumers credit reports . My Credit limit has been reduced from 4800 to 1100 after this letter and my credit score went 25 points immediately .
When I talked to Chase stating the same they said they have terminated their relationship with buy.com , hence they are closing the account . I asked Chase then Why you are giving false reason . Chase Rep. told me that they have to give some reason related to credit history while closing the account .
I have enquired with my friends ( Two ) who are using buy.com cards and they said they have nt recieved any communication so far . I argued with chase three or four times for continuing my account but they said it is not possible , then i asked them to send a letter stating the real reason , they refused it .
I feel chase is the worst bank among the major financial institutions and they need people who default their payments to maintain their profits , Since I paid on time i think they dint get profits.
How this Account Closure will be entered in my credit report ? This Chase closure really affects my credit history as this account is the oldest and the one with high limit , it affects the aging and revolving balance which in turn screw up the score .
I have emailed to Credit Cards Director Gardon but no response as expected . Is there something I can do to avoid or somewhere I can complain about the attitude of Chase .
add me to the list people, i got a letter at least. butbut a reason given is too few accounts paid as agreed…every single one of my accounts is paid as agreed and they even gave me a credit like increase when i asked for it less than a year ago!
the apr is a rip off anyways but they closing your account does bring down you credit score in almost all cases. and that is wrong. way to treat your customers chase.