Chase - JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. JPMorgan Chae Unilateral Credit line decrease, lying about reason Wilmington, Delaware
Chase unilaterally lowered the line of credit by over 50% on an overdraft account I used rarely, but which is reported to credit bureaus. The reason given in the letter was that based on my useage, it would "fit my needs better." But they also were explicit that if I exceeded this lower limit, I had 45 days to pay it or they would jerk the rate up.
When I politely pointed out I maintained the account for a reason, was never late, accepted a higher-than-industry average rate, and had a credit score in the high 700's, I was told in no uncertain terms that they did it because they thought it was too high, but if I wanted it restored, I could give them all my financial information, they would run a credit check, and let me know the results.
Of course, if I fell for this, they would run a credit report (one strike against my Credit rating) see that my debt to credit ratio had increased (thanks to them, two strikes) and see that there was a new inquiry for credit (again, their inquiry and the third strike), which would let them charge a higher rate (although, at 19.9% already, hard to imagine).
I'm lucky I have a bank that just switched my rate to 9.9% fixed, so I've never needed the account but it was good for a rainy day.
I've just filed a complaint with the BBB, sent a report to the Red Tape Chronicles at MSNBC.com, and am drafting letters to my Congressment and the Delaware Attorney General.
Don't put up with it, and hit them hard and early. And complain to your elected representatives. The Banks claim this wouldn't happen if not for the credit reform act, so let's let Congress know that some banks, if they are "too big to fail," should be broken up by the Government.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
SamSam26
United States of AmericaKarma will come and bite them in the butt
#2Consumer Comment
Wed, March 03, 2010
I too have had credit card issues with Chase. I had a small $400 credit card that I would use on occasion in between pay periods. There were times that I would pay the card off when I received my next paycheck and there were others that I would take a few months to pay it off. Well a few months went by (at this time the card had a 0 balance) that I didn't use it and they closed it. I received a letter stating that the account had been closed due to inactivity. Now I understand that the entire concept of a credit card is that the company you have your card with has to set aside funds in order to pay any charges placed on the card. However, to cancel a $400 card seems a bit weird.
I called customer service because the credit card still showed up online (I had a checking account with them too) to confirm that the card had been cancelled. I was informed that yes it was and it would take some time for the credit card to fall off of my online information. She also let me know that if I wanted her to she could see if they would reopen my credit card if I was wanting to actually use it. I explained to her that I did not need their card and that Chase had already indicated that they didn't need me and I was fine with that.
So stupidly I kept my checking account with Chase. Bad Idea. My wallet was lost and I had to cancel my Chase Debit card. The only way to get a new one was to go directly to a branch, the one branch Chase has in Jacksonville. They said that this was because the account had not been open long enough and I had just moved. Ok, so they're cautious. Although an inconvenience, it's a good thing they don't send my debit card to just anyone. So that's a good thing. However, that's the only positive thing I would have to say about Chase.
Anyway, when I went into the branch I asked the teller to check my credit card to see if had been closed as it still showed up on my online account. She confirmed that yes it did but that it could sometimes take some time to come offline. Ok, whatever, it wasn't harmful, just annoying.
So we come to three months later and the credit card is still showing online. So I decided to call customer service who unable to do anything transferred me to a special department that took care of situations just like this one. The special department wasn't able to help me so they then transferred me into the black hole of call centers. I was on hold waiting on a different special department that handled situations like this. What?!!??? Who knows how many minutes later, my attention span had ended and I gave up on the mission. I'm closing the checking account I have with Chase. I'm hoping my online account will just shut down completely and will take the Chase credit card with it.....:)