Please note that if you have made purchases or written checks that result in your balance being greater than thisnew credit line, you will have 45 days from the date of this letter to make payments to bring your balance below your credit line. If your account is overlimit, after this 45-day period, your account may be assessed an overlimit fee and the overlimit status could result in your receiving notice of an APR change on your account.
Which is complete crap.
I was under the new limit, but still, a bank can just half your credit limit, regardless of what your balance is, and tell you you’ve got to pay off the excess within 45 days or be charged an overlimit fee?
I sent them a note letting them know how bogus I think that is. And, even though, essentially, I’m glad to not have that much credit, the point is that they reduced it for no reason, didn’t inform me in advance, still send out those little checks saying “please use these convenience checks”, showing my former credit limit to entice me, and they’d expect me to repay money in 45 days if I just happened to be over the limit.
A nice way to cost people who are over the limit lots of fees, if you ask me.
T36BNJJ8QBVW
约会大作战h 
If you don't need/use it, the credit limit reduction is a good thing as it helps your FICO score. After all the banking shenanigans and the Hugh Jass bailout, I don't see it as a Bad Thing that they're reducing overall exposure. Of course, if I were king for a day, I'd have them stop sending balance transfer checks, airline/hotel-based mileage card applications, and credit card offers to teens.The 45 days is a little wimpy for advance notice – seems like two full billing cycles would be more reasonable. I also completely agree that the having to pay any overage from the new limit is bogus. Thankfully, this is only a theoretical concern.
LikeLike
true, really. It would be much more exasperating if we had to pay an overage. Luckily not. I did send them a flaming email, though, because I think they just handled it badly.
LikeLike
I had a paid off zero card at another popular credit company and they cut my limit 50% too for no reason so this is common everywhere.
LikeLike
Actually it hurts your fico because it lowers your credit to debt ratio. You want a high credit low balance which makes fico score larger. Watch suze orman she will tell all about it!
LikeLike
You can bet they will indeed make a lot of money from this.
Egg did a similar thing over here a couple of years ago, and it caused uproar.
LikeLike
You just can’t trust banks these days. You should forward this to consumerist.com 🙂
I don’t know about in the US, but in the UK they can do this and be 100% within the law. I don’t like it, it shows a lack of quality of care towards the customers. It’s a ‘take it or leave it’ thing. I’m in the process of paying off the only card I have a balance on. Time to go liquid I reckon.
LikeLike
I had the exact opposite happen to me!. We have never gone into the red in the last 20 odd years, but i suddenly was offered an obscene credit limit which was twice which i had been offered in the past!
Apart from showing a stupidity about my account over these years, are we not getting back to the old problem which caused the bank problems in the past.
I gently declined!
LikeLike
We have hired Discover Card to take their place. Chase keeps sending me email saying “We’ve sent something to your online mailbox”, then … nothing is there. Idiots.
LikeLike
I found your link through your dad’s blog. I had to comment on this one. That should be against the law! That is an absolute outrage.
LikeLike
Be careful with Discover card too. When you get to 75% of your limit, they will raise it. Then they will keep doing that until one day your finance charge is enough to put you over the limit. If I remember correctly, the over limit fee is $65. And, at one point in my life Discover did the same thing you’re talking about to me. They are all EVIL!!!
LikeLike
Yikes! Good to know. Now that I’ve got my SSN I will be looking into what bank we want to open an account with. Based on what’s available around here, and what I expect to be available elsewhere in the U.S. if we move, it’s pretty much down to Chase or Bank of America. I doubt either one will really be all that great, but I’m leaning further away from Chase after this info!
LikeLike