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I am so ticked off right now. AMEX has lowered my credit limit from $18K down to $7900 effective today. Why? Because I make the minimum payments, always on time and have had one inquiry by Verizon in the past year for an aircard. I do have one outstanding collection on my credit report that has been there for four years that I refuse to pay (one of those Dr. visits in 2003 where I was charged $375 for a 10 minute visit). I had written several letters to the medical facility telling them they needed to backdate the authorization and apparently they never did. So as of 7/1/2005 a charge for $522 is on my report (does anyone know how long that will stay on there?)
Anyway, AMEX had no more new info to go on than that one inquiry and I owe $7600 and make my min payments on time. I feel like I am accused of being some credit slacker. My FICO scores are 749, 749, and 767 - not exactly in bad credit territory. Lousy creepy credit card company!
AmEx did the exact same thing to me last year. Fortunately I was lucky and able to pay off the whole balance. They were going to increase my rates as well. I kept the card open, but haven't used it since. I just received another letter from them in the mail the other day stating they were increasing rates AGAIN! Good thing I don't owe them a dime. My advice is to try and pay them off as quick as you can.
AmEx did the exact same thing to me last year. Fortunately I was lucky and able to pay off the whole balance. They were going to increase my rates as well. I kept the card open, but haven't used it since. I just received another letter from them in the mail the other day stating they were increasing rates AGAIN! Good thing I don't owe them a dime. My advice is to try and pay them off as quick as you can.
Yeah, what else they did to me last year was to lower my limit from $24K down to $18K. I went to pay for my dog's surgery only to discover my card didn't go through. Thank God I had $3500 in the bank to pay cash, but what if I had not? I've always liked AMEX but now I do NOT. I spoke with their risk mgmt dept today and was told I could ask that the limit be reviewed if I fax them proof of wages and assets. I'll be damned - for a measley credit card. I'm not taking out a loan to buy a house fer chrissakes, it's just a credit card. Anyway, I do have the money to pay it off but I don't want to deplete cash reserves. I think I'll just keep making the minimum payments just to make them nervous for a while. Then again, I should probably just pay it off and send them a letter telling them what I really think of how they treat their good customers and never use the card again.
No, what they did was absolutely reasonable. You ONLY made minimum payments? Shouldn't even be covering the interests on the account. They were jsut afraid you might charge up to 18 k on your card and then they would be kind of stuck.
No, what they did was absolutely reasonable. You ONLY made minimum payments? Shouldn't even be covering the interests on the account. They were jsut afraid you might charge up to 18 k on your card and then they would be kind of stuck.
And all they'd have to do is review my credit history and see I've paid off $15K in a shot. I do have the money. They MAKE MONEY when someone only pays the minimum payments. And at 9%? They are MAKING MONEY. I expect them to provide me with the service I've EARNED over the years.
I worked at Wells Fargo in both risk mgmt and marketing, so I know all about this stuff. What they did was ridiculous. We used to give small businesses up to $100K with a 680 FICO score. Sheesh.
When you stop lying down with dogs (AMEX), the fleas will go away...
They want you to think that you need them, when in reality it's the other way around. If you have the resources to pay in full and don't, you're a willing participant in your own fleecing. Nobody to blame for that except that guy in the mirror.
movin on:
yes its frustrating with the credit card companies in these difficult times. I can understand you not wanting to deplete your savings to pay them off, however the way I looked at it was I was going to have to pay it all back eventually anyway, so why not just do it now before all that extra interest adds up? And it was a GREAT feeling writing that check and knowing they would not get another cent out of me!
I am working on a plan of trying to be completely debt free within 1 1/2 - 2 years, I think that should give me enough time to do it. I plan on having my car paid off by the end of the year and I am going to keep it until it literally won't run anymore lol I'm really trying to downsize and not fall into the trap of wanting things that I don't really need. I have come to the conclusion I would rather have less and be debt free than have alot and have all this "stuff" own me. We are so bombarded all the time by the media telling us to buy this and buy that and it will make us happy...it's all a lie....for me, happiness is having peace of mind.
This is not rocket science -- AMEX has models that they use to flag people that are at risk of causing them losses.
If you have money in the bank there is NO WAY the bank is paying 9% interest, thus you would be sorta nuts not to use that money to pay more than the minimum. The models reflect that. They almost certainly have evidence of other jamokes that pay the minimum then go in for a huge vacation or something and WHAM they can't make the minimums.
For decades AMEX was only a "travel and entertainment" card that HAD TO BE PAID IN FULL every 30 days. I think their switch to a real deal revolving credit card has taught them some harsh lessons.
Take away for others: If you want to see a credit card company maintain or increase your limit then you better have a history of USING credit wisely. That includes a nice profitable cycle of borrowing from the company, paying them back in a timely fashion, and then asking for more. If you can pay them back faster then their models suggest you are their kind of customer. To see them 'reward' you with ever increasing limits simply "rinse, lather, repeat"... Of course eventually you might get sick of actually paying that interest and instead learn to save up for purchases, but at that point you probably won't need to have them keep increasing your limit...
I worked at Wells Fargo in both risk mgmt and marketing, so I know all about this stuff. What they did was ridiculous. We used to give small businesses up to $100K with a 680 FICO score. Sheesh.
That was then. I am sure they wouldn't do it today.
Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
23,606 posts, read 12,543,921 times
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Originally Posted by movin'on
Yeah, what else they did to me last year was to lower my limit from $24K down to $18K. I went to pay for my dog's surgery only to discover my card didn't go through.
Like Chet said "AMEX has models that they use to flag people that are at risk of causing them losses." With Amex, making payments, and, anything medical falls in that risk category.
(I hope your dog is doing well )
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I spoke with their risk mgmt dept today and was told I could ask that the limit be reviewed if I fax them proof of wages and assets. I'll be damned - for a measley credit card. I'm not taking out a loan to buy a house fer chrissakes, it's just a credit card.
If they ask for paystubs, that's one thing. In that case I might oblige them if they asked that. But, if they ask me for an IRS tax form 4506-T then all they will get from me is the finely shredded cards. Not only because they are merely a credit card company and not a mortgage company (like you had already mentioned), and imo Amex shouldn't even have the right to request tax forms, but mainly for the fact that Amex sends those tax forms to India for processing. India has almost no ID theft laws, so any ID thief will know that not much will be done to them should they get caught.
I had first read the story on MSNBC back in March. For some reason (cough, Amex pressure?), that story can no longer be found on MSNBC (not surprising eh)
But, I figured that once anything is on the web then copies of it can be found elsewhere, should the original source suddenly (cough) disappear.
An Amex representative in New Delhi, India, said because of the bad economic times, American Express is now doing financial investigations of thousands of cardholders. The rep said Amex is insisting these customers fill out an IRS form 4506-T, authorizing the company to get their tax returns for the last three years. The rep told us if Jones didn't fill out the IRS form, they'd cancel her charge cards for good, within five days. And here's the part that concerned Cathy Jones: The rep said these "investigations" were being done, not in the US, but in India.
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There is a big risk in having your private information viewed by anyone abroad, according to Jay Foley, of the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center. He says most foreign countries don't have strong privacy laws, like in the US, that prevent someone from selling your private information, like your social security number.
Anyway, I'm sorry I've dragged your thread off into my little Amex financial review rant.
Like Chet also mentioned, Amex is a PIF creditor. Even though they offer the opportunity to make payments, they dislike the fact that people do. Those people usually end up in the risk pile.
To answer a different question you brought up
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Dr. visits in 2003.....So as of 7/1/2005 a charge for $522 is on my report (does anyone know how long that will stay on there?)
The reporting period, and the collection SOL, for medical bills begins on the date of service when payment was expected to be made. For the credit reports, it will remain on them for 7 years from the date you saw the doctor. If it is reporting incorrectly you can dispute it and it may disappear, if it is not verified. When it gets within several months of falling off you may be able to get it removed with an obsolete dispute, if it isn't verified.
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