March 31, 2009

• Reduced CC Limit Protection, Pt.4
    End-of-the-line tactics.

  Previous...

  • Credit reports: The fun stops here. Credit card reports are not fun and neither is fussing and fighting. But, if you find yourself in a predicament, this may be the next place to turn. You can down-load a freebee credit card report from each of the major bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) once every 12 months. Stagger them by 4 months and you can keep getting them non-stop year after year. Find them at www.annualcreditreport.com or else call 877-322-8228 and request paper through the snail. Look for errors (you'll probably find many). Tend to the ones hurting your Credit card score and dispute them right away (nice thing about on-line is you can do this ‘on-the-fly'.

    Once fixed (not an easy task), call your credit card lender with the good news. If they have lowered your credit card limit without notifying you, cite the Truth in Lending Law and Regulation Z requirements. Explain that you didn't get the 15-day notice before your account terms changed. If they relent and you have incurred ‘over-the-limit charges', ‘gently' try and get reimbursement for those too.

    If they still say "No" then sue the stuffed shirts for $9 million in deformation damages in a Class Action. Or, maybe, just file a grievance with the credit card bank's regulatory agency found at www.helpwithmybank.gov/faqs/other_file_complaint.html. There is also another helpful site at www.creditcardreform.org/learn.html that the Consumers Union set up just for you.

  • Don't cancel that account: Threaten as you will but, whatever you do, don't cancel your credit card account for that reason. It's getting harder and harder to get good offers. Even if you decided to not use the account anymore, keep it around in ‘good standing'. That way, your credit score will stay good and you have a much better chance of getting a good offer when one comes around. Just having more credit then you use is a good thing when it comes to a good credit score when being subject to the new ‘FICO 08 standard which is being put in effect at this time

  Back to Articles Main Page