January 19, 2009
-
News: Credit Card ‘Ballpark Rules' .
There's a new twist developing in the credit card industry today. Innocent and honest card holders are being put up against the fence for doing no wrong. So, if your credit card company is playing ‘hardball' with you, don't be surprised. This is happening more and more lately. Different credit card lenders are using different tactics. They're even using different sets of rules for different players. Some consumers are treated well while others are not. Credit card score plays a big part, here but, new guidelines are also being introduced every day. Demographic risk, minor slip-ups and even shopping preferences are coming into play now.
(For an interesting read on some of these ‘new and unusual' credit card judgments, please refer to the articles entitled: "Should the CC Industry be Using a ‘Spyglass' on Our Lives?", "CompuCredit's ‘Behavioral Scoring Model'" and "Mind Your Behavior; CC is Watching". Cross-the-board stereotypes are being issued new edicts every month. The credit card lender is in financial straights due to bad-risk accounts going into ‘charge-off' and the bank needs to reduce its financial exposure. Who do they pick? Why not the 20,000 good and loyal customers who haven't had a rate hike recently? If you're one of these, you're first step is always to try and negotiate.
Many of these edicts are based on numbers and the smart lenders certainly don't want even one good customer. Call then and ask them to lower that interest rate back to where it was (ask about even lower. It can't hurt). If they refuse to work with you and won't raise your credit limit back to where it was, then you may have to resort to what fishermen call ‘cutting the line'. In this case, there's one further step you probably should take. If you ‘opt-out' of the edict, you should have the opportunity to stay with your old terms with the understanding that when the credit card expires naturally (or when it's paid off, whichever comes first), that the account will be closed. "Tuez deux oiseau avec une pierre" (Kill two birds with one stone).