Return My Line of Credit, American Express

It appears most credit card companies are doing this to their
customers. They are lowering the limits, raising the APR and doing
whatever they can to get the cash back to their coffers ASAP after
they pay it out on the charges.

Amex on the other hand I believe has filed to do banking instead of
the credit card business so they seem to be the biggest offenders of
doing this to their cc customers.

As I have said before the upside of this whole thing is no more credit
card applications filling my mailbox every Wednesday!

With all the complaints being lodged against ol' Amex, I'm just really
curious...has anybody heard back from them? I filed a complaint on PFB
and never heard anything. Anybody else?

This is happening to THOUSANDS of people. I have a friend who works
for a credit card company and this is going on everywhere. They are
shutting down credit lines and lowering credit limits with most
people.

Yet another sign of the economic crisis.

Where are the 'Class Action Law Suit' Lawyers when you need them.

I got the exact same letter saying they were lowering my credit limit
from 10k to 5600. The letter stated I had a negative payment history
(never been late paying AE or any other creditors) and I had a mark on
my credit report (wrong again, I just got my free credit report and no
marks), so I said forget AE. I cancelled my card, my business is
obviously not appreciated by AE, so I just stick with my Citicard,
with a 20k credit limit.

Do you have other credit cards which carry a balance? If you do,
that's the reason, not something old on your report. They know that
if you have other balances and get into financial difficulties, you'll
transfer the balances to your available AMEX credit, and they end up
getting stuck with it all.

They are limiting their exposure, and in these times it's probably not
a bad idea. I would expect to see more of it, I think they are just
leading the charge.

i cant stand people who tell others not to use credit & live off
blahblahblah..shut it live your life your way..as for AMEX i hate them
they have some of the crappest interest rates anyway..id pay it off &
switch it out for a better card anyway...

One reason this economy sucks is because people are maxed out on debt
and have no savings to fall back on.

So then the rest of us responsible people who DON'T live on the edge
financially end up paying the price (that $7.5 TRILLION bailout will
come from us).

The problem I have is when that statement becomes a "law," and nobody
is to carry a credit card. I can see a case for all options,
depending on the person. Just cash, a mixture of cash and credit, and
all credit. I use a credit card for 99% of the things I buy. The
only things that come from cash/checking are utility bills and trips
to the bakery.

I carry several cards, and have always, without exception, paid my
balance off each month. I wouldn't use one in any other manner.
However, someone here just reported they had been paying around 7%
interest on their credit card balance. I was surprised at the "low"
rate. That isn't bad IMO, when a house mortgage has been running at
6% and change.

However, IMO, when credit card rates are 9% or more, I think that is
when you stop carrying a balance. At this point you are either living
beyond your means, or wasting your money (unless you have a better,
guaranteed return elsewhere). We will never again see rates like that
on money we *invest* in savings/money markets. It happened around
1980 but they have changed the banking system so it is highly unlikely
going forward.

RedheadWithGlasses below gives a more succint and widely applicable
reason that some may make the statement that upsets you (and me). I
understand the motivation, but I agree that assuming everything about
a person's financial situation based on the fact they hold a credit
card is shortsighted. I make a nice income off my use of a credit
card.

Welcome to the club! AMEX took away 70k of our available credit with
no warning. No lates, 700+ score. What they are doing should be
against the law. I wrote a blog with some things I did to fight back:


The funny part is they are also asking for BILLIONS from the bailout
bill. The same bill that was passed by congress to INCREASE lending!

Once again, they little people get the shaft, while corporate america
gets a bailout. Shameful. Shameful Shameful.

All I can say to American Express is:

Karma is a bitch. Just ask OJ.

Amex seems to be finding all kinds of creative ways to cut off
customers. Sad, and IMHO, not smart.

Well, you got lucky. My Amex was cut off with absolultly no notice. In
fact, I didn't find out until I tried to use it to pay for aquarium
tickets for my niece and I. Thanks for the heads up Amex! I too was
put on the block because of a past history of credit negligence,
however, my history with Amex was blemish free. I never had any
complaints, fees, overdraft, etc. I was a stellar card user. Guess
that doesn't matter to good ol' American Express. I will NEVER use
them again. Do yourself a favor and give THEM the axe once you've
paid them off.

That's interesting....I just talked to my sister and her Discover card
is refusing to stand by her on a 3 month issue with Home Depot.

Home Depot said there was a no return on a Generac generator . They
had taken the generator home and it didn't work. They immediately took
the generator back for another one. Three people in the store said it
didn't work. Home Depot refused to replace it. This was after
Hurricane Ike and we were all out of electricity. It's now been in a
repair shop for 3 months. Repair said they can't get parts.

Discover said they will not take the charge off because Home Depot had
a no return on generators. She will have to pay because they will add
late charges.

So there is no need thinking your credit card company will stand up
for you.

Discover certainly wont.

One mistake is one too many in this environment. Credit card
delinquencies are skyrocketing, and banks are taking steps to reduce
exposure to risk.

I doubt they will restore your credit limit, but it is worth asking.

Seriously doubt they will return your line of credit. You really
should not be borrowing money at all, especially in this economy. You
are revolving debt, try something different.

You need to reevaluate your finances, and get yourself on a budget,
based on what you earn. If your bills are higher than what you make,
you have a garage sale, you turn off the cable, the cell phones, the
high speed internet. You might want to look at a second job if it is
feasible. Next look at your cars, what you owe, what they are worth,
what you would have extra with no payments, and decide to sell if the
numbers are there. You could get yourself a throwaway car to last you
til you get out of debt.

Then cut up your cards, and live on what you earn. Recessions can
come and go, gas can go up, energy can go up, and it does not affect
you very much, because you are living on what you earn, and have saved
some money by budgeting.

Living on credit only masks financial irresponsibility. I have lived
my whole life without credit, and I own a paid for used vehicle, a
paid for in cash house, and yes, I even rent a car on vacations. (The
lie is you cant rent a car without a credit card)

There is nothing more peaceful then lying in bed knowing you dont have
a mortgage, car debt, credit card debt, etc.

Playing the credit card game is like playing with snakes, you can play
with them, but you will eventually get bit.

Good Day