smile not issueing new credit cards?

iscrimger

I got home yesterday and found a letter from smile which had been posted just before Christmas. My Smile Credit Card is due to expire at the end of January and they are not going to renew it. They say I can continue to make payments to clear the balance and once this is done I can contact them to review giving me a new card. I was a little confused by the letter and indeed several things smile have been doing in the past 6-8 months.

My Credit Card limit is £750, the balance today is £700. This has only increased as I've used it during Christmas. The balance around June was £500 and I was making regular large payments to reduce it and generally the balance hovered around £500. It's only ever gone overlimit once in the 3 years I've had it which was ages ago. Not even 2008 if I remember correctly.

Although I plan to clear the balance this year on this card it's confused me as to why they've decided to just effectively end my account.

In September they cancelled my Overdraft and refused to renew it. I've really had to fight to get it back on what is called a Reducing Overdraft. I only needed it for 3 months but they gave me it for 8.

They are clearly tightning their belt, has anyone else noticed this?

pharlmer

I have a clean credit history but my online app for a new credit card was refused yesterday.

iscrimger

I also have a clean credit history and they wouldn't be checking my credit report to see any recent changes just to issue me a new card.

The only reasoning to this is that I can possibly see is that my overdraft was cancelled because I had a couple of failed direct debit's which took me over my overdraft limit. I then got charged for that. I applied for it back claiming it was a little ridiculous the charges had cost me £60+ for 2 failed direct debits of £10. I was told I would have to wait on the outcome of the test case.

Now I'm being left with no overdraft and no credit card... hmmm I'm not smiling and I can't see me finishing 2009 with a smile account.

IcklePickle_2

iscrimger wrote: »

They are clearly tightning their belt, has anyone else noticed this?

Yes, it seems this is what is actually meant by the 'credit crunch'

Similar happened to me with a credit card - they reduced my limit from £3500 to £500 when I had not breached any T&Cs (paid late/went over limit etc..)

iscrimger

IcklePickle wrote: »

Yes, it seems this is what is actually meant by the 'credit crunch'

Similar happened to me with a credit card - they reduced my limit from £3500 to £500 when I had not breached any T&Cs (paid late/went over limit etc..)

A slightly sarky reply.

I was questioning the move considering smile & the Co-operative bank have remained more or less out of the news and do seem rather more sensible than the other big names.

CopperPlate_2

Smile and the co-op bank are still banks. They aren't charities who will lend to anyone simply because they an apparently ethical policy on lending, etc. Their proportion of customers in comparison to the Big Four banks is relatively small so despite the fact that they are 'more or less out of the news' it doesn't necessarily follow that they're not following the same practices the other banks are.

I also think it's unfair that you start your reply in response to IcklePickle the way you do. You are looking for input from other forum members - for the life of me I can't see how you could've taken their response as sarcastic - I think they were trying to be humorous as they then went on to explain a similar situation happening to themselves?

JoseChungsDoomsday

i just got my gold card with them no probs... but it is a crummy limit!