Halifax reduceing credit card limits..

lesret

I have a Halifax credit card with a credit of 7 pence..not used a great deal hence the 7 pence credit..the card had a £6200 credit limit but for some reason has now been reduced to £500..Halifax have not given an explanation as to why this was done other than we can do it if we want..talking to Halifax customer services I was told that Halifax have to prove to the Government that they are responsible lenders..so it appears that Halifax are looking at cards with low useage and with a high credit limit then reduceing the credit limit..this way Halifax tick the boxes for the government financial services and say look we are a responsible lender..Our credit rating with Experian is 99% Excellent..Following on from that we then receive a letter saying you can do a balance transfer to your card account fixed at 3.9% for the life time of the balance..but you guessed it the max is £500 now aint that a coincidence as they have now as they say killed two birds with one stone..they can say that we are offering lower interest rates to customers and proving we are responsible lenders by reduceing account credit limits.
In the process of taking this up with the FSA for their views on Halifax's morals..if any.

Weeyin

I think all the cards are reducing people credit limits. I have a Clydesdale card and i happened to notice on last months statement my CL has been halved. I don't know when this happended and it means i am now close to my credit limit. I don't mind so much as i am planning to clear this off and then close the account, so don't plan on spending on it anyway. H/w, i think it is a bit sneaky to half it and not notify the customer by a seperate letter. You could easily miss it and end up over the new credit limit in error.

thriftymomma

To be fair to Halifax, you say you don't use the card much. Like any business, they are after customers that make them money. If it comes to it and you are simply costing them money and not using the facility, I can understand why they would withdraw it.

Paul_Herring

it appears that Halifax are looking at cards with low useage and with a high credit limit then reduceing the credit limit

If you're not using that limit, what's the point in you having it beyond being able to say "I have a limit of XXX!"

Please - tell me - I'd be interested in your reasons.

Just be grateful that they've let you keep it instead of closing it entirely due to non-use.

ElkyElky

Having a high limit, regardless if you use the card or not is quite handy. It's good to know you have that financial backup should an emergency arise like a death and your having to pay the costs of the funeral, or even dental treatment.

You never know what will happen tomorrow.

BabyBetty

Paul_Herring wrote: »

If you're not using that limit, what's the point in you having it beyond being able to say "I have a limit of XXX!"

Please - tell me - I'd be interested in your reasons.

Just be grateful that they've let you keep it instead of closing it entirely due to non-use.

To some extent I agee with PH - I don't see the point in ranting about something that you were not using.

I had a slightly similar issue with Halifax. My credit limit was decreased and interest rate increased. Well that was a wake up call to pay the balance and close the card. I got a letter this week confirming that the account was closed and a cheque for £1.50 that the account was in credit due to my over zealous final payment.

BB

_Andy_

lesret wrote: »

In the process of taking this up with the FSA for their views on Halifax's morals..if any.

Great, clog up the FSA's staff with more time-wasting. Superb. I'm sure people that have valid issues pending with them will be thrilled with your whinging about having your limit reduced.

What exactly is immoral about Halifax's actions?

Andy_Ches

It's far easier to leave Halifax, don't fight them. I left them they we're pants..refused to increase my credit limit after 2 years of good account order.

Go to barclaycard, the C/L's are good and I've found the service is good.

SwissLe

You will also find other threads with Barclaycard holders moaning about credit limit reductions. The way credit is issued is a complicated process and normally automated within most organisations.

It is another business where loyalty isn't rewarded, such as insurance.

withnell

ElkyElky wrote: »

Having a high limit, regardless if you use the card or not is quite handy. It's good to know you have that financial backup should an emergency arise like a death and your having to pay the costs of the funeral, or even dental treatment.

You never know what will happen tomorrow.

Yes that's true, but in return for them giving you a high credit limit, you should use the card a bit - put the odd bit of shopping on it say. If you have another card that gives you a higher cashback then why not ask that card to increase your limit?

Paul_Herring

ElkyElky wrote: »

Having a high limit, regardless if you use the card or not is quite handy. It's good to know you have that financial backup should an emergency arise like a death and your having to pay the costs of the funeral, or even dental treatment.

You never know what will happen tomorrow.

I thought this one would come up, and almost pre-empted it in my last post...

Rubbish.

If you're in a position to not need the limit on and/or use the card, you're almost certainly in the position where you should have savings for 'emergencies.'