Can I be expelled for not using my card enough?

sc867

I was really embarrassed last week when my MBNA card was declined in front of a lot of customers. I rang them and they told me the card had been withdrawn as I had not used it enough! They said that beause I had not used it enough I was now deemed to be a "Bad Risk" and that they had written to tell me this but I have never received such a letter.
Can they really do this? Is there any way I can get this decision changed? When I said that I wanted to make a formal complaint I was told that I could complain all I wanted but it would not make any difference. They did say that a manager would ring me yedterday (Tuesday 6th) but I'm still waiting.

Moggles_2

Is this your only credit card then?

There's no harm in writing to MBNA, but at the end of the day the decision rests with the lender.

Paul_Herring

In answer to your question, yes, they can withdraw the credit facility at any time, nor can they be 'forced' to give you your line of credit back.

sc867

Paul_Herring wrote: »

In answer to your question, yes, they can withdraw the credit facility at any time, nor can they be 'forced' to give you your line of credit back.

Thanks for that - so basically, if you're not in enough debt to satisfy them, they can withdraw your card at any time with no notice!

sc867

Moggles wrote: »

Is this your only credit card then?

There's no harm in writing to MBNA, but at the end of the day the decision rests with the lender.

Luckily it wasn't my only card, otherwise I would have been in difficulties when I tried to use it! I wonder how much debt you have to be in to keep them happy?!

Moggles_2

sc867 wrote: »

Luckily it wasn't my only card, otherwise I would have been in difficulties when I tried to use it!

Excellent. Everyone should have at least one back-up card, IMO. No credit card is 100% reliable. From a credit history point of view it makes sense too

sc867

Moggles wrote: »

Excellent. Everyone should have at least one back-up card, IMO. No credit card is 100% reliable. From a credit history point of view it makes sense too

That raises an interesting point - can the fact that they've withdrawn my card because I haven't used it enough impact on my credit rating?

Paul_Herring

sc867 wrote: »

Thanks for that - so basically, if you're not in enough debt to satisfy them, they can withdraw your card at any time with no notice!

Not at all. It would appear you aren't using your card, so they withdrew it.

If you have a card for 'emergencies,' you should always make a few purchases on it regularly to stop this sort of behaviour.

Moggles_2

sc867 wrote: »

That raises an interesting point. Can the fact that they've withdrawn my card, because I haven't used it enough, impact on my credit rating?

No, provided you've made all the necessary payments to your account, credit files will indicate only that the account is closed

GarryJ68

sc867 wrote: »

I was really embarrassed last week when my MBNA card was declined in front of a lot of customers. I rang them and they told me the card had been withdrawn as I had not used it enough! They said that beause I had not used it enough I was now deemed to be a "Bad Risk" and that they had written to tell me this but I have never received such a letter.
Can they really do this? Is there any way I can get this decision changed? When I said that I wanted to make a formal complaint I was told that I could complain all I wanted but it would not make any difference. They did say that a manager would ring me yedterday (Tuesday 6th) but I'm still waiting.

Hiya,

yeah MBNA did that to me as I hadn't used my card for a couple of months... i think they probably needed to reduce the potential borrowing levels or something... Interesting enough Morgan Stanley reduced my credit balance from 5000 to 500 in a matter of two months because I used the card a lot and they weren't making any money from me because I always paid off the balance. So in a similar incident - my card was refused at Morrison's because I'd reached my limit and they hadn't told me they were doing this... I was livid lol - cancelled with them straight away... just stick with my barclaycard these days...

Treadmill

They can withdraw your credit facility at any time, especially if they deem you are not making them enough money, they'll be keen to cut you off and reserve the funds for somebody who's going to max out the card.