We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Egg Money - Close Account

I returned home from work yesterday to find a letter from Egg stating;

'Our records show that you haven't used you Egg Money account for some time and here at Egg it is our policy to close accounts when this happens. This helps guard against any potential fraud' :mad:

My question is, can they actually close my account if I don't use it?

The T&Cs state that Egg have the right to close an account at any time.

However, as a customer I would not have expected for my account to be closed for non use, if I had defaulted I could understand it.

Any comments welcomed.
:beer:

Comments

  • lisyloo
    lisyloo Posts: 30,094 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Yes, I'm afraid they can.
    They don't have to continue to offer credit if they don't want to.

    There are lots of reasons why you should not keep card dormant from YOUR point of view
    1) Every card you have is an id theft/fraud risk. More so if you aren't checking balances regularly. It could be a month or so before you spot fraud (when you get a statement).
    2) Available credit MAY hamper you getting more credit e.g. a mortgage.
    3) Dormancy fees may be applied especially if like many people you don't read the entire contents of term and condition leaflets you are sent.

    My advice would be to close unused cards.
    If they are there for an emergency backup and you want to keep the card then it would be best to buy a sandwich or petrol on them monthly to make sure this doesn't happen.
  • stephane_2
    stephane_2 Posts: 3,076 Forumite
    Lew242 wrote: »
    I returned home from work yesterday to find a letter from Egg stating;

    'Our records show that you haven't used you Egg Money account for some time and here at Egg it is our policy to close accounts when this happens. This helps guard against any potential fraud' :mad:

    My question is, can they actually close my account if I don't use it?

    The T&Cs state that Egg have the right to close an account at any time.

    However, as a customer I would not have expected for my account to be closed for non use, if I had defaulted I could understand it.

    Any comments welcomed.
    :beer:

    yes they have every right to do that....you could ask them if you were going to use it again, would they keep it open. All you'd have to do is make small purchases from time to time and pay in full...
  • CannyJock
    CannyJock Posts: 3,838 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 20 February 2010 at 11:28AM
    Are you due any cashback on your Egg Money card?

    If not, why not? :) Up to £200 back a year isn't a bad deal at all.

    Urgent secure message to tell them that you're just about to use your card would be good - then make a point of spending on it.
    "A child of five could understand this. Fetch me a child of five." - Groucho Marx
  • Thanks for all the messages, I have already requested that they keep the account open as I plan to use the card again. I will start using it until the closing date and see what happens.

    From what I understand although they are saying they will close the account, the account will actually remain dormant.

    Note to self - in future make small purchases on good credit cards!
  • Lew242 wrote: »
    I returned home from work yesterday to find a letter from Egg stating;

    'Our records show that you haven't used you Egg Money account for some time and here at Egg it is our policy to close accounts when this happens. This helps guard against any potential fraud' :mad:

    My question is, can they actually close my account if I don't use it?

    The T&Cs state that Egg have the right to close an account at any time.

    However, as a customer I would not have expected for my account to be closed for non use, if I had defaulted I could understand it.

    Any comments welcomed.
    :beer:

    Hi Lew242,

    How long had it been since your last purchase on the Egg credit card?.

    The reason I ask is that I have not use the same card since July last year as I have already earned the maximum £200 cashback allowed.

    Regards
    SJL
  • Happened to me. Unable to reapply till 12 months have passed on the closure.

    Really annoying as I had to move £9,000 recently and ended up paying a higher transfer fee going via my bank. The only option available to me. Lesson Learnt.... Use the card next time.....
    I want to be credit card and loan free by Christmas 2010
  • bonzer
    bonzer Posts: 399 Forumite
    Last year they sent a warning letting saying I just had to make one purchase a year. Are they now just closing accounts without the warning?

    I'm keeping mine open as I'm using another cashback card mainly. But thought I'd keep Egg open in case the other deal goes bad as decent fee free cashback deals are thin on the ground.
  • stevejland wrote: »
    Hi Lew242,

    How long had it been since your last purchase on the Egg credit card?.

    The reason I ask is that I have not use the same card since July last year as I have already earned the maximum £200 cashback allowed.

    Regards
    SJL

    Hi SJL,

    If I am honest I can't remember exactly when I last used the card, I have tried checking my statements online but it keeps telling me they are unavailable. At a guess I would say it has not been used for 12 months approx.

    I'm not sure how Egg would see your situation, it might be worth playing safe and putting the odd small transaction through each month.

    Regards,

    Lew
  • bonzer wrote: »
    Last year they sent a warning letting saying I just had to make one purchase a year. Are they now just closing accounts without the warning?

    I'm keeping mine open as I'm using another cashback card mainly. But thought I'd keep Egg open in case the other deal goes bad as decent fee free cashback deals are thin on the ground.

    Hi Bonzer,

    No warning for me, all I received was one letter tellling me that my account will be closed in 30 days, no opportunity to request it stays open.

    Lew
  • bonzer
    bonzer Posts: 399 Forumite
    Lew242 wrote: »
    No warning for me, all I received was one letter tellling me that my account will be closed in 30 days, no opportunity to request it stays open.

    Mmm..think I'll spend something on it occasionally then.

    Thanks

    Bonzer
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.3K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 601.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.6K Life & Family
  • 259.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.