Closing Credit Card Accounts

Dain

hi,,i got told that credit card acc cannot be closed until it is brought back into credit,,is this right please?

JasonW_2

How do you mean 'back into credit?' If it has a £0 balance, you can close it. Obviously if you owe anything on the card, that has to cleared off first If only you could just close accounts with a few grand on it and not have to pay it back :rotfl:

Reaper

You must of course pay off your credit card before you can cancel it. Otherwise that would be a simple way for everybody to wipe out their debts!

What you can do is to Balance Transfer any remaining debt to a new card. Particularly useful if that new card is one of the many offering 0% interest on BTs for a few months.

crankup

I cancelled my Nationwide card today - it has £75 on it due this month.
I phoned them and asked to cancel.
They said I couldnt apply for another NW card for 6 months.
I said "Fine."
He said, "Ok, its now cancelled."

Easy. Hard bit is finding another cashback card. Right now I only have Egg until I organise a stoozer.

1jim

i use smile credit card, pays cash back every month, only 0.5% though so not great amt of cash back
jim

miss_lisalou

I've found it varies greatly between card companies. I also had no problem at all closing my Nationwide card account, but it took at least 3 months from my request date to close off my last Capital One card. I was told to send a cheque for what they stated was an "approximate amount that should cover any interest" and they eventually ended up sending me a cheque back for the overpaid non-interest, if you get me?

I'd say best option is to phone them and see if they can give you a closing balance. If they're awkward, like Capital One it's not quite so easy

JasonW_2

I meant to say when Ive done it in the past, Ive cancelled direct debit then called them and how much to settle? I then ask to make a debit card payment and do it on the phone there and then. That way, even though they dont get the money right away, they know its coming, exactly how much, and they told me how much it is, and from my banks point of view, they requested the amount if there are any disputes later