Old Credit Cards: Should I cancel them Discussion Area

not_fat_anymore

Hi everyone I wanted to cancel my card for a long time now and was searching the net for a good template ... To my horror there dont seem to be one so I made one myself and pasted it here for evey body to use free of charge.. Just Copy and paste into a word editor and edit the information to your details... Happy canceling !!!!

Credit Card Cancelation Request Letter

[Your name]

[Address 1]

[Address 2]

[Address 3] [Date]

[Credit Card supplier Name]
[Credit Card address 1]
[Credit Card Address 2]
[Postcode]
Dear[Credit Card supplier Name],

By the time you receive this letter you should have received confirmation that I have credited my credit card account with payments to clear my credit debt, Please let this letter serve as notice that I Intend to terminate my credit card account effective immediately ( xx/xx/xx ) .

Please close the following account:

Credit Card Company: [Credit Card name ie mastercard platinum]

Account Number: xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Please send me written confirmation that my account has been closed. Also, please confirm that you have notified all appropriate credit card bureaus/agencies that this account was closed at my request...

Please also ensure that any amount owed to me by overpayment is either credited into my bank account Or alternatively mailed to me via cheque to my address,

The Credit card has been destroyed by myself and will not be used in any future payments after the date stated above.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,






[YOUR NAME]

anna42hmr

it may be quicker for you to telephone to cancel, thats how i have done it and never had a problem (mbna, egg, halifax, mint, natwest etc over the last few years) and they send you a letter to confirm closure. they sometimes give you speil about this offer and that but i just say no (unless its a deal i want, is 0% for x time) and they cancel it no problems

anna42hmr

onlypaddy wrote: »

ok so just called up to cancel my barclaycard (they do like to try and sell you more stuff dont they!) and the lady said to me they didnt want to lose my custom as 'I had a good credit score and they didnt want to see me lose it'

A) Will she have actually done a credit search to know my score or is this just a standard line?

Surely I can't 'lose it' until 6 years after the date of closure?

A) i would say that is standard line or she has checked your internal credit rating, i often find that they offer this deal and that when cancelling

B ) no you wont loose your external rating as whoever they report to (equifax or experien etc) hold the details for 6 years after the company have marked the account settled.

beeteehum

Sorry if this has been covered already but shouldn't we keep the cards and account "open " in case goods /services become defective in the guarantee periods and we need to get the money back from the Credit card co.?

Thanks

oscarhugo

I decided to close a Lloyds TSB Platinum card that I'd never used other than a B/T for stoozing a coupla years ago. They transferred me to the Cancellations Dept where the nice lady gave me £25 not to cancel ! So now I await a new PIN so's I can spend the 25 quid - then I will undoubtedly ring up to cancel it again in a coupla months (and this time I'm sure it will proceed smoothly!).

plainlazy

I currently have two cards (Barclaycard & Nationwide) At present I'm using both and repaying them in full each month. In the near future though I want to apply for a new 0% purchase card.

I'm deliberating over whether or not to cancel one of my existing cards before making a new application, in order to increase my chances of being accepted. Is it likely to make any difference with this few cards? The only other credit I have access to is the agreed overdraft limit on my bank account. If it's unlikely to make any difference I'd rather keep it open, and use both cards to maintain my credit history. An earlier post in this thread suggested 4 or 5 cards to be the norm, but this was from a few years ago.

I have no late or missed payments on my file but I'm conscious of how difficult it is to get credit these days.

To cancel or not to cancel...

jamesperrett

I had 3 other credit cards when I recently applied for another. I also have a reasonably high overdraft facility on my current account which I use from time to time. I had no problem with getting a reasonably high credit limit on the new card (similar to the others). Since then I've closed the card that I use least and I don't know whether it is related or just coincidence but I've just had my credit limit increased on one of my other cards.

If you have a good credit history I don't think that 3 cards would be considered excessive.

James.

plainlazy

Thanks for your comments James. Useful to hear how others have faired regarding new applications and their access to existing debt. Of course many other factors would be taken into consideration, but it's helpful none the less.

Possibily little point cancelling my second card prior to the new application then, with just the two cards. And I wouldn't want to cancel only to later be rejected for a new card, leaving me with just the one.

Credit history is good, just the fact I moved house 9 months ago & have lived at several addresses in last few years which could count against me. I'm registered on the electoral roll at the new property though.

damski83

Having read Martin's article on cancelling credit cards to boost credit profile (access to credit) I'm open to advice on cancelling one or 2 of my cards:

I think I have a good credit profile and through Martin's advice I've managed to get a couple BT cards to settle my debts with minimal cost. Now that they're out of the way I'm looking to take out a loan for a car in the next few months (probably around £10-12K) but I'm worried I might have too much credit available:

1) I've got 2 bank credit cards both used frequently and paid off quickly but one in particular has a very high limit well beyond what I'd spend. The high limit one I've had for years but I could live without it if necessary.
2) I've also got 2 credit cards that I opened in the last 2 years for balance transfers alone - both of these are never used for purchases and have lower limits.

Would it be wise to cancel the card with the extraordinary limit or cancel those I don't use for purchases?

Thanks for reading :-)

Cinders2001

Please can anyone guide this numpty (me) through the process of cancelling a Business Barclaycard we don't need any more.
Thank you in anticipation