Nationwide CC Cancelled for no reason

launton

Hi all.

I've had a quick search and can't find anything relation to my exact circumstances and was wondering how widespread this action is.

Last week I got a letter from Nationwide credit card services informing me that they were cancelling my credit card with immediate effect (one week before renewal I might add).

The letter was a general printout but it's wording is accusatory and quite curt - alsmost nasty.

I'd had this card since 2004. The letter seemed to hint towards credit ratings as the main thing to look into, along with how I managed my account, so I immediately called them thinking something suspicious had happened. The phone representative put me on hold after I had expressed no understanding of why this would have happened, and my account was paid off in full every month and was currently at zero. They responded saying there was something on Experian so I thanked them and ended the call.

I then paid £14 to access my Experian account and it's currently at 963 which veers towards excellent. There is one red marker that's not been removed from 2007 but has been listed as 'satisfied' since that date. The Nationwide Card had been reissued in 2009 after this so it didn't really tally with their information, and sounded like an excuse.

I called them back and said my experian information was 963 and there were no problems with the account at all. They put me on hold again then came back to tell me that I 'did not use it enough' I logged in and had made 5 transactions with the card that month. The rep couldn't answer further and became quite rude so I could only deduce that they wanted rid of me as I am not making them any money from being in debt.

Disgusted!

Now, after speaking to people and researching it I understand that card companies will get rid of people who basically don't give them any profit from their debts. What really gets my goat is Nationwide are not happy giving me credit, but they are happy to keep my money in their current account. I have had this account for 28 years.

I've never been overdrawn, never owed their bank or card a penny and use the account properly to save. Fancy being penalised to being a good payer.

I'm off out now to transfer my account over to the Co-operative. I'll take my money elsewhere thanks.

Is this common?

Sorry for sounding a little angry, it's just we're always being told to stay in the black and be 'good'

Thanks for reading!

John

bengalknights

Thats how they work if you make them no money then no point keeping you.

bengal-stripe

launton wrote: »

....came back to tell me that I 'did not use it enough' I logged in and had made 5 transactions with the card that month.

How much is your average monthly turnover as a percentage of your credit limit?

'5 transactions' can be 1000s of pounds or just a few quid.

BugsyBrowne

As above^^

Credit card companies are not their to help you they don't give a to*s, if your not earning them any money they see you as a pointless customer and would rather dish your credit to someone else who earns them a few quid.

zagfles

I had a Nationwide card for over 10 years that I only ever used for foreign transactions. They seemed quite happy with this, I've had other cards which I hardly used. It does seem unusual to cancel a card because of lack of use, unless it's not been used at all for a long time say 12+ months.

chattychappy

A credit card is simply an arrangement that suits two parties whereby one party extends a line of credit to another.

EITHER party can cancel if the deal no longer suits them. Consumers close their accounts all the time. Sometimes CC do the same.

You have no right to a continued credit facility and no right to demand a detailed account/reversal of their decision.

(There are some data protection/regulatory exceptions but I don't think they would help here.)

In my case, only once did a card get cancelled. It was a Halifax card several years ago. I was using it quite alot and they had just increased the limit. Suddenly I got a letter to the effect no new transactions would be allowed. All rather odd. Later it turned out many others got the same letter and it was an IT mistake. They were re-opening accounts on request. But had other cards and couldn't be bothered. That's the lesson: have backup cards.

Don't waste money on credit scores. The figure is arbitrary and lenders have their own score. Just the report is sufficient to check things out.

meer53

Look at it this way, if you were running a business, and you had to maintain accounts (at a cost to you) where that particular customer wasn't making you any money, would you want to keep that customer ?

I'm not saying this is whats happened in the OP's case but these days, thats how banks see their customers.

launton

Thanks for all the replies

Some interesting points and information.

The five transactions totalled about £480.

Quote: Look at it this way, if you were running a business, and you had to maintain accounts (at a cost to you) where that particular customer wasn't making you any money, would you want to keep that customer ?

I did run a clothing/craft business as Manager for seven years, and if we treated our customers like that we wouldn't have any. That's why I'm leaving them

I think the issue I had was the way they did it... not what they did. An informative letter explaining reasons for closure would be more readily received by customers. I'm still leaving them and taking my £31,000 and custom elsewhere.

giblet10

Yes, indeed I agree with all of the above but understand your frustration - especially when a credit card is critical for things like s75 protection and hiring cars..

I always keep 3 cards live - and use each one monthly for this exact reason.

fozmcfc

launton, whilst I agree that they are entitled to close your CC account down, please come back and tell us if you indicating that you are going to move your £31k to another bank/building society, gets them to reverse their decision.

Personally, I'd still be tempted to take my money elsewhere as it may make them look closer at peoples accounts overall.

CLAPTON

it would seem that several banks/BS seem to want 'good' customers; this sometimes mean they want you to use there banking side as your main a/c

nationwide recently upgraded my CC because I use their current a/c a lot (flexaccount) even though I bearly use their CC
my wife on the other hand, uses her CC a lot every month but rarely uses her flexaccount; no upgrade for her