Halifax Clarity reduced credit limit. What to do?

nzpod

It was probably half cash half purchases for me, I was in Korea in June.

I even forgot, stupidly, to pay the cash withdrawal back, so I actually ended up paying about 3 quid interest the last two months, which is probably all the interest I have ever paid on a CC!

Wammer wrote: »

They did exactly this to me a month ago. I was mortified to log on and see a £500 credit limit.

I called and was told to call back when the Lending Dept was open, before 6pm. When I did I was told they wouldn't talk to me. Like you, the advisor asked if I had taken out any mortgages or loans recently. Nope.

However I did remember that I got a new card and did a balance transfer a couple of months previously.

I wrote to their Personal Lending Decisions and appealed. I felt I put forward a very strong case to have my limit reinstated and it was a week later.

If it had happened a month earlier I would have been in big trouble as I put £2500 on it in 2 weeks.

What did you end up saying to them? Would be very useful to know,

And no I do not want to cancel my card, 500 is better than nothing. This is just an inconvenience but also on a matter of principle I want my credit limit back. You know they (any bank) will shaft you if you break the T and Cs but it never works in reverse!

Bosie

They did it to me too, been a customer for 4 years, no missed payments. If not paying balance off in one go, I would do it in say 2 or 3 payments.
I logged on and my balance was £694 and my new credit limit £700:j
So a continuous payment coming in could have given me a£12 charge.
I paid it off immediately, shocked no warning nothing.
Now, I had a Halifax Reward account but defected to Santander for the interest etc. I called into my local Halifax and the advisor thought by not using the Reward account as my main account, it was their own internal scoring that lowered my credit limit?

I also have an HSBC credit card and they very kindly lowered my APR!
So I get it lower than a new customer.

So applied for Aqua's Advance account as it's for my oversea's trips, no extra charge for using it abroad. Main reason for applying.

Sure there was another thread about this and Halifax's Clarity card.

guesswho2000

Did the same to me and my friend last Oct. my friend got his chopped to £500 while we were in South America, mine to £550 about a fortnight later just after I'd got back from Hong Kong. It'd been a particularly heavy month for foreign cash withdrawals, but not particularly out of character - I've only ever used it for foreign cash.

I complained on the grounds that, had I not had alternatives, them cutting the limit with, essentially, no notice could have really left me stuck several thousand miles from home, but they weren't interested.

Weird thing is, Halifax is where my salary goes, into their reward account! It quickly goes to other accounts, but they know for sure what my income is.

Nine months on, they still won't reinstate my limit for some reason! Anyway, I've kept the CC for foreign use, as I'd still rather use it for cash than my Nationwide FlexPlus card (which is my main current account and also forex free). All purchases go on my Nationwide Select CC. It is my only forex free MasterCard, too. For info, I've got no adverse on my file, so I can only assume the frequent cash advances on that card (despite it being an advertised benefit) are the culprit!

Wammer

nzpod wrote: »

What did you end up saying to them? Would be very useful to know,

Among other things, I explained that I was only carrying a balance on other credit cards due to having 0% BT and that I had the funds immediately available to pay them in full.

andyuk01

Had a similar experience, cc limit reduced to £1k, just above balance

Spoke to the lending dept who went through income/expenditure and then put it back to £5k

Herbalus

I understand the reasons for them for reducing the limit before informing the customer (even if it is against their T+Cs), but what happens if people do not check online every day?

I can quite imagine a scenario where somebody goes to pay for a hotel abroad and finds the limit chopped. Or like Bosie above, where you haven't been notified of a limit change and therefore happily go over your limit. I wouldn't be best pleased.

zagfles

Herbalus wrote: »

I understand the reasons for them for reducing the limit before informing the customer (even if it is against their T+Cs), but what happens if people do not check online every day?

I can quite imagine a scenario where somebody goes to pay for a hotel abroad and finds the limit chopped. Or like Bosie above, where you haven't been notified of a limit change and therefore happily go over your limit. I wouldn't be best pleased.

Well if they break their own T&Cs then surely the change won't apply. They certainly woulldn't be justified in applying the overlimit charge.

If they write to your home address while you're abroad then you haven't been told - especially if you've informed them you'll be abroad. They could send you a text I suppose...

King_Of_Fools

guesswho2000 wrote: »

Anyway, I've kept the CC for foreign use, as I'd still rather use it for cash than my Nationwide FlexPlus card (which is my main current account and also forex free).

JOOI, why do you prefer using the Halifax Clarity for cash over the Nationwide FlexPlus as I would have though it would be cheaper to use the FlexPlus as there would be no interest charges.

zagfles

King_Of_Fools wrote: »

JOOI, why do you prefer using the Halifax Clarity for cash over the Nationwide FlexPlus as I would have though it would be cheaper to use the FlexPlus as there would be no interest charges.

Mastercard in general have marginally better rates than VISA, so it can be cheaper to use the Clarity even if you end up paying a few days interest. See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4189433 though I haven't checked recently.

bigadaj

King_Of_Fools wrote: »

JOOI, why do you prefer using the Halifax Clarity for cash over the Nationwide FlexPlus as I would have though it would be cheaper to use the FlexPlus as there would be no interest charges.

Main reason for most people is fraud or problems on account, with a debit card it's your own money and knock on effects if it is your main account. Credit card gives a bit more protection and importantly it's not your money.