Used my credit card after notice given of impending limit reduction

lanza

Hi, I Used my credit card while on hols, spent about 2k..  when I got back there was a letter from barclaycard giving notice of impending limit reduction from 9k to the balance of 1.5k.  The new limit will start in December.   It was 1.5k before my holiday spend of 2k so balance is now 3.5k .  No idea why they are doing this, never late with payments on any cards.. or any bills.  Credit rating good. Only thing can think off, is am in dispute with BT for a mobile broadband contract I cancelled and never used within the cooling of period. 

  Due to Covid cant get anywhere on the barclaycard phone lines, and wouldnt mind knowing what happens in a situation like this.  Will they demand the 2k over the  paid immediately ? 

born_again

Barclaycard seem to be cutting limits a lot. Especially on high limits that are not being used. So it has nothing to do with a dispute.

You are going to keep trying to get through to them.

Anamox

lanza said:

Hi, I Used my credit card while on hols, spent about 2k..  when I got back there was a letter from barclaycard giving notice of impending limit reduction from 9k to the balance of 1.5k.  The new limit will start in December.   It was 1.5k before my holiday spend of 2k so balance is now 3.5k .  No idea why they are doing this, never late with payments on any cards.. or any bills.  Credit rating good. Only thing can think off, is am in dispute with BT for a mobile broadband contract I cancelled and never used within the cooling of period. 

  Due to Covid cant get anywhere on the barclaycard phone lines, and wouldnt mind knowing what happens in a situation like this.  Will they demand the 2k over the  paid immediately ? 

Do they not still have the live chat function on the app? I used this a few months ago (no longer a customer though) and it was fairly quick and effective.

cymruchris

Start by sending a secure message through the website on a browser - they usually reply fairly quickly to those - maybe say something like 'I've just returned from holiday and have received a letter informing me that my limit is about to be cut to £1.5k - however including my recent holiday spend my balance now stands at 3.5k. Could I ask that you reconsider your decision to reduce my limit, and re-instate it to its original level as I plan to use the card for several planned purchases in the coming months. I do understand that you are cutting limits across the board where cards haven't had much activity, but my financial situation has not changed, and so would appreciate if you could re-instate my original limit'.

And then see what they say. (Some people have reported that limits get re-instated when they are challenged)

lanza

Did try the live chat...last time it took them a week to answer that. But was wondering if anyone here would know where I stand in a situation like this.  I've  used the card pending a limit reduction. So whats the usual outcome if they don't want to reinstate the limit for whatever reason....i would have to repay the 2k in one lump  by December when the new limit is imposed ?

Anamox

lanza said:

i would have to repay the 2k in one lump  by December when the new limit is imposed ?

Balance transfer to another card in that situation.

whitesmith

Barclaycard T&C say they will not reduce the credit limit below the current balance plus any pending transactions. Depending on the date of their letter and your spending dates then you could argue this point.

MEM62

lanza said:

Due to Covid cant get anywhere on the barclaycard phone lines,  

Getting through to Barclays is not an issue.  I have done so a couple of times recently with not too long a wait. 
You may have to pay off the over-limit balance but, as it would be unwise to fund a holiday using a credit card anyway, I am sure that you are prepared for that.  

dr_adidas01

MEM62 said:

lanza said:

Due to Covid cant get anywhere on the barclaycard phone lines,  

Getting through to Barclays is not an issue.  I have done so a couple of times recently with not too long a wait. 
You may have to pay off the over-limit balance but, as it would be unwise to fund a holiday using a credit card anyway, I am sure that you are prepared for that.  

Why would it be unwise to fund a holiday using a credit card?  I always pay for my holidays using a credit card in case anything goes wrong i.e. company goes bust or as has shown this year Covid pandemic happens.

cymruchris

I've had all my secure messages answered within 48 hours - give it a go - and let us know how you get on, as that'll help others that face a similar scenario.

Ebe_Scrooge

dr_adidas01 said:

MEM62 said:

Getting through to Barclays is not an issue.  I have done so a couple of times recently with not too long a wait. 
You may have to pay off the over-limit balance but, as it would be unwise to fund a holiday using a credit card anyway, I am sure that you are prepared for that.  

Why would it be unwise to fund a holiday using a credit card?  I always pay for my holidays using a credit card in case anything goes wrong i.e. company goes bust or as has shown this year Covid pandemic happens.

I suspect the implication was that the "sensible" approach is not to use a credit card to fund a holiday you can't really afford, and that MEM62 meant that, by all means use a card to pay for the holiday to get protection.  But on the assumption that you've already got the cash saved up in the bank to actually pay for it, so use that to pay off the card.