Credit limit cut

Andy7856

Marchitiello said:

being retired / older is not a good factor for unsecured credit lines like a credit card. Unfortunately the risk profile is affected by age and as you get closer to the current UK life expectancy (reported on some site to be 78.7 years old) than your risk profile increases and with this your available credit line will be lowered 

Further more if you are older, wiser, and sensible with money  then you have low value to the bank as you wont pay interest, fee etc etc.  HSBC used to (may still do) give their customers value scores, AA B, C etc on how much they were worth to the bank.  So put it bluntly you may not bring in enough income to them  - so they dont really want you.

martinbainbridge1975

Andy7856 said:

Marchitiello said:

being retired / older is not a good factor for unsecured credit lines like a credit card. Unfortunately the risk profile is affected by age and as you get closer to the current UK life expectancy (reported on some site to be 78.7 years old) than your risk profile increases and with this your available credit line will be lowered 

Further more if you are older, wiser, and sensible with money  then you have low value to the bank as you wont pay interest, fee etc etc.  HSBC used to (may still do) give their customers value scores, AA B, C etc on how much they were worth to the bank.  So put it bluntly you may not bring in enough income to them  - so they dont really want you.

lloyds used to do similar when it came to ratings to determine loan interest rates

Chrysalis

I think they dont just look at risk but also profitability, if you just using 0% deals and never paying standard rates of interest you can potentially become a less desirable customer from it.  If you less desirably it can mean a limit cut.

Ultimately though we/you will never know the reason why, its internal algorithms making these decisions.

Chrysalis

MrFrugalFever said:

I have had exactly the same with Barclaycard last month. They basically said there’s nothing I do or say that would reverse their decision and I could attempt to apply for an increase in 30 days time. I offered to send payslips, p60’s, savings accounts statements but to no avail.

It’s been 30 days and I’m greeted with the same message as you (can only reduce not increase)! So therefore, I have maxed out the credit card to within £10 of the limit and either will pay it off and stop using it until they give me a sensible limit again or close the account. The most disappointing thing about it, is that it’s their Avios points card which is a real benefit to me.

Meh.

When I queried online my barclaycard cut a couple of years back (when they cut for loads of customers at same time), they offered to revert it on proof of income and outgoings.  But what they were asking for I couldnt be bothered to send so left it alone, instead at the time deciding to close the account.

I ended up not closing it, and put a new 0% deal on it close to the new low limit late last year, then ironically with high utilisation on the barclaycard (however my overall credit utilisation is really low now as got very little debt left) I got sent a letter offering an increase but to do this increase they wanted to do a full on credit check so I suppose wasnt fully approved as never heard that from a CC company before.  I didnt bother replying.  By this christmas I wont have any cc debt, and I think barclaycard is likely in my cull pile, as I am not going to need the 6 cards I got now.  I consider it barely above capital one now.  But below tesco, virgin money etc.

Morglin

I've not had a problem.  I never go anywhere near any limits, pay them off in full every month, and am a widowed pensioner.  Seems a bit indiscriminate. 😗

Lomcevak

Chrysalis said:

 if you just using 0% deals and never paying standard rates of interest you can potentially become a less desirable customer from it.  If you less desirably it can mean a limit cut.

I'd add low card utilisation as important too - they make money from interchange fees, so if you're using a card often then you'll be profitable even if you pay in full each month and never pay interest. If the card's just sitting there unused then you're not.

davidkentman

I had my limit reduced on a card but that was because I never spent anywhere near the limit.

CliveOfIndia

davidkentman said:

I had my limit reduced on a card but that was because I never spent anywhere near the limit.

That's not uncommon.  Banks don't have an infinite amount of credit to dish out, so it's reasonable (and makes eminent business sense) to apportion it according to usage patterns.  If someone always uses only a small proportion of their available credit, the bank will cut their limit and give it to someone else who will use it.

As noted by a previous poster, they like people to use credit cards as they make a reasonable income from merchant fees, even if the customer always pays in full.