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Thread: Store closed my credit card!

  1. #1
    Moderator Miss_McKenna's Avatar
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    Thumbs down Store closed my credit card!

    I've never had this happen before and I really don't know what to do, or if there's anything I can do. I got a credit card with Express last December, purely because I needed a new suit for my day job in a major hurry and I didn't have the cash. I only asked for a limit high enough for my purchases so it was a $250 limit. I made the payments on time but in February they put my limit down to $210 Anyway, in March my payment was returned by the bank (and therefore late) because I accidentally typed my account number in wrong online. I called Express and they put it through on the phone "without prejudice" and waived the late fee etc.

    For my May payment, I was out of town dancing and I completely forgot to pay it (completely my fault, I know) and when I realized, it was a week late. I immediately went to the store and paid my May and June payment in person. Now yesterday I found that the credit card has been closed!!

    Will this negatively affect my credit? I'm obviously going to still pay it off, in fact when I get home I'm planning to just pay off the entire balance and be done with it. Express says that if I make 6 months of on-time payments they'll open it again, but I don't know if I even really want it open again unless it'll benefit my credit score somehow. They said it was because of two returned payments within 90 days, but one was meant to be fixed without prejudice and the other was just late.

    My main concern is just my credit score, does anyone know how it will affect it, or how I could repair any damage?


  2. #2
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Store closed my credit card!

    ^^^ if any of your 'late' payments are reported to the credit bureaus, indeed your credit score will be negatively affected. And the one incidence of the credit card processor fixing the late payment 'without prejudice' may actually do nothing to remove the fact that another late payment report was already made to the credit bureaus. If you're really concerned, you'll need to 'pull' your latest credit report and then you'll probably need to take action to have the 'fixed' late payment report removed. However, the credit card processor forcibly closing your credit card account is going to hurt no matter what - and there really isn't anything that can be done about it.

    As to paying off your credit card balances in one shot, versus making monthly payments and having your credit card account reinstated 6 months down the road, the latter would potentially benefit your credit rating more than the former.

  3. #3
    Moderator Miss_McKenna's Avatar
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    Default Re: Store closed my credit card!

    If I do have the credit restored 6 months down the line and it's opened again, is there a way to close the account in a "good" way? I've shopped at that store about twice in my life and I don't need the credit, and having it open and unused makes me wary of just having one more card open to identity theft etc, as well as running the risk of a new lender thinking I already have enough credit extended to me when I actually don't plan to use that card again. I remember someone at the bank telling me that if you close a credit card in good standing, any negative effects will be gone from your credit score in three months, is that true?

    Thanks SO much for you help!


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    Default Re: Store closed my credit card!

    No that's not true. Negative remarks stay on for up to 7yrs from the date of delinquency. And closing accounts looks bad, can harm your score even more than late payments.

  5. #5
    Moderator Miss_McKenna's Avatar
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    Default Re: Store closed my credit card!

    ^^ not the forced closure of it, I mean if I have it reinstated and then close it in good standing, like my credit relationship with Express is fine again and I just don't want the account anymore. The only affect on my credit in terms of that would be that my overall amount of credit extended to me would be lowered as I had just "lost" $250's worth of credit. Separate from the issue about them closing it now.


  6. #6
    God/dess Zofia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Store closed my credit card!

    This account is nothing but a cancer on your credit report. Every month that goes by without payment looks worse. Cut your losses, pay it off in full. You can't make it better, just make it stop getting worse every month.

    HTH
    Z

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Store closed my credit card!

    No closing accts effects more than just "loss of credit". It effects avg length of history on accounts. This is big if u have newly established credit or not much credit diversity.

    I know someone who closed his bank of America visa voluntarily and his score went down 50+ points as a result. Was never late, had no bad marks on his report, score still dropped

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Store closed my credit card!

    ^^^ which was the reason I recommended making monthly payments and having the account reinstituted after the promised 6 months. 3 years from now, after the late payments fall off the credit report, the account history will probably help the credit score more than hurt it.

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