John Ulzheimer is angry.
For the second time, our credit expert and frequent contributor got a letter from his credit card company that his credit limit has been cut – this time, down from $25,000 to $11,500.
>>Credit Card Rage: Punished Because of the Economy?!
What does it say about the unfairness of the system that a man who makes his living preaching credit awareness – whose lowest FICO score is 809 – is facing the same manipulative and downright abusive treatment as the person who can’t pay their monthly balance and has defaulted in the past?
Ulzheimer called his credit card company when he got the letter and, in the accompanying video, he and Carmen (acting as a card representative), act out the discussion he had.
Unfortunately, he found in both times he has dealt with this that the card companies are unwilling to budge. It doesn’t even matter if he reached a supervisor or manager, these companies have clearly made the decision that they are going to cut limits and jack rates almost indiscriminately in an effort to cover their own hides before new regulation takes place in July 2010.
>>Carmen: Your Credit Card Company Doesn't Care About You
The best thing you can do if this happens to you? Call a different card company and open a new card or ask another one of your existing issuers to raise your limit to replace what you lost. If you plan on raising hell with the card company that unexpectedly changed your terms first, be sure to watch the video for some tips from Ulzheimer in how to best make your case.