Chase still slashing credit limits
Ok, it is now May of 2010, nearing on two years since Chase took over WaMu and its crappy credit card portfolio. In response to the crappyness of WaMu’s credit card portfolio, they began to slash credit limits. One would think they would have limited this to the customers that were actually credit risks, but from reports we received, they seemed to slash credit limits arbitrarily without regard for whether people were risky or not. And they did so without informing people in any way, either before or after they made the changes to peoples accounts. The only indication could be found on customer’s monthly statements, where the credit limit itself was indicated.
So now, 20 months after they began this slash and burn campaign, why are the still doing this?
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By coakl, January 11, 2011 @ 11:16 am
WaMu’s minimum FICO score for credit cards was 620, far below what Chase uses. Many of the WaMu cards were actually from Providian, a sub-prime lender that no doubt had an even lower FICO cut-off.
Thus, from Chase’s perspective, ALL WaMu cardholders were risky. In fact, they are considered so risky, that Chase cut limits without prior warning or grace period. If you told someone that their credit line was being reduced dramatically, they might go out on a spending spree and then stiff the bank. Yes, Chase has a pretty low opinion of WaMu’s customer base.
This is also why Chase slashed so many ex-WaMu home equity lines of credit without warning. If you knew your HELOC was being cut from $85,000 down to your existing balance of $25,000, wouldn’t you run out and draw down the difference?