As I’ve previously mentioned, I love my Wamu card. I guess I should say loved. They canceled my card! I received a letter in the mail the other day telling me that since I hadn’t used the card in over a year that they were canceling it. I was fuming! Not only did I enjoy the benefits of the card, but now it’s going to hit my credit report as a closed account and make it go down! I am not a happy camper.
I have had this card open for five or six years. I’ve always paid on time, I had a $15,000 limit, and I loved having a card that was as flexible as Wamu. I couldn’t believe that they would close a customer’s card without asking them first if they intended on using it. If they had sent me a letter that said that they noticed I hadn’t used it in awhile and asked me if I would like to keep it open, I would feel a lot better about this. I am just so mad that they took it upon themselves to close my credit card!
Although I think it’s a bad idea to use a credit card as an emergency fund, it was still nice to know that I had that money available in case I absolutely needed it. Now I am down to one credit card (well, two if you count our Home Depot card). It just ticks me off. I was looking forward to keeping my Wamu credit card because of the free credit score tracking. I also figured that if they switched me over to a Chase card, that was okay too since they have good credit cards. I guess the lesson learned here is to use your credit cards at least once every six months to keep them active.
Posted under Credit Cards
This post was written by Mrs Money on December 2, 2008
I had a card closed on me the other day too, but since I had been considering closing the account I wasn’t angry. Mine is still showing up online as open, maybe they don’t close them right away. If you’d like to keep the card I suggest calling them immediately, maybe it’s not actually closed yet.
I think given the fact that you had not used the card in over a year and WaMu has it’s own issues, they probably were afraid that you would go hog wild,charge up the card, and then not be able to pay it off. I guess the moral of the story is to use a card once in a while for a gas purchase or two and then pay the balance off ASAP so that it is an “active” card. It could also be one of those little changes in the “terms of agreement” that they reserve the right to cancel a card that has been inactive for a set period of time. Who knows? I agree, it was kinda rotten of them to just flat out cancel you with out some sort of contact.
They did the same thing to me! I got the letter the other day. I am mad too. I hadn’t used the card in YEARS, but I liked having it because I could check my credit score on their website.
Jerks. I’m going to call them right now and ask to keep it open. I’ll let you know what they say.
They said it was closed and they wouldn’t reopen it. She said if an account is closed due to inactivity it’s not eligible to be reopened. She said they sent a letter but I sure didn’t read it. I probably threw it out. I probably could have had them reopen it if I pushed for a supervisor but I don’t care that much to get all crazy about it.
I’m very surprised to see that some people are actually happy with their Wamu credit cards. I hate the guts of this company - they have screwed me over every since Washington Mutual took over Providian. So, I was just wondering if you had any balance on the card while the card was cancelled or was the credit line completely unused?
Miss M- I think I will do that. I am afraid it’s already been done, because the letter was dated 11/14. I just logged in to their website and sent them a message. Thanks for the suggestion!
Bouncing Back Betty- That may be the case. I never understood why my credit limit was so high! Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Ashley- That is CRAZY. I know this is the first letter I got from them! They just sent me checks last month to use. UGH. What if I had sent those checks to people and they hadn’t cashed them? That would make me look so bad. The only thing I will miss, like you, is the free credit score tracking. Thanks for letting me know what you found out!
Mimi- I remember when Wamu bought Providian I was so disappointed. Providian was wonderful. They were the first company I had too. I didn’t have a balance on the card, so no big deal, but it just sucks. It’s my credit score that will be affected. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!