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Just a warning to all – I’ve had my credit limit cut on this card cut from £20,000 to £250 completely out of the blue. That is a reduction of almost 99%!
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit, and even hold my mortgage and bank accounts with Barclays (although, not for much longer).
Obviously, this makes it impossible to meet their £10k spending threshold for the upgrade voucher, and it seems silly spending £20 a month on a card with such a silly limit.
It is obvious that, for whatever reason, Barclays no longer wants me as a customer. Very odd behaviour towards someone who has always been a loyal customer.
Just a warning to all – I’ve had my credit limit cut on this card cut from £20,000 to £250 completely out of the blue. That is a reduction of almost 99%!
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit, and even hold my mortgage and bank accounts with Barclays (although, not for much longer).
Obviously, this makes it impossible to meet their £10k spending threshold for the upgrade voucher, and it seems silly spending £20 a month on a card with such a silly limit.
It is obvious that, for whatever reason, Barclays no longer wants me as a customer. Very odd behaviour towards someone who has always been a loyal customer.
So what did they say when you queried this with them…?
I think they usually do this when they have some data which says your income has dropped (rightly or wrongly) or their calculation of your income is different to what you have declared.
Have you had any change in circumstances recently? Also worth checking your credit files to make sure nothing untoward has appeared on there.
If you were to call them, I doubt they would say anything useful to you.
Yes seen this before.
Generally happens when they want you to verify some information or like @ChrisBCN nites there has been a change in circumstances and they need you to clarify something.
So which email(s) or physical letter(s) have you failed to respond to because a reduction in credit is what usually happens when people fail to respond.
Yes seen this before.
Generally happens when they want you to verify some information or like @ChrisBCN nites there has been a change in circumstances and they need you to clarify something.
So which email(s) or physical letter(s) have you failed to respond to because a reduction in credit is what usually happens when people fail to respond.
Nothing. They sent me a generic letter, stating that they are reducing my credit limit on X date.
The only main difference I can think of, is I had a £400 CCJ added to my credit file in December for a disputed parking charge. This was settled in full (robbing thieves) and since has been removed from my credit file.
The only other thing is that I have been spending a lot of time abroad recently. I made a couple of cash advances on the card out of desperation, having lost my debit card (around £800, so a small fraction of the limit), which was paid off immediately.
Possibly income may be related, as some of my declared income is rental income that gets paid into a separate bank account. But the bulk of my income goes into the Barclays account.
Thankfully I wasn’t abroad when I got the notification, it could have been nasty if I was stuck in a different country and was reliant on that card.
@Hase2000 – the cocktail of issues you describe makes the decision by Barclays fairly understandable, not only to protect their interests but to avoid being seen by the FCA to extend excessive credit to someone whose financial situation at least gives the impression of worsening. In view of the difficult economic backdrop and likely pressure on household incomes, one can expect most providers to be stricter and rather trigger happy.
@Hase2000 – the cocktail of issues you describe makes the decision by Barclays fairly understandable, not only to protect their interests but to avoid being seen by the FCA to extend excessive credit to someone whose financial situation at least gives the impression of worsening.
How so? As mentioned, I always clear the account in full each month.
I would also be more understanding if the limit reduction was something more sensible (e.g. to £10,000 or even £5,000) as to be honest, my spending never comes close to the limit. It’s nice to have though – e.g. if something were to happen and I need immediate access to that kind of money.
Obviously I would say this, but I think the way the CCJ system works in the UK is fundamentally flawed, and I would have hoped financial institutions would have recognised this. Not least because losing a court case over a disputed parking charge is irrelevant to my ability to repay credit that I agreed to. I think a lot of people are fed up with the power that parking goons, etc., have over people.
Just a warning to all – I’ve had my credit limit cut on this card cut from £20,000 to £250 completely out of the blue. That is a reduction of almost 99%!
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit, and even hold my mortgage and bank accounts with Barclays (although, not for much longer).
Obviously, this makes it impossible to meet their £10k spending threshold for the upgrade voucher, and it seems silly spending £20 a month on a card with such a silly limit.
It is obvious that, for whatever reason, Barclays no longer wants me as a customer. Very odd behaviour towards someone who has always been a loyal customer.
So what did they say when you queried this with them…?
Just a warning to all – I’ve had my credit limit cut on this card cut from £20,000 to £250 completely out of the blue. That is a reduction of almost 99%!
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit, and even hold my mortgage and bank accounts with Barclays (although, not for much longer).
Obviously, this makes it impossible to meet their £10k spending threshold for the upgrade voucher, and it seems silly spending £20 a month on a card with such a silly limit.
It is obvious that, for whatever reason, Barclays no longer wants me as a customer. Very odd behaviour towards someone who has always been a loyal customer.
So what did they say when you queried this with them…?
Just a warning to all – I’ve had my credit limit cut on this card cut from £20,000 to £250 completely out of the blue. That is a reduction of almost 99%!
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit, and even hold my mortgage and bank accounts with Barclays (although, not for much longer).
Obviously, this makes it impossible to meet their £10k spending threshold for the upgrade voucher, and it seems silly spending £20 a month on a card with such a silly limit.
It is obvious that, for whatever reason, Barclays no longer wants me as a customer. Very odd behaviour towards someone who has always been a loyal customer.
So what did they say when you queried this with them…?
Just a warning to all – I’ve had my credit limit cut on this card cut from £20,000 to £250 completely out of the blue. That is a reduction of almost 99%!
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit, and even hold my mortgage and bank accounts with Barclays (although, not for much longer).
Obviously, this makes it impossible to meet their £10k spending threshold for the upgrade voucher, and it seems silly spending £20 a month on a card with such a silly limit.
It is obvious that, for whatever reason, Barclays no longer wants me as a customer. Very odd behaviour towards someone who has always been a loyal customer.
So what did they say when you queried this with them…?
Unfortunately absolutely nothing useful. They said they would put through a manual request to put the limit back, which got immediately rejected. So, “computer says no” in other words.
@Hase2000 – financial institutions don’t examine the reason for a CCJ because they don’t have access to the relevant case, nor would it be proportionate. As far as they are concerned it’s simply an unpaid debt as adjudicated by a court. Cash advances on a credit card are also a red flag.
Unfortunately the CCJ will haunt you for a while as lenders take them seriously. However in the wrong a parking company might be, letting matters get to the court stage is very high risk. These people aren’t nice and they are seasoned operators vs a member of the public who generally won’t know how to deal with legal cases.
What Barclays has done is rather heavy handed/blunt but that’s the way banks work when dealing with millions of customers.
@Hase2000 – financial institutions don’t examine the reason for a CCJ because they don’t have access to the relevant case, nor would it be proportionate. As far as they are concerned it’s simply an unpaid debt as adjudicated by a court. Cash advances on a credit card are also a red flag.
Unfortunately the CCJ will haunt you for a while as lenders take them seriously. However in the wrong a parking company might be, letting matters get to the court stage is very high risk. These people aren’t nice and they are seasoned operators vs a member of the public who generally won’t know how to deal with legal cases.
What Barclays has done is rather heavy handed/blunt but that’s the way banks work when dealing with millions of customers.
Unfortunately you are right. I wanted to fight the case and spent a lot of time researching the law and writing up a detailed defence. Unfortunately, I was out of the country for over a month when I was sent notification of the hearing, and I somehow missed this when sorting through my post when I got back. By the time I got the judgement, I was sick of the whole thing and paid up just to get rid of it.
Thankfully, it has been scrubbed from my file, as the amount was settled in 30 days of the judgement being added.
I suppose the only other thing is the amount of credit I have access to is quite high (I think, around £100k in total), although that was also the case when they assigned me that limit. But maybe, as you say, the banks are getting stricter. I would have hoped Barclays would handle the situation a bit better though – as they say, “a bank gives you an umbrella when it is sunny outside, then snatches it back when it starts to rain”.
Edit – my questions answered in your post above OP!
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit, and even hold my mortgage and bank accounts with Barclays (although, not for much longer).
You’ve had a CCJ. Nobody really cares about the reason behind it as there was a formal process followed in order for it to be registered. This is not the time for you to be messing around with changing bank accounts or mortgages.
Even if you’ve paid it off, they usually leave some kind of footprint on your credit history for six years.
I think the way the CCJ system works in the UK is fundamentally flawed
CCJs aren’t a UK thing. You’ll get a decree in Scotland.
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit, and even hold my mortgage and bank accounts with Barclays (although, not for much longer).
You’ve had a CCJ. Nobody really cares about the reason behind it as there was a formal process followed in order for it to be registered. This is not the time for you to be messing around with changing bank accounts or mortgages.
Even if you’ve paid it off, they usually leave some kind of footprint on your credit history for six years.
I think the way the CCJ system works in the UK is fundamentally flawed
CCJs aren’t a UK thing. You’ll get a decree in Scotland.
I guess that’s why CCJs in the UK are fundamentally flawed…
It is obvious that, for whatever reason, Barclays no longer wants me as a customer. Very odd behaviour towards someone who has always been a loyal customer.
Wow, the answers you’ve given us!
* You had a CCJ (I do sympathise with what you faced here!)
* Cash advances on the card
* Very high credit limit
* You were not spending at your limit (i.e. no proof you could pay off that amount)As @andrew wrote, you must now be careful at managing your credit and closures/applications (FWIW I would keep the card open to try and rebuild your credit with Barclays). You mentioned something about changing mortgages and bank accounts – think very carefully about this! A new mortgage lender may well put you in a high risk category and reject you or give you a high interest rate.
I have always paid my card off in full every month by direct debit
I hope you’ve seen this isn’t the metric they are using to determine your credit limit.
I thought that if you paid off a CCJ immediately it wouldn’t get recorded on your credit file?
I thought that if you paid off a CCJ immediately it wouldn’t get recorded on your credit file?
The CCJ is recorded immediately, and then removed completely if paid in full within a short amount of time. This is what happened with me. It no longer shows at all on any of the three reference agencies.
I hope you’ve seen this isn’t the metric they are using to determine your credit limit.
Setting the limit to £250 is basically them saying “we no longer trust you with anything, but we still want your £20 a month”. My typical monthly bill is around £1k – £2k, occasionally higher but never in the five figures. As mentioned, I would be more understanding if the limit was reduced to an amount similar to what I spend.
To me, it is no longer useful to pay for a Barclays Premier account if I’m not able to make use of the rewards and features that come with that account. I’m also in the thankful position that I will be able to clear the remaining mortgage balance in full once my current deal has ended, so it is no longer required 🙂
It seems odd that cash advances are treated with such suspicion, if they didn’t want people to use this functionality then they shouldn’t offer it!
In any case, I have my four lounge visits remaining which I will be using next month. I’ve just about managed to squeeze in enough spending to meet the £10k threshold so I can collect my upgrade voucher. I’ll close the account then, in mid March.
I’m very wary of cash withdrawals other than on my debit card. Had too many issues.
It seems odd that cash advances are treated with such suspicion, if they didn’t want people to use this functionality then they shouldn’t offer it!
They are not treated with suspicion, they are considered a sign of poor credit worthiness.
The simple rule is never use miles cards for any card advance / cash withdrawal / balance transfer things. Use the appropriate cards for those events.
Never thought of it in that context, but yes excellent advice. You don’t earn points on any cash like transactions, so what is there to gain?
In this case it was an overseas cash withdrawal, so FX fees as well. I don’t even take my Barclaycard abroad with me as I have no intention of using it.
I thought that if you paid off a CCJ immediately it wouldn’t get recorded on your credit file?
It sort of disappears if the judgment is satisfied but its ghost will remain for years. Also, if you apply for credit or a new financial product, you will often be asked whether you have ever had a CCJ against you and they may not ask whether it’s paid or not. Providing false information in this context is of course very serious.
Not only do you get charged fees on cash withdrawals from credit cards, most also charge interest daily until the entire balance is paid off!
Not only do you get charged fees on cash withdrawals from credit cards, most also charge interest daily until the entire balance is paid off!
Correct, which is why I paid it off the same day. There will be a minimal interest charge (less than £1) but I can live with that. This was a sort-of emergency situation where I had little choice in the matter.
I feel much safer travelling with a credit card rather than a debit card, as if anything goes wrong, it is the bank’s money at stake. However, to be honest, I prefer paying with cash abroad where I can, as I feel more comfortable doing this.
I thought that if you paid off a CCJ immediately it wouldn’t get recorded on your credit file?
It sort of disappears if the judgment is satisfied but its ghost will remain for years. Also, if you apply for credit or a new financial product, you will often be asked whether you have ever had a CCJ against you and they may not ask whether it’s paid or not. Providing false information in this context is of course very serious.
That is true if you take more than a month to pay it. If you pay within 30 days, then it is removed from the register: https://www.gov.uk/county-court-judgments-ccj-for-debt/ccjs-and-your-credit-rating
I thought that if you paid off a CCJ immediately it wouldn’t get recorded on your credit file?
It sort of disappears if the judgment is satisfied but its ghost will remain for years. Also, if you apply for credit or a new financial product, you will often be asked whether you have ever had a CCJ against you and they may not ask whether it’s paid or not. Providing false information in this context is of course very serious.
They are still printed in the London Gazette aren’t they?
and the answer to the question in all credit applications ‘Have you had any CCJ’s’ is still Yes
It seems like it isn’t just the County Courts that likes to pass Judgements.
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