Time to Vent... Chase Credit Card Company

[Dave R.]

Why in the fricking heck do companies like Chase Credit Card have customers? I can tell you. YOU CANNOT CALL THEM AND TALK TO A REAL PERSON TO CANCEL THE FRICKING CARD. That’s why. I got their card through Amazon to make one purchase. I made the purchase, paid the account off and now find it impossible to speak to anything other than a machine in an attempt to close the dang account. I've tried their phone numbers, web site, and now will attempt to send a letter to one of the 1/2 dozen addresses they have for accounts and see if that works. I have no desire to pay them a renewal fee just for the privilege of having their card. It's one thing to call about any account and end up talking to someone that does not know English, but at least you get a human. Not with Chase you don't.
Sorry about the vent, but this kind of customer service, or lack of, really grinds me. OK, I think I'm done now. Thanks for listening. I had read one time about a web site that had numbers for major companies to actually get to a real person but can't seem to find it. Anyone here know what it is?

[HankSTer]

I believe it's 888-446-3308

Honestly, I've had outstanding service with them. Without going into details, I'm exceptionally pleased with them.

Now Capital One, that's another story all together...

regards,

[sherob]

Hmmm... I've had pretty good service thru Chase on mine... lowered my interest rate by 2 points (4.99% now) when I was going to close it, no interest for a year on any purchases, even bumped my limit (which increased my FICO score... :bow1:) :eek:

[j0hnnyboy]

dave:

call 800‑432‑3117
Press # at each prompt, ignoring messages.

i love the gethuman database. (http://www.gethuman.com/us/)

:)

PS
you could always look for the sales/application number. they tend to answer the calls fairly quickly.
:)

[George]

Don't cancel the card, just don't use it. It'll help yur FICO score too. Canceling a card can actually _decrease_ yur score. In fact, if ya get a'hold of a human, ask'em to _increase_ yur limit.

I have _zero_ charges (for renewals or otherwise) on any of my cards. Only use 2 regularly, the other's are all in credit card limbo.

My opinion,

[NCrider]

Don't cancel the card, just don't use it. It'll help yur FICO score too. Canceling a card can actually _decrease_ yur score. In fact, if ya get a'hold of a human, ask'em to _increase_ yur limit.

I have _zero_ charges (for renewals or otherwise) on any of my cards. Only use 2 regularly, the other's are all in credit card limbo.

My opinion,

+1 This is great advice.

You can cut the card up in million pieces if you like, just don't cancel it.

[tommyboy]

I have several cards, but use only one regularly. I have one VISA and one MC on me at all times. the rare use card is Chase. I got rid of them several years ago but after several mergers it ended a Chase card again. I have cancelled several cards over the years. If you use one regularly, get your credit limit increased. the two cards give me a limit that almost equals my yearly salary. I always pay off any balance each month. They really hate me for that!

[dreddd2000]

I have been told that cancelling a card can have a negative effect on one's credit rating. My neighbor is a banker in the credit card industry and says that your credit report makes no distinction between a CC account that was closed out because you didn't pay and a CC account that was closed in good standing by the cardholder. Either way it shows as a terminated account.

Second hand information and YMMV.

[Tom B.]

Don't cancel the card, just don't use it. It'll help yur FICO score too. Canceling a card can actually _decrease_ yur score. In fact, if ya get a'hold of a human, ask'em to _increase_ yur limit.

I have _zero_ charges (for renewals or otherwise) on any of my cards. Only use 2 regularly, the other's are all in credit card limbo.

My opinion,

+2 Helped me get refinaced on the house!!! Five (six?) cards over $50,000 in credit, dont owe except on one card! Makes for a great credit score when they see how well you keep up with your payments on all that credit!:rolleyes:

[tarfin]

FICO has a lot to do with the debt to credit ratio. Keep the account but cut up the card if you don't trust yourself. Having a high credit to debt ratio is much better than having little credit which is all used. I went through financial hell for 3 years but now I'm debt free and not going back again.

Edit: Thanks johnny for that link. Gonna use and forward that one a lot. :)

[bmcdonau]

I had a similar non contact problem with Bank of America. After an hour of frustrating call directory roulet I finally got a person, but in the wrong department. They sent me to the right department and I got their direct line so in the future I can talk to a human the first time.

[Randog]

+2 Helped me get refinaced on the house!!! Five (six?) cards over $50,000 in credit, dont owe except on one card! Makes for a great credit score when they see how well you keep up with your payments on all that credit!:rolleyes:

Thats not right. Too much avalible credit can hurt your score too. I find it funny, I've had trouble with Chase and none what so ever with Capitol. Now Citi card, those guys are bandits!

[STBNE]

I dont have any credit cards and I dont believe in them...and I dont want any credit...I have one bank debit card is a VISA.But when I use it ,its the same as paying cash or writing a check.I pay as I go and the credit companies be damned.:eek: I found out a loooong time ago that credit cards are not for me and since then I have not even missed them:)

[Tom B.]

Thats not right. Too much avalible credit can hurt your score too. I find it funny, I've had trouble with Chase and none what so ever with Capitol. Now Citi card, those guys are bandits!

Only if you don't use em once in a while!!:-D

[sherob]

You will get hit for too much credit when your income can't sustain it... you can't pay for it if you use it. I worked over 14 years for Equifax. Every creditor has different criteria/matrix's they use to approve you. Your FICO/Beacon score really comes into play for mortgages and auto purchases... anything else just depends on the creditor.

[XLR8]

I dont have any credit cards and I dont believe in them...and I dont want any credit...I have one bank debit card is a VISA.But when I use it ,its the same as paying cash or writing a check.I pay as I go and the credit companies be damned.:eek: I found out a loooong time ago that credit cards are not for me and since then I have not even missed them:)

You are a fortunate person! The exception, not the norm...

[Louie Louie]

Try to sTay away from credit cards boys. I am a bankruptcy lawyer. However, I do have a "farkle" visa at 2.9% w/ a limit of $1500. This way I farkle the bike and pay it off and then again and again..

[Tom B.]

You will get hit for too much credit when your income can't sustain it... you can't pay for it if you use it. I worked over 14 years for Equifax. Every creditor has different criteria/matrix's they use to approve you. Your FICO/Beacon score really comes into play for mortgages and auto purchases... anything else just depends on the creditor.

Unbelievable!:bow1:

You got that right!:bow1: Guess I should have mentioned that! I make sure my credit cards don't exceed a realistic amount against our income! That way it looks good on the reports. As I said earlier, I use most of them every once in a while to keep them active and show how well I pay my payments! Of coarse I rarely use one when I can't pay it off each month and that helps too!! My wife and I recently refinaced our house and every one of the lending institutions we checked out said we had an exceptional credit score and that a great part of that was because of how I handle my credit cards. However, in all reality, cash really is the best option!! Keeps you debt free and no worries!!

Edit: I should mention that NON of my cards have an annual fee and I won't ever have one that does!!! If a card has that annuel fee, cancel right away, if not, rather than cancelling, just don't use it. After a predetermined amount of time your card will automatically be considered a dormant account and cancelled anyway! There is (I think) a special term for that and (again I think, tryinig to recall from the last time I asked about this) it doesn't show up on your credit report the same way as it would if you have it cancelled???

I should also add (no offense to anyone in the credit industry) I don't think you will ever ask a card company a question and get the same answer from them twice, especially if you talk to someone different each time!

[Dave R.]

Thanks all. The gethuman site is what I was looking for. I appreciate the advice, but will respectfully ignore the one on not cancelling. If my score drops from that, so be it. I have plenty of room to play in that arena. I will not give hard earned dollars to a company that is this difficult to contact and discuss concerns with. A friend of mine has a Chase card with which he was a couple of days late paying a less than $20.00 balance on. His fault yes, but to be charged over that amount in late fees is in my book robbery. I could see a sliding scale late fee based on amount, but in this case it's just plain wrong. OK, I'm starting to vent again. Sorry about that. Thanks again for exchange of ideas.

[lorenzell]

+1 on cancelling the card. I also worked in the credit industry. More credit cards and higher limits on those cards means a LOWER credit score. They figure each card as potential debt, even if the ballance is kept low. So if good credit is important to you, pay your bills on time, don't run up late fees, don't run high balances on credit cards. (in fact pay them off) Good credit is important for other things than just loans. Employers will check credit to see if this is a reliable stable person, or can't handle money. Same with some insurance companies.

Have a good ride today.

lz

[Blue STreak]

If Chase is going to charge Dave an annual fee just to keep the card, which he implies, then I don't think the advantage of a lower debt to credit ratio outweighs the cost of a paying for a card he won't use.

[ParkerBill]

I've sorta learned over the years (the hard way at first) that if you have a good to great credit score you can frequently negotiate lower interest rates on credit cards. MC, Visa, AMEX Blue, etc. For some reason unknown to me (had no late payments on anything and no high balances on any cards) a year or so ago, my AMEX Blue jumped up to 29% interest (by the way, you definitely need to check the interest rate on your statement each month). I immediately called them and told them I wanted to cancel the card because of the exorbitant interest rate--on the spot they lowered it down to 7 or 8%.

We have also frequently called MC and Visa accounts and gotten them to do the same thing. Of course, to do this it helps to have a good credit score. If they refuse to lower the rates to what we think is reasonable and if we have a small balance with them we pay it off on the spot and either close the account or just not use it. S***w them. It sure never hurts to ask. I basically just ask for a supervisor and tell them I am only going to use credit cards that have the lowest interest rates and ask them if they want me to use their card, and if so, what is the lowest rate they will give me.

My personal opinion (and no offense meant toward any of you working in the credit business) is that all CC companies are in business to make a profit (of course) and they typically have very low standards on who they give credit cards to (i.e., high school and college students without jobs, etc.). I'm sure they take some big losses so they have to try to recover from the rest of us. I'm really not willing to subsidize others who do not pay their debts, at least no more than I have to.

[Viggo]

I probably have more credit cards than I should, certainly more than I need. I only use 2 of them and they are paid off each month.

One card I have has an annual fee but every year when they send the statement with that fee on it, I call them to cancel the card. Instead of cancelling, they waive the annual fee. Never costs me anything.

I've found there is very little difference between the major credit card companies. They all tend to treat their customers like dirt, have outrageous late fees (haven't had to pay any, but I see them in their disclosures) and are extremely bureaucratic.

[STBNE]

You are a fortunate person! The exception, not the norm...

I have always prided myself for being different...however it isn't like I never had a credit card..I have and found out the hard way that it wasn't for me.I always say a credit card is the never/never card.You should never use it and if you dont pay it off you never see the end of it LOL

[tommyboy]

My primary card has an annual fee, but I get air miles and one $50.00 compainion round trip fare each year on it. It is a BofA Alaska Airlines card and I have family in Tacoma and Port Orchard, WA. I make 2-3 trips each year to the Pacific Northwest each year. The second, backup card does not have an annual fee.

Another item: when I look at my free credit reports each year the record does show if the account was closed at the owner's request.

[TPadden]

........ They all tend to treat their customers like dirt, have outrageous late fees (haven't had to pay any, but I see them in their disclosures) and are extremely bureaucratic.

On the flip side - for refunds I've found both MC and Visa MUCH easier to deal with than real merchants. Never had a problem with the thousands of CC Internet purchases over the years either.

I also pay them off each month so they cost nothing and I use them for everything. When I bought my last car from the same dealer I bought a previous car - they pulled my file and laughed; in 3 years the check number had only increased by 4 :) .

YMMV
Tom
Gainesville, Mo.
Weeki Wachee, Fl.

[tommyboy]

Yeah, between the debit cards, paying on the web and credit cards, I have almost forgotten how to write a check!

[John Anthony]

My primary card has an annual fee, but I get air miles and one $50.00 compainion round trip fare each year on it. It is a BofA Alaska Airlines card and I have family in Tacoma and Port Orchard, WA. I make 2-3 trips each year to the Pacific Northwest each year. The second, backup card does not have an annual fee.

Another item: when I look at my free credit reports each year the record does show if the account was closed at the owner's request.

We have the same card as our primary account and I've got to say that the customer service we get from these guys is nothing short of first rate. We had some fraudulant charges last month and BoA was all over it. Immediately took care of crediting our account, forwarded paperwork, and overnighted new cards on their nickel.

We tend to be "streaky" purchasers and every once in a while encounter BoA's security folks who ask us the necessary questions to help confirm who we are. Very professional, yet very thorough.

John