Valerie And Her Vanishing American Express Card Business Account

Posted by Steve Rhode

November 19, 2008

Valerie wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.

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“Dear Steve,

I had an American Express business account. I ran it up to $2000 when my husband was in the hospital for 4 months and couldn’t pay it all at once. I finally paid it off in about 2-3 months. When I paid it off completely, they cancelled my card. They said the reason was that my “other” credit was bad. I called and pleaded with them; to no avail. They told me to reapply…….Yeah, right!

Is Amex going bankrupt or something. This was the only credit card I had and am sorry that it’s gone. I heard that a lot of credit card companies are doing this. It was a real “credit card” anyway. I had to pay off the entire balance every month.

Valerie”

Dear Valerie,

Basically, they took their ball and went home. American Express is a very unusual creditor, they really don’t play nice. And they never forget.

Your situation has less to do with you personally than it does with the rising default rates of Amex account holders. Really all AXP is doing here is trimming accounts they no longer wish to have as customers. You’ve been dumped. American Express is not alone in this culling of customers wave. Many other creditors are kicking customers to the curb as well.

American Express, the fourth-largest U.S. credit card issuer, offered more credit to more customers even as the housing crisis began last year, and is paying the price as delinquencies rise.

Adding to its difficulties, its main sources of funding have grown more expensive as secured and unsecured bond markets have shut down. Analyst Whitney, however, said her primary concern about American Express was consumer credit losses, and not funding.

“Our concerns for American Express and other consumer lending-related stocks continue to be worse-than-expected credit losses,” she said in a note to clients.

It is possible that your credit score and credit report could have taken a hit over all of this but you won’t know till you get a copy of your consolidated credit report and take a look. The comments by American Express make me concerned that there is other bad information reported about you on your credit report that needs your attention. The last thing you want to see on your credit report is a note from American Express saying “Account closed by creditor.”

At this point, you will be leaving home without it, for a long, long time. I know breaking up is hard to do but it is time to move on. There are plenty of other companies that would like to give you credit so I suggest that you use this link to find a credit card that will be the best fit for you. There is no worry, even if you have bad credit or fair credit, a credit card offer is still available and waiting for you.

Now that your only credit card company dumped you it is more important than ever that you get another credit card and pay it on time to get new good credit flowing into your credit report.

It’s time to pack up all the old memories from Amex, put the in a box and shove it in the attic. They are not coming back.

Big hug.

Steve

Source: Valerie And Her Vanishing American Express Card Business Account

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