[Closed] Cancelling credit card - what am I doing wrong?

You want to close the [i]account,[/i] not the card, I suspect.

Exactly- you've only cancelled the card.

Cut it in half and post it to them? Seriously though I dont know. Keep phoning and asking to speak to someone higher up?

I'm sure that's more or less the point that I put across to the customer service rep at the time. About to apply for a mortgage and closing down lines of unused credit, which is what I told them when I asked. Paid off the small balance on the card at the same time.

Can't get through to them on the phone at the moment, it takes you through the tedious enter-your-card-number and other bollox and then hangs up on you.

Write a letter telling them you wish to close the account.simple!

Aha! The idiot approach worked after mashing the buttons on the phone randomly got me straight through to an advisor. Explained the situation. Long and exasperated sigh down the phone and an assurance that the account is definitely closed. She sounded more teed off with the system than me, to be honest.

I've just cleared my Virgin card so I phoned them and told them to close the account. About a week later I get a letter telling me I could transfer any other cards to it and get 12 months interest free. So I phoned them back, pointed out their mistake and told them to close the account. Apology, yes, we'll get it sorted.

What do you think arrived through the door a week later?

Keep a record of all this. Make one more try in writing, recorded delivery. If they send you another card, use it to take out £100. This is their payment to you as compensation for all the expense and effort they are putting you to. Then write to them again telling them what you have done and tell them that unless they cancel the card your next withdrawal of compensation payment will be a further £200 etc etc

just cut the card into small pieces and chuck the bits away. Job done, card cancelled, account closed. I'd say they're welcome to keep all the records, send paperwork out and whatever else it is they think they need to do to keep you as a customer but if you never spend anything on it they can only be wasting their own money. They'll learn after a couple of years and erase the account anyway.

Kev

just cut the card into small pieces and chuck the bits away. Job done, card cancelled, account closed. I'd say they're welcome to keep all the records, send paperwork out and whatever else it is they think they need to do to keep you as a customer but if you never spend anything on it they can only be wasting their own money. They'll learn after a couple of years and erase the account anyway.

Kev

And anytime a credit check is performed on you the card/account will show up still and possibly go against you 🙁

Phone or write 3 times to cancel it. Keep records. On the 4th time use the magic words "I'd like to make a complaint". You should go straight to someone who knows what to do as the FSA track complaints against lenders and the banks are all paranoid about it.

And anytime a credit check is performed on you the card/account will show up still and possibly go against you

Is that actually right? Having a credit card with no balance is counted against you?

EDIT: Yes, aparently so http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/cancel-unused-cards#benefits

well I had no idea about that... I haven't applied for credit in the last fifteen years.

Kev

I get the feeling they are measured negativiely when they close a card. I had the same situation with Natwest. I cancelled the card and got a new one when the original card hit it's expiry date...so clearly they did not do it.

Aside from the credit rating issue, there is also the (probably small but nonetheless possible) potential for fraud, particularly if you never check it.

I would guess cancelling the card is not seen as closing the account?