Jill Kelley is suffering from credit-card company confusion. She asks, "What are these people thinking?"
Kelley says she has a great credit score, pays her bills on time, often in full. But in the past two weeks she says she's seen one credit card raise her interest rate more than 15%. Another has chopped her credit limit by two-thirds.
Mike Collins says, "You can't stop this. There's no way to protect yourself for what might happen." Mike Collins is with Commonwealth Credit Consulting in Frisco. He says limit-slashing is one of the more dangerous and often overlooked changes going around.
When someone carries a credit card balance and gets his limit cut, it decreases the available credit, killing his credit score. Mike Collins says, "As large as 100 points in some cases which can hugely affect your ability to get approval if you're trying to make a purchase."
And it's happening to many. A 1000 person survey done last month by consumer education website, Credit.com, found 33% of people said their credit card company has made one or more negative changes to an account. 19% of the 1000 surveyed say their interest rate increased. That's up from a reported 15% in February. 14% said their fees had been increased and 14% also said their credit limit had been lowered.
Jill Kelley is glad for her it isn't financial life or death. She's taking personal responsibility for her situation knowing she signed an agreement, but she has one question still looming, "Don't they want my business?"
Kelley says she has a great credit score, pays her bills on time, often in full. But in the past two weeks she says she's seen one credit card raise her interest rate more than 15%. Another has chopped her credit limit by two-thirds.
Mike Collins says, "You can't stop this. There's no way to protect yourself for what might happen." Mike Collins is with Commonwealth Credit Consulting in Frisco. He says limit-slashing is one of the more dangerous and often overlooked changes going around.
When someone carries a credit card balance and gets his limit cut, it decreases the available credit, killing his credit score. Mike Collins says, "As large as 100 points in some cases which can hugely affect your ability to get approval if you're trying to make a purchase."
And it's happening to many. A 1000 person survey done last month by consumer education website, Credit.com, found 33% of people said their credit card company has made one or more negative changes to an account. 19% of the 1000 surveyed say their interest rate increased. That's up from a reported 15% in February. 14% said their fees had been increased and 14% also said their credit limit had been lowered.
Jill Kelley is glad for her it isn't financial life or death. She's taking personal responsibility for her situation knowing she signed an agreement, but she has one question still looming, "Don't they want my business?"
