Time to Show the Bastards...

I got a call tonight from one of the credit card companies. This company and I have a relationship going back to before my son was born--and he's 16. I've been using their product and making timely payments all this time. In fact, I've paid them off more than thrice. At present, I am $5000 below their credit line.

Yet they called me today and said, "We've been doing a periodic review and have decided to reduce your credit line." They "reduced" it to $100 above what I owe now on the card, which isn't much. They didn't really give me a reason for doing this. They are the all-powerful credit card company and they can do what they want.

Except. Except. I don't owe that much on this card. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to pay them off and cancel the card. And I'll never use one of their products again.

And I might as well say, it's Capital One. What's in my wallet? Not one of their cards, that's for sure.

I know this has been happening all over the country. People like me who have been good about not abusing the card and making regular payments are suddenly bad credit risks. YOu know why I am? Because, with my personal credit and the credit line for my law practice combined, I'm over the limit they think I can handle. Never mind that for nearly 20 years I HAVE handled it--in fact this is the same company which several times has increased my credit line because, they said, they were impressed by how I've handled my finances. If they were to look at all of my finances, they'd see I was in pretty good shape--$30,000 in the savings, $14,000 in the business account, $25,000 in the retirement account, and right-side-up on my mortgage. (I estimate I have about $25,000 or more in equity left on the house because I put a sizeable downpayment on it three years ago.)

Here's what I say: For those of us who can, every time one of these damned banks reduces our credit line or increases our interest rate, we pay off the card and dump it. And vow NEVER to use a credit product from that bank ever again. I am personally on a one-year plan to pay off my whole credit enchilada and then I'm going to experiment with paying nothing but cash unless I absolutely have to--such as when I buy plane tickets or reserve hotel rooms. And at that I'm going to pay that off at the end of the month of purchase.

In a way, this is a very good thing for me. Getting pissed off is always a fine way to motivate oneself to improve one's finances.

So who's with me? Let's show these bastards that they can't screw with us like this. They need us, friends and neighbors. On the other hand, we can get along quite nicely without them.