If you haven’t signed up for one of the free credit reporting services I highly recommend that you do so. I was speaking with a friend this evening and they just got a rather rude awakening.
They were reviewing one of their credit card bills and they discovered two very bad things. The line of credit that they had on the account had been reduced by $10,000. The line had been 30,000. The $10,000 reduction took them from a thirty two percent utilization to a 51 percent utilization. This resulted in their FICO score going down by 35 points.
This person had a 100% on time payment history and 1 credit inquiry. When he called the bank to inquire about the change he was told that the bank had instituted a new policy of reducing credit limits to more accurately reflect customer usage.
This could mean a major change in his credit worthiness if other creditors follow suite and lower the amount available for use.
Banks are looking to reduce credit exposure with the economic instability the nation is facing. More and more citizens are likely to see their available credit lines lowered. This will invariably result in lower credit ratings and higher interest rates.
Get in front of this while you can.
Think!!
Eyes Wide Open!!!