Who closed the account?!?

[chadbaker]

Hi everyone;

I had a chase credit card for a few years, and last year they raised the interest to 29.99%. When i asked why, they said because I had high balances on most of my cards and considered me a high risk (no other credit issues but high balances). I told them that i will pay the full amount and want my account closed then. I paid the full balance on the card and never used it since. A week ago they closed my account and post an "account closed by credit grantor" note on my report. People tell me this is a negative note on the report. Is there a way to dispute it to be "account closed by consumer"? Thank you

[SecretAgentWoman]

Yeah, just dispute it with the CRAs...just like any other dispute. If they don't update, then take your case to the OC.

[LNY]

Disputing it may backfire on you if they delete the item entirely and it cuts down your age. And from what you say, this is a positive item which will stay on your report for up to 10 years. I would not risk it, myself. Leave it alone.

The notation "closed by credit grantor" does not affect your score at all. It only matters upon manual review... when an actual human being looks at your report (mortgage, auto loan, prime card, etc.).

However, I would still contact Chase's credit dept., explain the situation, and ask that they change the notation to "closed by consumer." They might and might not. You didn't close the account. You merely paid it.

[egallagher2k]

I have a very similar situation with B of A stating that a card that was inactive for a while was "closed by credit grantor". It was showing up as a negative on CR pulled by auto dealers. I called B of A and they said I needed to dispute it with CRA. When I stated that I know how that goes and it will most likely be "rubber stamped" verified she simply said "Oh well".

[LNY]

If an account was paid in full with a zero balance, without derogatory information, it should not be showing up as a negative.

[chadbaker]

I guess the first thing I'm gonna do is contact chase and see what they will do. But I'm not very optimistic.

If I tried to dispute it with the CRA and they removed the whole TL, do you think this is bad, even though its not my oldest account on my report? I have older accounts that still current

Thank you again

[MadinKS]

egallagher-Call them back and tell them you want to speak to a supervisor. If you don't get the respect you deserve as a "CUSTOMER" from the supervisor keep going up the chain until you get it. I'm very big on customer service and "oh well" doesn't fly with me. It may with you but I wouldn't stand for it, especially if it's a current account w/no neg. history.

[LNY]

I guess the first thing I'm gonna do is contact chase and see what they will do. But I'm not very optimistic.

If I tried to dispute it with the CRA and they removed the whole TL, do you think this is bad, even though its not my oldest account on my report? I have older accounts that still current

Thank you again

Why would you dispute it, unless it's on the negative side of the ledger? (You never specified whether or not it was, I'm just assuming it's not, based on the info you gave.) Why risk losing a positive TL for a notation that doesn't affect your scores at all?

I'm not saying they will definitely delete it... that will only happen if Chase fails to respond to the dispute. But frankly, all the dispute will achieve is one of two things:

1) Chase reiterates that they closed the account... which they did.

2) The TL is deleted for non-response.

I don't see an upside to a CRA dispute here, unless you truly did close the account and had documentation to prove it, OR it's listed under "negative items," which you haven't clarified.

[LNY]

egallagher-Call them back and tell them you want to speak to a supervisor. If you don't get the respect you deserve as a "CUSTOMER" from the supervisor keep going up the chain until you get it. I'm very big on customer service and "oh well" doesn't fly with me. It may with you but I wouldn't stand for it, especially if it's a current account w/no neg. history.

The poster did not say if there was any negative history. If there was, then BoA is reporting correctly and there's nothing not to "stand for."

[chadbaker]

There was nothing negative on the chase account. The only reason I wanted to dispute it is this article: (about the middle of page)

http://www.ihatedebt.com/RadioShow/Transcripts/Improving-Your-Credit-Score-1.php

someone told me that this article is concerned about cards that you never activated in the first place, but from my experience if you don't activate a card, it doesn't show on your report. So, my understanding (from this article and other online resources) that if you get an "account closed by credit grantor" for a card with no negative history, just because you quit using it for a while, then the CRA will not have a problem changing that for you. I'm asking your opinion if you have time to check the article.

Any way, after all your input guys, I'm more inclined to try with chase, then let it go if nothing happens. I'm just shocked about the way they treated me with no fault on my part.

[LNY]

There was nothing negative on the chase account. The only reason I wanted to dispute it is this article: (about the middle of page)

http://www.ihatedebt.com/RadioShow/Transcripts/Improving-Your-Credit-Score-1.php

someone told me that this article is concerned about cards that you never activated in the first place, but from my experience if you don't activate a card, it doesn't show on your report. So, my understanding (from this article and other online resources) that if you get an "account closed by credit grantor" for a card with no negative history, just because you quit using it for a while, then the CRA will not have a problem changing that for you. I'm asking your opinion if you have time to check the article.

Any way, after all your input guys, I'm more inclined to try with chase, then let it go if nothing happens. I'm just shocked about the way they treated me with no fault on my part.

Many cards report as soon as you're approved. Some don't report until you use them. But activation (or lack thereof) has no bearing on reporting. Some cards don't even require activation, so if you see it hasn't reported, it's probably one of those cards that you have to use first.

The CRA is not going to just change the status from "closed by credit grantor" to "closed by consumer" unless you have documentation that proves it was actually closed by you (if only the CRAs would just make all the changes we ask them to... ). And "closed by credit grantor" does NOT affect your scores at all. A closed, positive account is a closed, positive account. It only matters upon manual review.

There's a lot of bad information in that (illiterate) article. Ignore it.

[chadbaker]

Thank you LYN. I value your advice.

[LNY]

Thank you LYN. I value your advice.

You have absolutely nothing to lose by writing a very nice goodwill letter to Chase, explaining the situation (that it was paid in full with no negative history), saying that you mistakenly thought paying it off was the same as closing it, and asking them nicely to change the status to "closed by consumer."

You have far more to lose by disputing it.

Let us know what happens.