To be pissed that Barclaycard decreased my credit limit?

Barclaycard have recently stopped my husband’s card without any notification whatsoever. Only found out when I tried to pay for the food shop. He’s been a Barclays customer for years but having recently been made redundant we’ve had to use it less. Ironically, we could really do with it as a back up right now but because he isn’t earning much, they don’t seem to be interested. Never had a late payment etc.
It’s one of many problems we’ve had with Barclays so I’m trying to persuade him to move his account. They have zero customer focus.

They did the same to me - down from £10k to £250. I very rarely used my Barclaycard and paid it off in full when I did so, after a conversation in which no reason was forthcoming, I closed the account and cut up the card.

Not the case for me. My remaining mortgage is less than my annual salary. I have no car or other loans. No debts whatsoever other than the mortgage. My husband earns twice what I do, so the household income is nowhere near risky.

Something has gone wrong in their algorithm for them to slash me from over £11k to £500, which is less than I had as a student over 30 years ago!

A lot of credit card companies do this if you are near your total affordability limit (all debt, including mortgage). Money Saving Expert has plenty of threads about it.

I rarely use my Barclaycard. Have an excellent credit score snd it’s been reduced twice this year.

I took out a Next store card earlier this year just to get the introductory offer on your first purchase. They gave me a £4k limit which I thought was ridiculous.

I paid the purchase off before it was due and haven't used it since.

They write to me the other week to say they were sorry but they were reducing it to £2k. Which is still ridiculous, but is of no matter because I destroyed the card straight away anyway.

So, maybe there is some sense in you not using the card, OP?

😂

Data that goes in is fact
Number that comes out is fiction.

Once again, it can’t be both. Anyway I’m bored with arguing with someone who quite literally doesn’t know the difference between fact and fiction.

Its a made up number, based on data but the output is still made up by the credit search companies. They literally make up their own numbers based on their own criteria.

Made up using some data yes, but still totally made up.

Can’t be both - evidence based or made up. Make your mind up.

I think they've probably had a knuckle rap about the credit they've allowed clients in the past, they're very big on "helping" clients to avoid persistent debt now. They had suspending my card for a while (despite me always paying over the minimum payment). Although I paid it off in full a few months ago, and phoned them to request closure of the account. They've just messaged me to advise that they've reduced my limit to £1k.

I cut the card up so I will leave it for now, unless it starts affecting my credit score, but it's annoying when I very clearly requested closure of the account!

Sometimes people do things just because they’re assholes (that’s American too.)

But they are made up, they are made up by the credit agencies. Made up using some data yes, but still totally made up.

When you ask a lender to lend you money, they don’t see ‘your credit score’ they see your credit history and from that form a judgement on whether they want to lend to you or not.

One company may base their decision purely on payment history, others may take an overall view. None of them base it on your ‘credit score’

an actual number universally used doesnt exist

At no point have I said it does - my initial post actually said it was a score of up to 1,000. Nonetheless credit scores are based on data, they’re not “entirely constructed” nor are they “arbitrary” or “made up”.

One definitive credit score for each person isn't a thing, all lenders have their own ways of determining whether to/how much to lend. You might get a general idea from the big credit reference agencies but an actual number universally used doesnt exist

How can it be “entirely constructed” when it’s based on data?

But you have three / four different ‘scores’ depending on which agency you choose to look on. Some scores are out of a 1000, others 600 etc. There is no such thing as your true overall credit score.

No need for the eye rolling (are you okay?). There is no such thing as a credit score. You do not have a number attached to you. It’s entirely constructed, as previous posters have said. Google it if you don’t believe me 😉

And that’s what determines the credit score. 🙄

Each company makes up their own criteria for how they score you and each lender decides their own risk criteria. There is no such thing as a universal credit score. The things they assess are similar but still ultimate made up.

That’s what they want you to believe. Every credit reference agency has their own ‘scoring’ system and so that’s why your ‘score’ is different depending on where you check. What’s important is your credit history - do you pay on time, have you ever defaulted, do you pay off in full, what proportion of your credit do you use, and so on.

This.

Although also you say you've always left a buffer so I assume never getting close to your limit. That's why they've reduced it, because you're not using it.

They’re not. A credit score is based on a number of factors in your financial history - how much credit you have at your disposal and what percentage of it you’re using, whether you’ve missed payments or not - that information is used to extrapolate a figure up to 1,000 which is a snapshot of financial responsibility. You can see how it’s worked out here. Sorry for the crazy link!

https://www.clearscore.com/credit-scores?utmsource=GoogleAds&utmmedium=cpc&utmcampaign=UKCSGOOGLESEARCHALL-WEBACQCREDITSCOREGENERICCREDITSCORE&gclsrc=aw.ds&gadsource=1&%243p=agoogleadwords&%24alwaysdeeplink=false&~adsetid=129112512945&~campaignid=15231064944&~channel=g&~keyword=credit%20score&~placement&~campaign=UKCSGOOGLESEARCHALL-WEBACQGENERICCREDIT-SCOREVBBSUP-ACIssuer&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuNmj8tewiQMVHIBQBh1kmQuMEAAYAiAAEgJ0GfDBwE&branchmatchid=1366494624709192066

But there’s no such thing as a credit score. They’re arbitrary, made up…