Pensioners' Credit Cards cancelled!

I do have experience of being told my Barclays Card was being cancelled , due to inactivity. At the time it had a zero balance. was quite ok with this as I did have another card that was used more often .
Makes good business sense for card providers & as others have said you need to use ot or lose it !

I’ve recently applied for and got a Marks and Spencer credit card but only £1000 limit so give them a try.

Even using a card once a year is not going to be acceptable to acard provider. As I keep saying the card operators are commercial organisations, not social services, and if they issue someone with a card, which costs them money to do so, they expect the card holder to spend enough money on the card for them to recoup the amount they have spent issuing and maintaining the card and make a profit, The profit comes from the commission charged to companies accepting the cards and is a few % per transaction. It is highly unlikely that one transaction a year will do that.

There is then the security risk of a card used rarely. Is the person using it the holder? has the card been stolen or is it being misused by a family member or other person who knows about it.

If the card has been hidden away and not used, why has the oner of it suddenly put a transaction through on it. Is it because they are heavily indebted on other credit cards and resources and this is the last card less. If so, this means that any money owed may not be paid back.

Elegran

A lot of places won't take American Express. Too easy to hack.

They're supposed to be the easiest ones to use abroad - accepted everywhere. Are they easy to hack?!!! I didn't know that.

Monica - I've had the cards for years - I used to use them. I agree why would they issue one if you've never used it, but if you're a long standing customer and use it once a year - why not?

I never use credit cards - but - I still want one for if we go abroad, or for emergencies.

In which case why on earth should a credit company give you a card? They are commercial organisations, not charitable rescue services. Issuing you with a card and having you on their system costs them money. They get none of that back unless you use the card regularly.

If you do not use the card, I can quite understand why a company would withdraw the one you have and any company would refuse to give you one.

A lot of places won't take American Express. Too easy to hack.

Which credit card company was it? I'd get an American Express card. I have had similar with Barclaycard though - I haven't used mine for years and had the odd "threat" that they would cancel it because I hadn't signed in online for a long time. So I signed in and they let me keep it.

I got the American Express card years ago when I was abroad for a while - can't remember what the advantage was - something to do with being able to draw cash or get emergency money.

I never use credit cards - but - I still want one for if we go abroad, or for emergencies.

Jane43

I have two credit cards, one with Barclaycard and one with M and S. I use the M an S card more than Barclaycard and pay off both balances every month; I would miss having them if they were cancelled. My DH has an HSBC credit card which he seldom uses but he now uses PayPal for online purchases as they offer refunds if there is a problem. If my credit cards are cancelled I will use PayPal.

Yes I've started using PayPal for that protection.

Change your bank or card provider.
We have always paid off our credit card every month and I use it similarly to OP ... as a safer option to a debit card.
When my OH died Lloyds bank discussed my finances with me and I told them that this is what I do. They said it was very sensible and absolutely endorsed this as a good plan. No problems.

Why not say that next year you are going away for Christmas? Problem solved.

Haven't had any problems with my credit card ever - though I promptly pay up each month too.

But I did get twitchy at the recent spate of banks taking it upon themselves to close customers accounts - and thought "They seem to have forgotten they are here for us - and not vice-versa". eg Nigel Farage (and his family) getting chucked out of his bank.

Since that point - just in case - I have a fallback position of keeping a noticeable amount of money with a building society with a local to me branch and it's enough to live on for some time if my bank started playing silly b*ggers and trying to chuck me out. I deliberately selected that little Welsh building society (Principality)- because I am in Wales these days and their nearest branch is literally 5 minutes walk from my house. Any nonsense from their direction = I could literally stage a sit-in there at it until things got sorted. By their own admission - they're "old-fashioned" and tend to operate in a more "traditional" way and there's two competent middle-aged women (who both know me by now) sitting there just the opposite side of a desk from me when I go in there (no screens, none of that malarkey). I go in.....we pass the time of the day and maybe set the world to rights and I do whatever I've just chosen to do with no problem.

There are other areas of the country with little local ones too - think maybe the Yorkshire Building Society for instance might operate on similar principles?

JennyCee

I have an account with a well known Building Society and have applied twice for a credit card. The first time for use in Australia when I went to visit my daughter and the second because I just wanted one for safety online. I also have a very healthy balance but both times they have refused me. They wouldn't tell me why. Apparently they don't have to.

JennyCee It is nothing to do with how much money you have in the bank, all about whether the bank think you will use your credit card frequently enough to generate enough income for the bank from the companies you will deal with.

Banks are commercial companies who need to make a profit. If you are only going to, for example, spend £200 a month on your card, generating roughly £6 commission for the bank, and the adminstration of a card costs the bank £10 a month, then they will refuse you a card because it would cost them money.

Remember you do not have to get a credit card from your bank. Tere are hundreds of reputable credit cards available. For the last 40 years plus, I have quite deliberately never had a credit card issued by my bank.

You can also do a credit check with one of the credit card agencies, and you may find that your problem is that you have no credit history. You have not borrowed money over the last 10 years, your use of any credit card has been minimal, so that the bank have nothing to judge your creditworthiness on, so do not want to risk giving you credit.

I have an account with a well known Building Society and have applied twice for a credit card. The first time for use in Australia when I went to visit my daughter and the second because I just wanted one for safety online. I also have a very healthy balance but both times they have refused me. They wouldn't tell me why. Apparently they don't have to.

M0nica

I have had a credit card since they were first issued and I have always paid the balance off each month and continue to do so.

I checked the stats and nearly two thirds (62%) of all card holders clear the balance on their credit card each month www.money.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-card-statistics
so that is no reason to withdraw a credit card.

Anyway, surely you have a debit card issued to be used with your bank account seadragon. If you are paying off the balance on your credi card each month, you could just charge everything to your debit card instead.

One of the reasons card providers withdraw credit cards is due to non use. This is because sometimes people have forgotten they have said card and don't use it. Forgotten credit cards are not a great idea. It's not brilliant to have credit you never use. Best idea is to use the credit card somewhat regularly - for a new coat, a tin of paint, whatever, then pay the bill. Credit card companies worry you've forgot the card. Forgotten cards can be subject to fraud too. Just use the card a bit regularly and set up a direct debit to pay it off

I have had a credit card for many years and I’ve only ever used it for Amazon, direct debit set up every month to take full amount owed 🤓
I am with an online bank and I have their credit card. I did have one with Tesco,switched and I’m very happy with the one I now have
I did try Amazon‘s own card found it very confusing

seadragon

Yes, thanks, @Freya5, hence our frustration of at being deprived of our credit card just before Christmas...

Report this to Martin at Money Expert he often gets things like this dealt with …?

suelld

Allira

Boz

Allira

Boz

I've just run this past my OH (ex-banker) who tells me that you need to keep using your c.c. to make it worthwhile being provided. It sounds as if you are not spending enough money on this card and nothing comes from nothing, these days, I am afraid.

I use mine for most purchases, but not food.

I can't help feeling it helps to put your food on a card as it is a major expenditure these days. Most of my food is bought online using delivery or click and collect.

It may seem daft but I like to pay for it before I eat it!

That makes no sense ALLIRA …all food deliveries are paid for by Cc or Dc before delivery?

Of course it makes sense.

The credit card is a credit card; you may not pay it off for nearly a month, or perhaps not then.
The debit card means the money has been debited from your account.

Allira

Boz

Allira

Boz

I've just run this past my OH (ex-banker) who tells me that you need to keep using your c.c. to make it worthwhile being provided. It sounds as if you are not spending enough money on this card and nothing comes from nothing, these days, I am afraid.

I use mine for most purchases, but not food.

I can't help feeling it helps to put your food on a card as it is a major expenditure these days. Most of my food is bought online using delivery or click and collect.

It may seem daft but I like to pay for it before I eat it!

That makes no sense ALLIRA …all food deliveries are paid for by Cc or Dc before delivery?

seadragon

Thanks @Heather18. See my description, in the original post, - of 'Deadbeats'....

Well you certainly dramatised it unnecessarily !!!!

This is nothing to do with age or paying off the full balance every month. I too have received notice that my Creation C/Card account will be closed at the end of January 2025. This is happening to all credit card accounts provided by them as the company are winding down that side of their operation. No one can now open a new credit card account with them.

DH had the same with a small business account, it is not an anti pensioner step.

Banks and credit cards are businesses and are entitled to evaluate the worth of their clients.

Use it or lose it. We put everything on our credit card, pay it in full.

I understand it is frustrating.

Sorry, mistypes above but I hope you can understand.

Grandmabatty

My friend who was married to a millionaire and who was very comfortably off himself, applied for a loan from Barclays and was refused because he was retired.

This is pretty normal I'm afraid. We have a small flat which we let, it's hardly every been empty and gives us a small but regular income.
We wanted to mortgage it to raise cash for another project but were told that retired people cannot get mortgages unless that have a guaranteed regular income. So income from rental or from investments does not count, it has to be paid employment or an annuity.

Barclays stopped mine , apparently I didn't use it enough

Wow! That’s awful. I have cards with AMEX, Barclaycard and Santander. I have paid off the full balance each month for the last 16 years. Maybe try different card holders. I have had an AMEX card for over 30 years. They are a great company.