Lowe's rant

[Maurice Ungaro]

Times are tough....like that's big news. So, help me understand how, or why Lowe's treats good customers like this. I've had a Lowe's gold card since Feb. 2004, and have rehabbed one historic house with it, and built a new one from the ground up with it (well, mostly with it...). We had a credit line of $10,000 with Lowe's until just the other day, when we received notice that our credit limit had dropped to $817 (an odd number). What gives?????? We called Lowe's Credit Dept., and they said that they just did a random check on our credit report (our rating has stayed in the 780's), and noticed that the score dropped a little (two weeks late on a mortgage payment). Because of that, they put our limit in the basement.

Not to mention, the amount of money I've run through my business credit card there for jobs and projects. We've NEVER been late on a payment to Lowe's.....ever! I'd hate to see what they do to customers who are just your average Joe.

Well, I guess I'll just take my business to the local hardware store and lumberyards from now on. As for appliances, there's always Best Buy and Sears.

[Julian Nicks]

You just have to love a system that only looks at your score and not your payment history with them. Lowes probably isn't looking at your credit score, but the bank that lowes credit is using was. That's where the problem lies. I had a similiar problem with home depot, and it was citibank wich is who HD credit is through, not HD that I had the issue with.

[Joe Cunningham]

Sorry to hear Maurice. We seem to have gone from 'Bad credit, no credit? No problem' to 'Miss a payment, get dropped or have your APR raised 15 points' in the span of 12 months.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Sorry to hear Maurice. We seem to have gone from 'Bad credit, no credit? No problem' to 'Miss a payment, get dropped or have your APR raised 15 points' in the span of 12 months.

Is this supposed to be the "Change We Can Believe In"?

Keep the "Change".

[Chris Harry]

Were you paying the complete balance off monthly?

Credit card companies call customers who pay off their balances every month "deadbeats" and they are looking to try and rid themselves of them. Too much $$$ lost to people not carrying balances and paying finance charges, late fees, etc.

Maybe Lowes was just looking for an excuse to get rid of you?

What bank actually handles Lowes cards?

[Aaron Berk]

Is this supposed to be the "Change We Can Believe In"?

Keep the "Change".

now that's funny

Seriously though, credit company's don't seem to care about their card holders any more, I say we take em out fight club style.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Wouldn't you rather shop at the local lumberyard and hardware store, anyways?

There are both borgs within 5 miles of my house, but neither had a particular nut I needed a few days ago, so I drove 7 miles to an Ace hardware. They had the nut, and I practically got tackled by 3 different employees trying to help me find it. I'm going back there more often....

[Chris Harry]

Wouldn't you rather shop at the local lumberyard and hardware store, anyways?

There are both borgs within 5 miles of my house, but neither had a particular nut I needed a few days ago, so I drove 7 miles to an Ace hardware. They had the nut, and I practically got tackled by 3 different employees trying to help me find it. I'm going back there more often....

I call Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc a "necessary evil". Unfortunately good places like Ace and lumberyards arent nearly as close and convenient as HD/Lowes.

Luckily the only large items I buy at the Borgs are because of a big sale. Granted Im sure they arent LOSING money, but at least Im helping bring down a profit margin while getting myself a decent deal.

[george wilson]

Everyone's credit limits have been lowered. A reaction to the financial mess we are in . I don't really care,because I'd never use a card even to the new lower limit,myself. We always pay the card off within 30 days,so I guess we are deadbeats,too. Funny how definitions change,isn't it? Some folks have formerly bought cars with their credit cards to get airline miles,etc. built up. guess they won't like the new limits.

[Prashun Patel]

As a small business owner that's wrestled with implementing a tighter credit policy, I'll offer an alternate interpretation:

They're system is probably just flawed - not sinister. It's very hard to come up with an accurate algorithm for evaluating creditworthiness. There are bound to be some false positives and false negatives.

You're obviously happy with Lowes otherwise else you wouldn't have purchased so much material from them over the past few years. Ask to speak to a manager; write them a letter.

Don't write them off because of a POSSIBLE mistake. While I don't think much of many of the BORG products, I have found their customer service to be pretty accommodating.

[glenn bradley]

Everyone's credit limits have been lowered.

Companies are trying to limit their liability numbers. If they offer less credit, that number improves for them. This happened on a couple of my cards. I just went online and asked to have it restored or in one case even increased. Both requests were honored. I think, as long as you're in good standing, it is just a matter of letting them know you don't want to be swept up with the crowd. If your provider doesn't agree, get a different card.

[Maurice Ungaro]

As a small business owner that's wrestled with implementing a tighter credit policy, I'll offer an alternate interpretation:

They're system is probably just flawed - not sinister. It's very hard to come up with an accurate algorithm for evaluating creditworthiness. There are bound to be some false positives and false negatives.

You're obviously happy with Lowes otherwise else you wouldn't have purchased so much material from them over the past few years. Ask to speak to a manager; write them a letter.

Don't write them off because of a POSSIBLE mistake. While I don't think much of many of the BORG products, I have found their customer service to be pretty accommodating.

Shawn,
Don't get me wrong - I have NO problem with the local Lowe's store itself, or the employees/manager. They are all great. However, when we called to discuss this with Lowe's Credit, the person on the other end was unwilling to transfer us up the chain of command. That's right, she refused to allow us access to her superior. When asked if she could see how much money we've spent outfitting our properties, she stated that she did not have that information. At that point, we let her know that a letter would be sent to the top stating WHY we will be canceling our Lowe's card.

We'll see if a response is forthcoming.

BTW, we seem to have always carried a small balance, what with the 12 month no interest deals for large purchases.....and we were NEVER even late for those payments.

[Greg Peterson]

Seems to me the credit business has been stacked against the consumer for a long while now. Everything is tied into your credit score these days, and has been for a long time now, this isn't a new or recent 'change'. There was a recent 'change' though that pulls the curtain back on these credit shenanigans and provides some protections for consumers.

Times are tight, credit is tight and every company I deal with is tightening their reins and limiting their exposure to liabilities. Creditors are lowering their exposure to risk and some folks will get caught in the cracks.

I'm sure the problem customers aren't going to make any public claim that they're habitually slow pay or behind several months, but I'll bet you dollars to donuts these folks are pretty much being cut off at the knees.

[brian watson]

Your issue is with GE Money Bank, the bank that issues and processes the cards, not with Lowe's. That's why the individual could not transfer you on up.

For a few years know the concept of universal default has existed in the credit card industry. Under universal default, if you default/go late, etc. on one financial obligation credit card companies can penalize you for that by changing the terms. You may have got whacked by that.

[brian watson]

You're going to see a lot of changes. We may lose grace periods, rewards programs, travel benefits, cashback, etc.

Everyones credit lines are being chopped. Way too much exposure.