CHESSNOID

I received a comment today from my old post amex credit card class action lawsuit from 6 months ago.  Sometimes you learn things from other people.  There apparently was blacklisting by American Express and other credit card companies which is discriminatory data-mining practice in which the credit card companies decrease a customer’s line of credit based on where their customers are shopping.  This I was aware of from comments of American Express customers getting their credit cards cut or canceled because they shopped at Walmart or Costco. (Of course, it is hard to prove other than it is a big coincidence for a lot of people getting the same negative action against them).

The part about new legislation existing is something I didn’t know. When I googled it the latest update I read was that the bill died in the Senate.  The comment from my reader was well thought out, and I felt it worthy to reprint it here.

SV:

I have a very similar story and am eager to take this to a judge given our collective problem with Amex. They have effectively ruined/hampered our credit by slashing our Lines of credit thereby making our utilization look absurdly high which in turn, negatively affects credit scores making it even harder to replace our cards, get new loans for a car or home, etc. I feel that I am less able to take advantage of the housing market, the tax incentive for new home buyers, and the current all time low interest rates as a result.

After being a cardmember since 97, with impeccable payment history and credit scores in the high 700’s and a total line of $90,000, my LOC was reduced overnight to $4500! Further, they sent me a letter stating it was due to new issues on my credit report (and there were none) and because I shop in stores where people do not pay their bills! Have you heard of something so preposterous? This is actually meant to be protected by the House Bill 1292: Consumer Protection – Blacklist Prevention.

Blacklisting is a discriminatory data-mining practice in which card companies decrease a customer’s line of credit because they decide that the establishments where customers are shopping with their card don’t meet standards of acceptability. What I still don’t understand is that I am a New Yorker, shop at Bloomingdales and go out for dinners sometimes. I feel so insulted and utterly baffled that they would cite that as one of many reasons for reducing my credit line. After having complained for  a year to Amex, I have gotten nowhere. As a result, I have lost Delta Platinum status for flying and no longer support Delta as an airline though it was my first choice.That is only one of the ramifications of course, but I feel that we all have very valid concerns.

So, how do we make this happen? Count me in.