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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Q&A: Your credit card was unfairly canceled? Here’s how to fight back

July 22, 2025 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

Dear Liz: For decades I owned two credit cards that earned airline miles with all my expenditures. I always paid the bills in full on time and never missed a payment. Earlier this year, I mailed in checks to cover the balance as I always do. But then I noticed the checks had not cleared my account after three weeks. I assumed the payment was lost in the mail, so I stopped payment on the checks and paid the amount I owed in full online. But then the checks came through to the bank. Since the checks had been stopped, they were returned, and even though I had paid my bill in full, both of my cards were canceled.

I called the customer service number several times and spoke to supervisors and they all said I had a great case, but then I received letters back rejecting my requests to get my cards restored. I tried to apply for a new card and that too was rejected. My credit rating is very high, and this seems very unfair to me as a longtime loyal customer. I have other credit cards but these were the most important to me for the accumulation of miles as I travel a lot. Is there anything that can be done to reverse the decision?

Answer: You need to attract the attention of a human being with the power to override this credit card issuer’s automated systems and that’s no easy task.

You did the right thing by calling the customer service number several times, since phone reps can vary considerably in their ability to solve problems. You might have to cycle through several reps before you find one with enough savvy, training and interest to actually help you.

Since you washed out with the phone reps, your next step should be contacting the office of the bank’s chief executive. That may just earn you a form letter, or you may catch the attention of someone who realizes how unfair the cancellations were and who is motivated to help.

In the past, a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau often prodded banks and other companies to do the right thing by their customers. The current administration’s attempts to kill the bureau are being challenged in court, and the agency is currently accepting complaints again, but it’s unclear how much help you can expect to get.

Even if you can’t get the bank to reconsider, you should resolve to stop sending checks through the mail. Mail theft and check fraud are soaring, while electronic payments continue to be a safer and more secure way to pay.

Also, you don’t have to give up accumulating miles for your favorite airline. Other credit card issuers offer general travel rewards that allow you to transfer miles to airlines (and hotels and other travel providers). While airline-branded cards can help you earn elite status and come with other perks, general travel rewards cards offer the flexibility to book with a number of different carriers.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Q&A Tagged With: cancelled credit card, CFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, customer service

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

July 12, 2017 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: Suing banks will get easier – if CFPB rule survives. Also in the news: 2017 Driving in America report, 7 tips for preparing your taxes in a divorce, and why you need to stop beating yourself up over past money mistakes.

Suing Banks Will Get Easier — if CFPB Rule Survives
And that’s a big “if.”

2017 Driving in America Report: The Costs and Risks
A NerdWallet report.

7 Tips for Preparing Your Taxes in a Divorce
Don’t ignore Uncle Sam.

Why You Need to Stop Beating Yourself Up Over Past Money Mistakes
Stop dwelling.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: cars, CFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Divorce, driving, money mistakes, Taxes

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

March 14, 2017 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: When to consider a student loan lawyer. Also in the news: Why gutting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will impact your wallet, how much you should expect to pay when applying to college, and why you should try a credit union if you’re looking for free checking.

When to Consider a Student Loan Lawyer
Making a big decision.

Your Wallet Will Suffer If This Agency Is Gutted
It’s on the chopping block.

Applying to College? Expect to Pay at Least This Much
Get ready.

If You Want Free Checking, Try a Credit Union
Avoiding monthly maintenance fees.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: banking, CFSB, college applications, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, credit unions, free checking, student loan lawyer, Student Loans

President-elect Trump, save the CFPB

November 21, 2016 By Liz Weston

Ten years ago, bullies had taken over the playground. Financial service firms preyed on their customers with impunity:

—Lenders made expensive, risky mortgages to people who couldn’t afford to pay the money back.

—Credit card issuers foisted overpriced insurance and other add-on products on millions of unsuspecting customers.

—Credit bureaus ignored evidence submitted by people disputing errors in their credit reports.

—Companies sold delinquent debts to collection agencies that ran amok, violating fair debt collection laws and strong-arming people into repaying debts they didn’t even owe.

People’s complaints fell on deaf ears, since consumer protection wasn’t a priority at any agency. Huge swaths of the credit and debt industries, including credit bureaus, collection agencies and payday lenders, operated with little government oversight.

Then the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pushed back.

In my latest for the Associated Press, why President-elect Donald Trump needs to save the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: CFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Trump

Should your credit card issuer have to give you free credit scores?

February 28, 2014 By Liz Weston

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today called on major credit card issuers to provide free scores to their customers on their statements or online. The regulator’s idea is that low scores could tip people off to problems in their credit reports–problems they might not otherwise find, since too few people get their free credit reports each year.

Creditors use a variety of scores to evaluate and monitor their customers–scores that measure everything from the likelihood of default to the likelihood the user will stop using the card. It’s the score that measures the likelihood of default that the regulators want customers to see.

I believe you should be able to see any score that’s used to evaluate you, and that you shouldn’t have to pay for it. Getting scores from your credit card company could be a good start, assuming the companies aren’t allowed to sub in some “FAKO” score that no one actually uses.

The problem comes in the execution. Seeing their scores is likely to make a lot of people upset, and not just the folks with low scores. People with high scores usually want to know why their scores aren’t even higher. Credit card companies may not want to mess with having to explain how scores work or take the heat for a process they don’t control. (Credit scoring formulas are created by other companies, like FICO-creators Fair Isaac, and applied to data held by the credit bureaus.)

We’ll have to stay tuned to see if any major issuers bite. In the meantime, you can get free scores from sites like Credit.com and Credit Karma, although they aren’t the FICO scores most lenders use. For those, you’ll need to go to MyFico.com and pay.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: CFPB, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Credit Bureaus, Credit Cards, Credit Scores, FICO, FICO scores

New tool helps you compare financial aid offers

April 11, 2012 By Liz Weston

You’ve gotten the college acceptance letters, and their accompanying financial aid offers. But how do you really decipher how much college will really cost you? More than 1.5 million students and their families are wrestling with these issues, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to help. The bureau just announced a tool that can help you evaluate your options. From the CFPB press release:

The beta version of the Financial Aid Comparison Shopper has more than 7,500 schools and institutions in its database, including vocational schools and community, state, and private colleges. It draws information from publicly available data provided by government statistical agencies. With the prototype, students and their families can compare the following across multiple financial aid offers:

·         Estimated monthly student loan payment after graduation;

·         Grant and scholarship offers;

·         School-specific metrics such as graduation, retention, and federal student loan default rates; and

·         Estimated debt level at graduation in relationship to the average starting salary.

The Financial Aid Comparison Shopper also includes a “Military Benefit Calculator” that can estimate education benefits for servicemembers, veterans, and their families. The calculator includes military tuition assistance and Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

You’ll find a link to the cost comparison tool here. Take a look, run some numbers and give the CFPB your feedback.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: CFPB, college, college costs, college students, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Student Loans

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