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: Thanks, But No Thanks.

Do Not Do Business With GE Money Bank

Good morning, shoppers!

I've got a brief public service announcement for you all, courtesy of GE Money Bank, and their No Good Very Bad Customer Service team.

I had a card with GE Money Bank. I know what they say about consumer credit cards, but I'm addicted to a certain cashmere-filled rewards program, so there you have it. I had been quite happy with the card. My rates were decent, my rewards were good, and I made my payments to GE Money Bank consistently on time.

I never carried an outstanding balance. I was a good little consumer with impeccable credit. So, you can imagine my surprise, when, in the midst of online shopping yesterday, I found that my card was declined. Ever the reasonable little consumer, I called GE Money Bank: I thought that perhaps the recent increase in online activity, combined with a different shipping address, had triggered a hold on my account to prevent fraud.

Silly me. I was under the illusion that GE Money Bank liked their customers. They don't.

You see, despite having paid every bill on time, and never carrying a balance, on December 3, GE Money Bank cut my spending limit to $20 above my then-balance on my account. Helpful souls that they are, on December 4, the following day, they sent me a letter (don't worry, I'm sure it is in the mail. Somewhere. It is not here.) to let me know that, by the way, they were cutting my card limit to less than half the previous limit.

Now, maybe it is GE Money Bank's prerogative to cut their credit limits. However, you'd think they'd try that practice on customers who hadn't been quite as loyal, or as reliable about paying every. damn. bill. on time. Maybe customers whose credit scores haven't been consistently high? Nope- instead, they cut the limit on the loud mouthed but fiscally responsible law student who is going to blame on GE Money Bank the loss of Christmas.

I'm not alone in this situation- I was informed by the customer service rep that I spoke to that GE Money Bank was in the process of cutting the credit limits for most of its customers. after a little online research, I realized that GE Money Bank appears to be making a ton of credit limit cuts across the board, with all of their customers- many of them are in my situation: cut without warning or apparent reason and irate about it.

Let's recap, shall we?
1. Christmas is in just over 2 weeks.
2. Many customers (myself included) were, you know: buying Christmas presents.
3. GE Money Bank then slashes credit limits with little (or in my case, no) notice.
4. Upon calling customer service GE Money Bank is unapologetic, unhelpful, and rude.

Thankfully, I have parents who can help me out, and have not been using this credit card for essentials. However, for a lot of consumers in the same situation, GE Money Bank has struck an unexpected and especially crushing blow, just before the holiday season.

Should you always rely on your credit card? No. Is it a simple fact that many families do, especially just before the holidays? Yes. What I'm trying to say is: Don't rely on this credit card for your groceries.

Maybe GE Money Bank is in financial trouble, or perhaps they are just particularly skin-flinted. Perhaps the reason these cuts are so widespread is because the company simply is going out of business, and has no money left to spend. None the less, if this sort of wholesale action was necessary, I would hope that a (more ethical) company would have given its customers better advanced notice, acted before the heart of the holiday season, or at least not thrown some of its most reliable customers under the bus.

Here, at ConsumerAffairs.com, you can find (many, many, many) consumer complaints about GE Money Bank, if you'd like to know more.

The following companies (which I am sure are terrific organizations) all have credit cards through GE Money Bank. If you are a customer with a GE Money Bank Card, I'd suggest you keep your eyes and ears open:

Amazon

American Eagle

Banana Republic

Belk

Brooks Brothers

Dillard's

GAP

Home Shopping Network

IKEA

JCPenney

Kirklands

Linens 'n Things

Lowe's

Meijer

Mervyns

Old Navy

PayPal

QVC

Sam's Club

ShopNBC

Stein Mart

The Mens Wearhouse

Wal-Mart

What I'm trying to say is: Watch out. GE Money Bank does bad business, and takes poor care of the customers. I cancelled my account- I'd encourage anyone else to do the same.

Full post as published by Thanks, But No Thanks. on December 05, 2008 (boomark / email).