What most Americans do not realize is that when your credit limit is cut, it does not just mean you can't charge things.

It lowers your FICO score, dramatically. Which then allows the banks to freely increase your interest rates, and there is no cap on interest anymore.

For small business it is even worse. Two credit card companies closed accounts we held with zero balances. Then, American Express discontinued the Small Business Credit Line for all companies.

Result? Our credit rating plunged to the point where Bank of America decided to pull our credit line and we are currently in default for a $244,000 loan that we never missed a payment and never paid late.

Last week the banks sai...

What most Americans do not realize is that when your credit limit is cut, it does not just mean you can't charge things.

It lowers your FICO score, dramatically. Which then allows the banks to freely increase your interest rates, and there is no cap on interest anymore.

For small business it is even worse. Two credit card companies closed accounts we held with zero balances. Then, American Express discontinued the Small Business Credit Line for all companies.

Result? Our credit rating plunged to the point where Bank of America decided to pull our credit line and we are currently in default for a $244,000 loan that we never missed a payment and never paid late.

Last week the banks said, "Look we are doing great" they provided NO facts, just hype.

Firing your best customers is NEVER good for business. And that is exactly what the banks are doing

Debbyski - check out the book Gotcha Capitalism. It's got lots of advice on how to minimize the ways the companies can take advantage of you.

We have a credit card, but we use it basically as a payment transfer method for buying things. Using a credit card gives you certain protections that a debit card doesn't. But we make a point to immediately transfer money from the checking account so the credit card balance goes back to zero. Also, we do our banking (including the credit card) with a [url=http://consumerist.com/consumer/banking/are-credit-unio...

Debbyski - check out the book Gotcha Capitalism. It's got lots of advice on how to minimize the ways the companies can take advantage of you.

We have a credit card, but we use it basically as a payment transfer method for buying things. Using a credit card gives you certain protections that a debit card doesn't. But we make a point to immediately transfer money from the checking account so the credit card balance goes back to zero. Also, we do our banking (including the credit card) with a credit union instead of a bank. (And wow, the customer service is sooo much better at a credit union! The people who work there are actually nice and helpful. )