Brevard, NC asked in Consumer Law, Criminal Law and Federal Crimes for North Carolina

Q: Is this extortion?

I received a letter in the mail from home depot threatening to lower my credit limit if I do not make a purchase by a certain date. They have done this to me once before and when I was near a home depot working on a project I had to get my limit increased again. I feel like if they threaten to lower my limit if I do not purchase something is a form of extortion. Am I wrong?

1 Lawyer Answer

A: There is nothing illegal about this. Citibank (who I believe issues the cardit card) has the right to change the terms of your card at any time by notification. Any bank can close your card if you do not use it after a certain amount of time, as well. Accepting the reduced credit limit will hurt your credit score less than having it closed altogether.

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