I recently received a letter from Smile, the Internet bank advising that my credit card is due to expire. They’re quite right, it expires at the end of August 2013. The next part of the letter came as a complete surprise to me. Â It says:
We regret we are unable to issue a new card to you at the moment.
If there is a balance on the account you should continue to make payments each month until the balance is paid in full. You will not be able to use the account for any more purposes. If there are any companies that claim regular payments from your account, you will need to contact them direct to cancel the authority they hold.
So Smile are unable to issue a new card! Have they gone bust, or lost a contract with Visa? More likely they mean they are refusing to issue me a new card. If that’s the case, why the heck don’t they just say so? Next they say, “If there is a balance on the account”. Don’t they know if there’s a balance on the account? They are, after all, the provider of it.
I’m being facetious I know, but what is it with banks that they feel the need to use language that is frequently ambiguous and lacking in any information? Â I’ve had a credit card with them for about 15 years and never missed a payment. Â I’ve not received any correspondence to explain that I’m using the card in a manner they don’t like or any kind of warning that they’re going to pull the rug from under me if I don’t change my ways. Â Just a letter that effectively states they don’t want my business any more. Â Cretins!