She has a BB credit card. Her limit was $3500 and she had $1500 on it that she was paying off. They went to BB tonight and were going to purchase her mom a $300 e-reader. When they got to the register, the credit card kept getting declined. A call was finally placed and they were informed that her credit limit had been reduced yesterday from 3500 to 1600.
Now, we both realize that the credit card company has every right to lower the limit, but aren't they supposed to notify you before hand? Especially considering now her card is maxed out through no fault of her own. She thought she had another 2000 dollars on the card, plus she's been paying it off every single month little by little. She's afraid this is going to kill her credit score because the card's maxed and she can only pay about $50 a month on the card (her minimum payment is $20 a month).
Is this a common practice? Lowering it without any warning and then getting screwed over? Is it more of an annoyance than actual bad service?