So, about 2 years ago we did a short sale on our condo, which had the predicted consequences to our credit. My B of A credit card immediately lowered my available credit to just a hair above what my balance was. And every time I paid off another chunk of that card, they would again lower my available credit. This happened at least 4 times.
(My mortgage was not with B of A so I am assuming I got caught by that practice of credit cards penalizing you if you have a black mark elsewhere on your credit. None of my other credit cards did this, though.)
Anyway... my score has improved to 705-ish. I've paid off all of my other debt but I am afraid to pay this one off out of fear that they'll close it entirely if I have a 0 balance. I've been keeping a $100-ish balance on it and I have a recurring monthly bill charged to it so it remains active. It REALLY irks me to see that balance sitting there when I'm perfectly capable of paying it off.
Has anyone been in this situation and had this happen to them (bank closes your account when you hit a 0 balance)? It will be 2 years in May since there have been any black marks of any sort on my credit but I know the short sale will stay on my report for 7 years.
I would not care so much if this weren't my oldest credit on my report (got the card in college, in 1992, though it was not owned by B of A then). If that weren't the case, I'd happily never do business with B of A again, as I had many customer service issues with them before this happened. (We refer to them as Bank of A-Holes in our house.)