Any issues with lieing to Credit Card companies on applications?

General General Discussion
1

So I’ve had this credit card forever at a $5,000 limit. I got it when I was a puny PFC making $1500/month many moons ago.

The problem is now I make a decent income and I routinely get up to $4500~ in spending in one month and I don’t like getting so close to my spending limit. (Debt police - I pay it off every month and make $90 in cash back so you can relax)

I just called and asked for a credit limit increase but told them I got a second job in real estate.

I’m not going to get audited by the feds am I? (I don’t really have a second job, there’s nothing to audit) Can they see my IRS Tax returns?

More curiousity than anything else, if they don’t approve me I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing and spend it on my debit card. I just really like that 2 to 3% cash back. I’m sick of almost maxing out my card every month as I know it hurts my credit score.

2

Maxing out your card every month even if you pay it off is seen as a liability because if you lose your job or whatever you have a bigger amount you’re less likely to pay off.

Anyways no they can’t see your tax returns. Those are protected but they can ask you for them to verify income. American Express does it to some people that I know of. If you don’t hand them over they can close your card down.

3

I’m not your lawyer, but for your edification here are the definitions of mail fraud and wire fraud.

Mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341):

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter, give away, distribute, supply, or furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, security, or other article, or anything represented to be or intimated or held out to be such counterfeit or spurious article, for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, places in any post office or authorized depository for mail matter, any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service, or deposits or causes to be deposited any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail or such carrier according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted, transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a Presidential declared major disaster or emergency (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), or affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343):

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

A good rule of thumb is not to lie to financial service providers. They tend to have a remarkably poor sense of humor about that sort of thing, especially after they’ve extended you their services.

Another good rule of thumb is to ask these questions before acting.

A third is ask these questions privately.

4

Why did you feel the need to lie about a second job?

In my experience, the CC companies will gladly give you plenty of rope to hang yourself with.

Here is my financial advise:

Pay the credit card off every Friday instead of letting it build up for a whole month.

This reduces your “overhang” by 4x and allows to to keep track of things better.

Also, set and maintain a weekly budget, allowing strategic savings to accumulate in the bank and cash.

You can use these savings for large purchases or rainy days.

5

why didn’t you just call them up and say… hey… I make a lot more money now, can I have my limit raised?

If they say no, apply for another card somewhere else. The % rewards are on many cards. Also if you get a bad CSR, just call back the next day. One person will tell you they can’t bump your limit and the other will say oh hell yeah and double it. They actually want you at a place where you can’t pay it back. Not to much and not too little. They want that 21% a month though.

… and of all things… real estate??? Man, why didn’t you tell them you opened a business selling cow manure to the local dairy farms… they would have probably thought that to be more likely profitable.

6

Agree. If you have a good record with them, all that is usually required is to call and ask for a higher limit.

7

I’ve been around the internet long enough to know to not put any damning things on it. I appreciate the concern. I posed my question the way I did because if I had simply said:

“Can I lie to the credit card company? I want to call them later and say I got a 2nd job when I really didnt in order to increase my credit limit”

I would have gotten 15 replies that said “Dave Ramsey changed my life! Throw your credit cards away! Don’t increase your limit!!!”

But seeing as how everyone wants to be the guy to “out” the law breaker (As you did) I got legitimate, factual replies without emotional drama. Just reference some of the NFA threads for proof. “I just put an 11.5” upper on my lower - am I GTG?" will generate a lot better advice than “Can I put an 11.5” upper on my lower?"

Again, I appreciate it.

And, to clarify, I don’t want to spend more on my credit card than I already am, I just want an increase in limit so as to not appear “stretched thin” when my credit report is ran to buy a house a while from now. I recall on my credit report there is an area where they report your highest maximum balance on your credit cards. 4500/5000 looks pretty bad. 4500/20000 doesn’t look bad at all. This is my only credit card.

Anyway - I just called them and I didn’t even have to provide financial info. (surprising?) I asked for some more “rope” and they said they will get back to me within 7-10 business days.

8

I don’t mean to “out” anyone.

But your question, whether posed as “can I lie to someone to obtain services they wouldn’t have otherwise given me” or “I just lied to someone so they would give me said services, is that ok” should have answered itself.

9

This^ All you really needed to do is ask.

10

No… also your credit report reflects your ability to pay debt reliably. When you go to buy a house they will pull your report and get your score. Explain any problem areas if they exist. But then your actual ability to buy will be based on your income and debts.

So this 4500/5000 really isn’t going to be any better or worse than 4500/20000…

In fact… this…

2000/3000
1000/2000
250/6000

is better than 4500/20000 IF you have established a history of paying those debts properly. A credit card company giving you a high potential limit is not a strong credit indicator.

There is a lender here on the forum. I can’t see his handle but his avatar is a guy hunting, kneeling down, location NC… I’m sure he can tell you all the ratios and such that will be looked at. I don’t know what the current situation is but it’s pretty straight forward stuff to get you in the ball park.

ETA: also if you are trying to build credit and might apply for a big loan… don’t order a lot of credit cards jut to have them with zero balance and high limit.

11

They are going to pull a credit report on you and make sure your current credit score supports what you are going to do. I am actually suprised they didn’t just go ahead and raise it for you.

12

Expect all lies to have repercussions…

13

So did I just screw the pooch? I told them I wanted between a 10k and 20k limit.

I’m not really concerned with my credit score needing to go up as much as I don’t want it to go down. I have a great credit score.

I just don’t like approaching my limit every month, I was trying to avoid that but not at the expense of my score. I pay it off every month, as I said.

When you phrase it that way, it does. :o

14

A good rule of thumb is not to be a liar in the first place on anything. A man without integrity is worthless.
Pat

15

Why ask this on a public forum?

16

Not if you already know you have a high score.

17

You want the best advice?

Get rid of it. Problem solved.

18

What problem?

I make ~$90 a month that you don’t make by using a cash-back credit card.

I paid 0$ in interest last year.

Again, what problem?

19

I’m with you, Euro. I have an airline miles card that I paid zero interest on last year (and forever) and reaped the rewards of 3 different airline tickets in the same period - about $1,500 worth.

I have another card that is cash back, again, I never carry a balance so I don’t pay fees or interest, and I picked up a couple of hundred in cash.

I run everything thru my cards that I can - utilities, subscriptions, entertainment, food and all my travel expenses. If I could put my house payment on it I would, but I can’t, darn it. I never carry a balance over and never pay fees or interest.

20

As long as you understand how credit scores work in regards to the ratios on credit cards, then you’ll be okay getting close to the limit.

I’ll use $10,000 since it is an easy number to work with. When generating your credit score a card that is at 1/3 of the limit or below does not detract from your score. So if your $10K card has $3333 on it, you’re good. Once you go above 50%–$5K with our example card–then your credit score is negatively affected, as in your score is lowered. Once you hit 75%–$7500 on example card–then even more points are deducted. When maxed, the max # of points are deducted. When applying for credit make sure your credit cards are at 1/3 or less of available credit. Credit cards are obviously not the only factor in a credit score, but this is how it applies to them.