What Should a Letter to Close a Credit Card Account Include?

COMPLETE

Perhaps you have had your credit card either lost, or it has been stolen. Maybe you just do not feel that you need this credit card anymore, and you want to close it out so that you do not have the hassle of it anymore. Either way, you need to know how to properly cancel that credit card account.

Call

First you should call the credit card company and request that you have your credit card account closed out. This is the surest way to ensure that what you want gets done, because you can talk to a representative yourself and confirm through them that it has been done. Still, this is not the only step you should take.

Write

To ensure that your account gets closed, you should follow up your phone call with a closure letter to the credit card company. Make this as formal and professional as you can. Here are a few things that the letter should entail so that you can maximize the service you are given and make sure that what you request gets done right the first time.

The Basics

You should include the most important and the most obvious details in your letter, like your name, address, phone number, and credit card account number. It is the lack of this basic information that makes things difficult for the credit card company, and therefore for you, in getting your account closed as soon as possible. If the company knows who you are and the detailed information concerning your account, the faster, and the more smoothly this process will go.

Talk About the Phone Call

In your letter, you should state that you called their company to cancel your credit card, and when you do this, you should include the date on which you called and the representative you talked to. That way they can refer to that representative and that date, making the process of finding the information much faster. If you write a letter that makes it easy for them, they will make it easier for you.

State Your Request

If you want your credit report to say that you have cancelled out that credit card, tell them that. They should not have to guess what you want. Ask them specifically to make sure that your credit records reflect that you have closed out that specific credit card account and that it is no longer active.

If Your Card Was Stolen

Specifically, if your credit card was lost or stolen, you should make sure that they know that in the letter that you write to them. This will increase the speed at which they close your account so that no one who may have your card can make any charges on it that you do not want. If you requested over the phone to have that credit card account closed but a new card issued, you should include that information in your letter.