Can credit card companies freeze your account for being one month past due?

Question

My husband has a business credit card and we either forgot to pay the last bill he had with Bank of America or we didn't get the bill at all. The bill was due in the beginning of July. I pay all the bills and I'm usually very particular about paying his accounts. He only had a balance of something like $70 so it wasn't like we couldn't pay it.

However, on July 30th, his card was declined when he had to get his truck fixed. When he called Bank of America, the account was frozen due to the past due amount. We have made payment in full for the balance due (he did make several purchases after the last billing period so it was a lot higher). We do online banking so the payment was already scheduled to be delivered on 7/31.

After talking to Bank of America, they state that most credit card companies have a policy like this and some even freeze it as early as the day after the due date. I'm wondering if this is actually true.

I do agree they have the right to do this. I'm just curious if this is something that is across the board with credit card companies or not.

Answer 1

I think most do freeze or even cancel your account when late over 60 days. I have never had it happen before then. It depends on the lender of the credit card.  

Answer 2

In the current credit climate banks & card companies are much quicker to take action on any negative signs (such as missing a payment) and it sounds like this payment was 2 to 3 weeks late.

Answer 3

They have the right to freeze or close an account at any time.  But I agree that one day late seems silly.

Answer 4

With business accounts it a little different from personal. Generally with personal accounts if your account is past due you can still use it. However with business accounts, depending on the type account you have whether or not it is revolve your account will be frozen until payment is made.

Answer 5

Policies vary by institution and even then it's not uniform for all customer relationships. Lenders have certainly become less willing to let delinquent accounts slide than they used to.