Cancel your credit cards

Step 1 - Telephone the provider

• The contact number for the credit card company should be in the list below. If you're provider is not in the list please email help@stooze.co.uk.
• When you call the number you will probably be asked to choose from a number of options. Choose the one that is most similar to 'I want to cancel my credit card'.
• Tell the customer-service representative that your credit card balance is £0 and that you wish to cancel the account.
• Ask for the company to send you written confirmation of your request to cancel your credit card and also ask for the name of someone you can send a follow-up letter to. If you don't want to ask for a specific name, at least ask for the cancellation address.

Step 2 - Follow up call with a letter

• Write a brief letter to the card company, saying you are confirming your telephone request to close your account and that you want your credit report to illustrate that you wanted to close the account. Keep a copy of the letter for future reference and correspondence.
• Be sure to send the letter via recorded delivery so that you can prove that the card company received the letter.
• Once the letter has been sent, wait a month.

Step 3 - Check your credit report

• This is possibly one of the most important steps in the account closing process.
• It can take as long as 30 days for your credit card account to be closed and once this period has passed, check your credit report.
• When you look at your credit report you will need to make sure that by the closed credit card account is a phrase that says something like 'closed at customer's request' and not 'closed by creditor'. If the latter is written it will reflect negatively on you and affect your credit score.
• If you check your report and it says that the card company, not you, closed the account, you will need to return to step one of this process. When you write for the second time, include a copy of the letter you sent the first time.

List of cancellation numbers