Slette Kredittkot: How to Cancel a Credit Card

Most residents in Norway have credit cards. These financial tools allow us to make easy transactions even when we don’t have money. However, there are times when you need to cancel these cards. If you’re wondering how to do this, this article is just what you need. In this piece, we’ll provide you with easy steps on how to cancel a credit card.

Why You Might Need to Cancel Your Credit Card

As good as these tools might be, canceling them might just be the best option at that moment. There are quite a few reasons why you might need to cancel a credit card or slette kredittkort, as the Norwegians would say. A few of them are:

• To take charge of your finances
• To reduce your consumer debt 
• High annual fee on the card
• Separated from a partner

Let’s discuss them in detail. 

Take Charge of Your Finances

An interesting thing about credit cards is that you can own so many of them from different companies at the same time. Most of them are so easy and cheap to get. Some credit card companies have even removed annual fees, which means you don’t have to worry about such costs. You also get to enjoy other benefits in the form of insurance and cashback. 

While the availability and benefits of these items are of great advantage to most individuals, they can also have a negative effect on how you manage your finances. Because these cards allow you to take out loans, you may end up with more debt than you can afford to pay back. With several of these items at your disposal, you’re exposed to so much credit that you can make purchases with. Therefore, if you find yourself borrowing and spending beyond your ability to repay, it might be a good time to cancel one of them or more.

Reduce Your Consumer Debt Listed in the Debt Register

When you take a consumer loan, use a credit card for payment, or make installment purchases, all these debts are usually reported and listed in the National Debt Register. This means all the granted credit you’ve received on your cards is listed and can be found in the National Debt Register. In case you have yet to use the credit, it is still automatically listed since it is believed that you will use it in the future. 

The credit will be taken into account when determining the total amount you are eligible to borrow if you decide to apply for a loan. This can be a major disadvantage, even more so if the loan amount you took is high (for instance, a mortgage). Therefore, canceling the cards you don’t need is a wise action to take.

If you want to find out what information of yours is registered in the debt register, you can log in yourself. This is a free service, and you don’t have to pay to check. When you log in, you’ll see your debt and what can be canceled. 

High Annual Fees

Annual fees are charged by banks to maintain the card. Recently, most providers no longer charge annual fees as a means of winning more customers. If your plastic money still has this charge and it’s high, canceling it might be the best option. But before you do so, we recommend that you contact the bank first to find out if this fee can be waived. 

Separated from a Partner

Some couples have a joint account. This allows them to enjoy the benefits and split payments together. If you end up with such a card after separating from a partner, you need to cancel the account. Doing so will prevent you from being liable for future charges on the plastic money.

An Alternative to Canceling

If you don’t want to cancel a credit card but are looking for a way to reduce your consumer debt as listed in the Debt Register, there’s an alternative option you can take. All you need to do is ask the credit company to reduce your credit limit. You can visit https://time.com/ to learn about the history of credit cards. Some banks allow you to make this request online without going physically to the bank.

The idea is to get an amount close to what you’ll need and spend. Let’s say you have NOK 100,000 worth of plastic money, and you know you won’t use half of it. It’s only wise to ask for the amount to be reduced to NOK 40,000 or thereabout. Bear in mind that even if you don’t use the plastic money, it’s still listed as a consumer debt in the register. 

How to Cancel a Credit Card

Canceling your plastic money account is not just about cutting the item in half, there are steps you need to follow. In this section, we’ll guide you on how to go about this process in easy-to-follow steps. Let’s get into it.

Check the Debt Register

As we said earlier, checking the debt register is free. All that is required to log in is a BankID. When you log in, find out which companies you have a credit card account with. If you are canceling a single account, take note of it. If you want to cancel multiple accounts, list them out on a piece of paper or your phone. 

Pay Off the Outstanding Balance

Now that you know the cards you want to cancel, the next thing is to pay off the outstanding balance on each of them. Failure to do this might affect your creditworthiness. Furthermore, you might end up being charged extra fees in addition to your outstanding balance. 

If you have any automatic payments or subscriptions on the card, ensure that you transfer them to a different card. Not doing so will cause those payments to fail. This might lead to an interruption of the service, or the billing company might charge you penalty fees.

Redeem Rewards

Your plastic money might have a reward from your bank. Therefore, you need to check if you have any such reward to ensure you don’t lose it once you cancel. If you have a reward, you can either make use of it or transfer it (if possible) to another account. 

Contact the Bank

The next step is to contact the bank. This action is to find out your current balance after you pay it. Once you have confirmed it is NOK 0, you can do the next step. 

Cancel the Card

You’ll need to contact the bank again to inform them that you want to cancel your card. Some banks allow the process to be done via online banking. Others insist on sending emails or physically visiting the bank. Whatever the option your provider stipulates, ensure that you follow through. When making this request, ensure that you include that you chose to cancel the account and that it wasn’t closed by default. 

If your bank allows the application to be carried out online, you need to log in to your account first. Then check the menu for card services and select it. Look for the option that allows you to cancel the card, and follow the onscreen prompts. 

If your bank prefers the notice sent via email, ensure that you have the correct address. If you don’t have it, you can call the bank’s customer service. In your email, you’ll have to include a written inquiry informing them of your desire to cancel the card. Ensure that the email has your name, account number, phone number, address, and details of your previous contact with a representative in the previous step.

When you request the cancellation, ensure that you let them know the exact card you want to terminate. This is very important for individuals who have more than one credit card with a bank. Instead of providing your name only, provide the card’s last four digits as well. This will ensure proper identification of your account. As soon as the bank receives and processes your request, the Debt Register is informed. 

With this new development, the Debt Register will update your consumer debt. You can check here to find out more about this Debt Register. If you cancel all your cards and don’t have any other debt, the consumer debt in the register will be deleted completely. On the other hand, if you have other working cards or debts, your consumer debt will be reduced. 

Check the Debt Register Again

The fact that you have done all of the steps above is no guarantee that everything has been processed. The bank can forget to file the report. Therefore, you need to check the register again after the cancellation to confirm that the register has been updated to reflect your new consumer debt. 

Destroy the Card

This is probably the easiest step of all. Cut up your card into different pieces. This will ensure that nobody can see your details, even when they find the pieces in the trash. 

Conclusion

Canceling your credit card is not just about cutting it into two, like you see in the movies. There are factors you need to consider to determine if it’s a wise decision. Furthermore, you must follow certain steps to ensure you are doing it correctly. 

In the article above, we’ve provided you with step-by-step instructions on how to cancel your credit card. When canceling, ensure that you don’t have any outstanding balance. Doing so might hurt your credit score negatively. You also need to confirm by checking the debt register that the card has indeed been canceled after you get a confirmation from your bank.