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Today I called my credit card provider to cancel a card with a high annual fee that I could no longer justify. After just a couple of minutes the representative closed the account, and confirmed the balance was $0.00.

Thirty minutes later I called the automated line to check if the account was still open, and the automated message said the account was closed and the balance is $0. Is there anything else I should do to confirm the account is closed? I do not want to get charged the annual fee again; the next billing cycle for the fee would be next month.

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    Hi, tmp, welcome to Money.SE. No need to mention the card issuer here. The question is fine, but it would apply to most companies.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Jan 17, 2017 at 15:45
  • @tpm900 It looks like we'll need some clarification from you. Did you mean that the rep told you the balance was "$0.30"? Or did you mean that the rep told you the balance was $0, and that thirty minutes later you called the automated line?
    – Ben Miller
    Jan 17, 2017 at 15:48
  • Could you just ask them for a cancellation/confirmation/reference/transaction number of some sort? Try calling back and see if they could email something to you or give you a number over the phone. If you get slapped with a fee because your account was not closed properly then call them back and reference that number. Aside from this, just trust them and be on your merry way.
    – MonkeyZeus
    Jan 17, 2017 at 18:23
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    @KeithMcClary Attempting to use a card with a closed account is credit card fraud: to quote "2) uses his or her own card with the knowledge that it is revoked or expired..." It probably wouldn't be prosecuted, but I would refrain from suggesting to someone that they should do this.
    – Keeta - reinstate Monica
    Jan 17, 2017 at 20:12
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    @MonkeyZeus unfortunately I did not think to ask and they did not give me any confirmation number. I did record the time I closed the account and the name of the representatives I spoke with in case an issue does come up.
    – tpm900
    Jan 18, 2017 at 1:07

5 Answers 5

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If the live customer service person says it's closed, and the computer says it's closed, then it is most likely closed. You shouldn't need to do anything more.

If you happen to be unlucky and your account turns out to still be open due to a computer error (or customer service rep incompetence), you'll find out about it next month when your statement comes with the fee. It's not a big deal if you find yourself in that unlikely situation; it would just require another call to straighten it out.

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    It may be worth having some kind of "ticket ID" from your original call to prove you requested it closed on this date. You could reference it in a later call.
    – jpmc26
    Jan 17, 2017 at 19:07
  • I had this happen and because I then missed the date, I got charged two months worth of fee before they really closed it. (I guess I should be glad they didn't charge me the whole year's fee.)
    – stannius
    Jan 17, 2017 at 21:02
  • @jpmc26 The chances are good that the next rep won't be able to do anything with such a code, although it depends who you're dealing with.
    – Casey
    Jan 18, 2017 at 16:06
  • @Casey True. I suppose I should have said, "in later communication." Chances are you wouldn't need it unless things escalated beyond clearing it up with a simple phone call. But if you do have a problems, it's nice to have some bread crumbs on the paper trail.
    – jpmc26
    Jan 18, 2017 at 17:04
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As someone who has closed several credit cards before, as long as the customer service rep tells you over the phone that the card has been closed and you had a $0.00 balance, then it has been closed. There is no need to take any action other than making sure you didn't have any services that were sending recurring charges to that card. In the rare case that you find later that it's open and you were charged a fee, call the bank/card issuer again to straighten it out.

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Warren's answer says it all, but if you want to paint refined gold and gild the lily, you can send Chase a letter by US mail saying something like "I wish to confirm in writing the conversation that I had ...." There might be a clause in the fine print of the cardholder agreement that only written requests count, which is only invoked if a cardholder with a large outstanding balance calls and demands that the account be closed and he damn well is not going to pay another penny.

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Did you pay the $0.30 final balance?

If there's no balance, and Chase has told you (twice) it's closed, then it's closed.

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    "automated message said the account was closed and the balance is $0" I'd view the account on line and confirm (again) the $0 balance. If it's zero, I wouldn't send 30 cents. That might make things worse.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Jan 17, 2017 at 15:01
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    I think this was based on a misreading of the question (it has since been edited to clarify).
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jan 17, 2017 at 19:03
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When I close a credit card I always ask the credit card company to send me a letter confirming the account has been closed, so at least there is a paper trail. That letter is then filed away as a record of whether the account was closed or not.

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