If you have a Forever 21 credit card, you may want to close it out now—before they close it for you. One woman found out the hard way that, in light of the company’s recent bankruptcy, Forever 21 is closing down users’ accounts.
Ashley Paré (@luxuriash) shared a viral video Tuesday detailing how Forever 21 shut down her credit card of over 10 years. It tanked her credit score in the process. As of publication, the video has over 140,000 views.
What did Forever 21 do?
The video opens with Paré lying on a couch, filming with the phone above her. The text on the screen reads: “Forever 21 is closing so they closed my longest credit line and dropped my credit score.”
“My blood’s boiling right now, I’m so sorry,” she starts. “So, Forever 21 is closing because they went bankrupt!” Paré then explains that the first credit card she ever signed up for was with Forever 21. She says that she had the card for over 10 years as of posting.
“A 10-year credit line, right? What did they do? Close my account,” Paré pauses, glaring into the camera. “What did that do? DROP MY [expletive] CREDIT SCORE OVER 20 POINTS.”
“How the [expletive] is that my fault?” Paré asks, still shouting. “That you went bankrupt, and now it’s affecting me!” She shakes the phone in time with her yelling, then transitions into urging the audience to avoid store credit cards at all costs. “Never [expletive] get a store credit card! Ev-er!” she warns.
“I didn’t owe anything on it, I don’t even know where that [expletive] card is, OK? But this is like, setting me over the [expletive] edge right now,” she says. “Like first of all, I didn’t even think that this could happen? I probably should’ve thought about that.”
Should other people be concerned?
Towards the end of the video, Paré draws parallels to the Macy’s credit card, theorizing that Macy’s might be on a similar path in the future. “That [expletive] is probably closing soon too, so [expletive] beware,” she warns.
“And oh! Forever 21 just [expletive] emailed me!” she updates angrily. “50% off all—everything in the store. [Expletive] you, Forever 21!”
“What’s your [expletive] credit score, Forever 21?” Paré asks rhetorically. “How ‘bout that? America, go check their [expletive] credit score. They’re [expletive] bankrupt, and now you’re trying to make me suffer? My credit score? Check yourself, check yourself.”
“As a matter of fact, United States, what’s your [expletive] credit score?” As Paré concludes, the video cuts to zoom in on a sad-looking dog, then ends completely.
The perils of a store credit card
“Girl you had a f21 credit card?” asked one of the top commenters, followed by a skull emoji.
“I feel like forever 21 has been closing for bankruptcy for years now,” stated another user.
“I would never recommend a store credit card because a lot of them if you don’t use them they will just automatically close them out,” one user agreed.
“Yeah, my big lots closed so they closed my big lots credit card which dropped my credit score not by a lot but it still messed my numbers up,” shared a commenter. “How was that? My fault that they closed lol.”
Will she bounce back?
Some people were less concerned about Paré’s dilemma.
“20 points? Chill out, I thought you were gonna say like 100 or something you’ll bounce back quickly. I had my credit drop 131 and back 160 the next month,” one user said.
“A) you got a Forever 21 card,” pointed out a commenter. “B) if 20 pts is hurting you that bad, you’ve got bigger issues.”
“A) got it when I was literally 16 yrs old,” Paré countered. “B) I never said it was detrimental to me. My score was in the 800’s.”
Commenters go off-topic
“All i could look at was ur lips girl stop the filler,” commented one user.
Paré replied to the user several times.
“Well I’m getting paid since you watched so,” Paré’s first reply read. Later in the reply thread, she added: “It’s actually such a shame that you’re a gorgeous baddie spending your time commenting mean girl shit on my profile… plz do better.”
“If you don’t want unsolicited comments don’t post on the internet,” the initial commenter responded.
“Yeah I bet that’s why you don’t cuz you’d get a lot of comments about the way you look,” answered Paré.
Paré gets lippy with haters
Paré made a second video responding to the comments on the first video about her lip filler. She starts the video in a similar position to the first, laying down with on-screen text in front of her.
“Why are there BULLYING rude nasty comments being left on my TikTok but whenever I comment something back it’s flagged as bullying and deleted LMAO,” the on-screen text reads.
“It’s actually starting to piss me off how many people can be so hateful and mean on TikTok,” Paré begins. She adds that the comments are always about her lips, which she understands and doesn’t mind, since she has lip filler. Her main concern is that she can’t respond to comments in kind without getting flagged.
Paré calls the original comments about her lips “rude,” and “hateful,” and questions why their comments go through while hers get flagged.
“You know how easy it is to just keep scrolling on TikTok, and not leave a comment at all?” she asks the viewers. “My lips don’t affect you at all, so what’s the point of telling me that I need to dissolve my filler or I have filler blindness? And being nasty and rude about my face? It’s weird.”
@luxuriash LITERALLY WTF FOREVER 21 #fyp #creditscore #forever21 ♬ original sound – ash
How dangerous are store credit cards, really?
While you may not be worried about Target filing for bankruptcy anytime soon, there are still reasons to be wary of signing up for a store credit card. According to Alexandria White of CNBC, potential store credit card users should watch out for low credit limits, high interest rates, and limited use when signing up for a card.
If a credit limit is too low, it doesn’t actually help your credit score very much. A lower limit makes your credit utilization rate (CUR) higher, which is bad for your overall credit score.
“For example, if a store card gives you a $300 credit limit and you have a $270 balance, you’ll have a 90% CUR—which is very high,” explains White. “Financial experts generally recommend having a CUR below 30%.”
When a low limit combines with high interest rates, a store card can actually be detrimental to you. Plus, it has limited use, as you can only use said card at the store it came from. For some brands, this is worth it, but for many, it may not be.
The Daily Dot reached out to Paré via TikTok direct message and email, and Forever 21 via email.
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