Capital One Increased My Credit Limit Without Asking. Here's How I Got It Reversed Before It Hurt My Score.

Capital One automatically increased my credit limit from $5,000 to $8,000. I did not ask for this. A higher credit limit can increase your total available credit, which is good for your utilization ratio. But I was worried about the hard inquiry.

I called Capital One and asked them to reverse the increase. They said they would lower it back to $5,000 within 30 days. They also confirmed there was no hard pull for the increase.