Credit after bankruptcy is destroyed. Don't believe the hype.

[moneytrouble]

I am not sure how people are getting approved for $1000 unsecured credit cards after bankruptcy. Someone posted yesterday how they applied for multiple cards and were denied. I am in the exact same boat. I fixed my credit reports to be correct, but I believe the fourth secret agency Innovis could be causing the denials. Anyways, I gave up my house, my car, everything, and now I am unable to get any unsecured credit, even with a bad credit company like First Premier. Bankruptcy is not relief, but a complete disaster. I am just putting this out there for people who are not gettting credit after bankruptcy. Don't believe the hype of the people who somehow got $1,000 credit approvals. They are most likely the minority.

[StartingOver08]

How long has it been since you have been discharged? If you have been discharged recently, then you are less likely to get an unsecured card. If you have savings you can get a secured card thru a CU. If you do not have any savings yet, start an account with a CU and build up enough to get a small limit card.

It apppears that the better credit offers come after you have been discharged for 6 months or more. Sometimes 'time' is your best solution.

[moneytrouble]

Yeah. I have a big costly car repair and was hoping to get credit, so I could just pay it off in 2 payments. Plus, I read on this forum people were approved immediately after discharge.

[downwardspiral]

It really depends on 2 things, what your credit was like prior to the bankruptcy and how long ago your case was discharged. Our credit was really high prior to bankruptcy. After we were discharged we cleaned up our reports and got our first card about 4 months later. We got a Capital One card with a $3500 limit. We have since gotten 2 more cards (in an effort to boost our credit rating) one limit is 1,000 the other is 300.

[Stilltheone]

My husband and I were both approved through Capital One with $1000 limit and a $1500 limit. We filed bankruptcy before we had any late payments, so our credit report shows ZERO late payments. We've NEVER been late in our lives.

Maybe you're having problems because credit is not flowing PERIOD, whether you have good or bad credit.

I had NO problems getting credit last year. None.

[yoyoma51]

We too have had no problem getting unsecured credit. $1000 Visa from our Credit Union right our of BK, within a six months another $10,500 from Cap. 1. No fees, unsecured. We too had pretty good credit before filing, paying everything right up until filing. That may have helped.

And before someone jumps all over me for getting so much credit right our of BK, our income is good and we are able to pay our credit cards off each month.

We also have two small car loans from our credit union. One about six months out of BK and another in April of this year.

The key is to PLAN YOUR BK!!

[oldhack]

I'm afraid I'm one of your nemeses, too, moneytrouble. Not only have I gotten approved for a couple of credit cards (unsecured), I got a mortgage less than two months after a Chapter 13 discharge. And, as others have noted, I filed BK before my finances were an utter mess (I mean, I didn't have any discretionary money, but I was current!).
That, I think, is the difference. You state: "...I gave up my house, my car, everything, and now I am unable to get any unsecured credit, even with a bad credit company like First Premier..."
I paid for all those things, including 80% of my unsecured debt. The only thing I gave up was control of my finances for a few years.

[TBLTZ]

hmmm. so some people pay their credit cards right up to the day of filing? the attorney i talked with said to stop paying once you deicded...

Now im confused on what i should do....

[Flamingo]

Just as in any other situation, there are some folks who can get credit right out of BK and then there are some folks who cannot. There are many factors involved, but the majority of people do the best by waiting a while after discharge before applying for credit. Nothing looks worse than being right out of BK and having several hard credit inquiries on your credit reports.

[moneytrouble]

Like TBLTZ said, my lawyer also told me to stop making all payments in a Chapter 7. I guess what I am noticing with people who got credit right away, the majority seemed to be married or make more than me. A few people posted their income was 100,000. I guess when it comes to credit, the people who may not need the credit seem to get the most. It has only been about 5 weeks since my discharge, so I guess I will have to wait. Thanks everyone.

[jennordhavn]

I have established 3 new credit lines since my discharge in March. I got CreditOne for $200, Kay Jewelers for $2000 and Jared for $2000. I am going to establish these positive accounts and raise my scores and then apply for one or two more in about 6-9 months. My ultimate goal is to get my scores to 620+ and buy a house in 2011/2012.

I had horrible credit before my BK. Tons of charge offs and collections. Plus a repo with a large definciency balance. I did (and still do) have student loans reporting positively.

[moneytrouble]

I don't even want credit. I just want credit for emergencies, like the one I have now, and I can't even get that. Some people are racking up credit like crazy after bankruptcy. That seems scary to me and throws in the face of bankruptcy laws, like they were put there to be abused.

[jennordhavn]

I don't even want credit. I just want credit for emergencies, like the one I have now, and I can't even get that. Some people are racking up credit like crazy after bankruptcy. That seems scary to me and throws in the face of bankruptcy laws, like they were put there to be abused.

That's true. I don't necessarily "want" it either, but I do want to buy a house and I need to establish a few good TLs in order to do that. I also wanted to get revolving utilization which is why I got the Jared account (haven't used it and don't plan to anytime soon).

[Logan]

hmmm. so some people pay their credit cards right up to the day of filing? the attorney i talked with said to stop paying once you deicded...

Now im confused on what i should do....

I consulted with two attorneys and they both told me to stop paying my credit cards. I didn't listen since I had been in the mortgage business and I saw a woman have a 740 FICO less than 3 year out of BK and she had never been late on anything.

Logan

[moneytrouble]

I think lawyers tell you to do that, so when they run your credit score before the Chapter 7 341 meeting, there won't be any doubt in the trustees mind that you are bankrupt. If you are on time, the trustee may wonder why you are filing, as you can obviously pay your bills. It may also prove to creditors that you are having serious money problems, and they won't go after you in court. I don't know these reasons as fact, just guessing.