One year post discharge - update on my rebuilding progress - 700 FICO, 50K limits

[Drazil65]

iswmle: Thank you for your insight but the comment has nothing to do with "short comings" and everything to do with statistics, the numbers don't lie. It is what it is and I wish you the best.

[CCsAreEvil]

Agreed... one of the first steps in realizing you might be going down that path again.. is if you start leaving a "3 digit or more" balance (or balances.. yikes). Of course, it's more complicated than that, but that's an easy/potential indicator.

[ccmisery]

Problem with Bankruptcy it's subjective to each person, for example myself. Years prior I had great credit, 700+ FICO score, and 6 credit cards. I paid them all off once, then went back in debt, had a job loss for over half a year long and burned through savings to not fall late, then got another job at reduced income and then lost that one within a year. I was planning on a 13, but after the 2nd job loss this gave me the ability to do a 7.

At this time, I left some of my accounts go past 3 to 6 months late due to the inability to pay the debt and the repercussions of that damaged things post discharge. It did not matter that I never had a late payment on any of my credit cards the past 20+ years, or had any fall delinquent or that I had several auto loans and car leases that were never late and paid in full.

Post discharge, I pulled all my credit reports, cleaned them up where they were wrong. Of my 6 credit cards included in my BK, only 3 are showing as included in the BK on my credit report, the others are wiped off. So I took this as a positive, but in reality it means little as my FICO is in the low to mid 600's currently and I did not see any positive to this in gaining new credit.

The other thing is credit history, one of my credit cards was over 20+ years old, a few years ago the Bank was bought out by another Bank and I got a new card and number, well when I filed the length of credit history did not carry over, so instead of having 20+ years of credit history I now have approx. 10. Which also does no good for rebuilding credit.

Reading posts on here on how people are landing new cards 3 to 6 months post discharge or even a year after filing seeing 700 FICO scores is not typical. I think it also sends the wrong message to people who are contemplating filing, that you can wipe out your bad debt and start fresh instantly with little repercussions and land new credit cards with low APR and $1K+ credit.

I have tried several secured and unsecured cards since discharge, got rejected on all. Success rate 0%, even with my current income which is around $75K/year with my only credit being a car loan which has a payoff of around $15K and no other debt. I am not seeing rebuilding as easy, granted I did not yet try a CU and I'm not sure if I will since hard pulls do not help in rebuilding either.

I must also stress that my BK is not CLOSED yet, Discharge was in August 2013, so yes I passed 1 year since my Discharge but not being Closed due to some Assets might be hurting my rebuilding process. I am thinking it will close soon based on updates I received from the Trustee, maybe as of 2015? I think this also can be hurting the rebuilding process.

I have been living with Debit Cards with no problems and really do not ever want another Credit Card, especially one that has up to $35K in available credit which is what I had at one time. The only need is for work and travel, where Debit Cards have posed some issues and also potential new auto loans down the road.

Also if your a renter, keep in mind that your BK will be visible to potential Landlords who run your credit, you may find rent by owner difficult or needing to fess up a larger security deposit to get them to agree.

[TXskyblue]

Reading posts on here on how people are landing new cards 3 to 6 months post discharge or even a year after filing seeing 700 FICO scores is not typical. I think it also sends the wrong message to people who are contemplating filing, that you can wipe out your bad debt and start fresh instantly with little repercussions and land new credit cards with low APR and $1K+ credit.

It is not impossible to get an unsecured credit card the day your BK discharges. I got mine almost immediately after discharge. There are many anecdotes of people getting solid CapOne cards immediately, just like I did.

As far as it sending the wrong message, I believe there is some truth in that. In this thread, we have one poster with 10K in new credit card debt who thinks he or she is doing things the right way. I do not want to encourage that. I would rather someone have zero credit cards and use only debit cards if that were the case. It is not the case for everyone, however.

I made my post to show how one person's rebuilding was at 12 months post-discharge. As an addendum to my original post, I will add that I was approved a few days ago for another credit card with a limit greater than 15K. I am surprised at how little my BK has affected me. My situation is probably close to ideal, however, and not everyone has the same situation as I do.

If I am encouraging others to set themselves up for a second BK, I am truly sorry. Fellow bkforum members, please do not charge purchases unless you have the cash to pay for that purchase right now and it is earmarked.

Two main points:

1. Rebuilding credit after BK is not automatically a difficult and unavailing process.
2. Credit cards are the devil for a lot of us. Pay them in full, every time without fail, or don't use them. There is no middle ground in my opinion.

[ccmisery]

I'm just stating my experiences, and for my given prior great credit history and on time payments, I have found rebuilding to be extremely difficult. I made over $90K/year prior to the collapse, I am now earning just over $75K/year, a big hit in income but with $0 CC Debt thanks to the BK, just a car loan with Ford Credit, pay off is $15K. My other leased car went back to Ford several months ago, with no late payments.

It was impossible for me to get a unsecured card, I tried Cap One and my bank PNC, was declined for both, even gave PNC a check for $250 at the branch and then got a letter a week or two later saying I was declined and the check was in the envelope. PNC declined me 6 months+ post Discharge. Even if I had $500 or $1000 at the time to deposit, it would not matter.

Rushing out and getting new credit, falling victim to those 90 day same as cash or 12 months no interest store cards are bad news for people if they cannot pay off the debt. I think that why most of us are here is often because of CC's, why tread in the same waters again? I think one has to be cautious, if you do it with discipline, but we know how quick that can turn to the worse.

I paid off $25K in debt 10 years ago, wiped my credit cards clean, $0 balance and within 8 years after job losses, family issues with finances and etc, I was back in debt again. It happens quick, medical bills also can wreck havoc. Car repairs, say you need a new transmission for your car, or a new heater or a/c unit, easily $3K to $5K in instant debt.

Consider yourself lucky, as I have not found rebuilding as easy even with my solid job history and income along with prior great credit score and credit history. Biggest I mistake is, I didn't file right away, I had too much pride that I was going to not need to file and I feel this alone made things worse.

That being said, to anyone thinking of filing, suggest you do not delay, do not let your cards go 3 to 6 months past due or fall into collections, file when your FICO is high not low. I was going to file in 2007, but passed thinking I could make it, boy was I stupid.

I think that Cap One is blacklisting me because the account went to collections, if I filed with it on time, I probably could have landed a new card with them without issue. There are so many factors that all cases are not the same.

[TXskyblue]

That being said, to anyone thinking of filing, suggest you do not delay, do not let your cards go 3 to 6 months past due or fall into collections, file when your FICO is high not low. I was going to file in 2007, but passed thinking I could make it, boy was I stupid.

All my credits cards, with the exception of two that had zero balances, were 180+ days late and charged off when I filed. It hasn't seemed to have made getting new credit more difficult.

ccmisery, it sounds to me like your credit report should be pretty good now and you shouldn't be having as much difficulty getting credit as you are. There must be something causing creditors to have caution. Have you gone over your credit reports with a fine-toothed comb? Do you have public records reporting other than the BK? Do you have lates other than ones immediately preceding BK? How has your post-BK credit been. I mean, do you have any new lates and how is your reported utilization? There must be something holding the creditors back because you and I sound similar.

[iswmle]

iswmle: Thank you for your insight but the comment has nothing to do with "short comings" and everything to do with statistics, the numbers don't lie. It is what it is and I wish you the best.

Oh, I apologize, I did not realize that those statistics say that EVERYONE who charged off will eventually go back into debt. I have read where the majority (maybe 80%+) do eventually find themselves in debt, but 80 =/= 100. I wish you the best as well.

[ccmisery]

All my credits cards, with the exception of two that had zero balances, were 180+ days late and charged off when I filed. It hasn't seemed to have made getting new credit more difficult.

ccmisery, it sounds to me like your credit report should be pretty good now and you shouldn't be having as much difficulty getting credit as you are. There must be something causing creditors to have caution. Have you gone over your credit reports with a fine-toothed comb? Do you have public records reporting other than the BK? Do you have lates other than ones immediately preceding BK? How has your post-BK credit been. I mean, do you have any new lates and how is your reported utilization? There must be something holding the creditors back because you and I sound similar.

I cleaned up all my credit reports a year ago and have been checking them since. Only public record is the BK, that's it.

No late payments on anything, no credit other than a car loan, leased car was returned with no late payments. Last time I checked my FICO was 6+ months ago, was 630, FAKO via Credit Karma is 660 currently was 699 back in May prior to the new score formulas which dropped it down.

Utilization is listed at 0% on Credit Karma, probably because the only credit I have is a auto loan with a $15K payoff.

I did get a CC offer today from Merrick Bank in the mail, first time I saw them. Usually get Credit One or First Premier with ridiculously fees and interest that starts on the day of posting, got plenty of those and tossed them right into the trash. Checked out the terms of Merrick, not bad actually:

-No set-up fees
-No Penalty Rates
-No Over Limit Fees
-No cost Monthly Fico Score (Say's "FICO" that they use)
-$700 Approved Credit Line with the ability to double to $1,400 by making the min payment on time for the first 7 months the account is open.
-APR 25.45%, this is very high but means little if you don't carry a balance.
-No interest if balance is paid in full, typical good terms.
-Annual Fee $36 the first year, $3/month thereafter.

I am not too familar with Merrick but these terms look quite good for rebuilding and I still need a CC for work, rental cars, gas and etc. I need to think about this one.

UPDATE

I read more into Merrick, looks like a decent CC for rebuilding, I used the pre-selected info and just applied, and got approved instantly, 2 weeks for my card to arrive.. So I guess I need to change my user name now and picture, or maybe just keep it as is to remind myself to retain discipline with it. I do really need a credit card for business travel, $700 isn't much but it will cover some of it and I do not see an issue in being able to get the double credit limit in 7 months to $1400. I currently have to calculate trip expenses for everything that is not covered and get a check up front, which is a lot of red tape and takes time. Still may need to do that, since $700 will not cover all travel expenses.

Also I got some other info, the card included a Auto Rental Collision Waiver, a great perk when using rental cars as it covers your current insurance deductible in case of an accident.

Have to say, this is the first time I have felt a positive glimmer since discharge day, at least maybe I can begin to rebuild, but I will be very cautious, and that alone is an understatement.

[reben]

Merrick is a good credit card. I started with $700 limit to $1400 after 7 month. Now they automatically increase limit every 4-5 month $300-$400. I'm at $3500 limit now.

Did you try Barclay financing VISA? They are BK friendly. They finance Apple products but it is VISA that can be used everywhere. If you do a search on this forum you'll find good reviews from members. That's how I got mine.

Good luck

[ccmisery]

Merrick is a good credit card. I started with $700 limit to $1400 after 7 month. Now they automatically increase limit every 4-5 month $300-$400. I'm at $3500 limit now.

Did you try Barclay financing VISA? They are BK friendly. They finance Apple products but it is VISA that can be used everywhere. If you do a search on this forum you'll find good reviews from members. That's how I got mine.

Good luck

I tried Barclay's, but was rejected in all fairness it was too soon post discharge, I should have waited till now. The Merrick Visa will be good enough for now, I am shocked I was approved. I plan to use it for business travel, pay it off monthly due to the high APR. They offered me the same terms, double available credit in 7 months, the free FICO score monitoring is great too.

I am going to be very cautious with this card, extremely cautious, also I am not planning on opening more CC accounts, but I am thinking that more will be showing up in my mailbox since Merrick arrived yesterday.