Got A Question

[MidwestGuy]

I have 2 credit cards that are payed off. No balance on them. After my BK, will my APR on them go up, will I be able to use them ? Does anyone have experience with this ? Thanks.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

MidwestGuy, I hate to tell you this, but those accts are probably already closed. Once your creditors find out you've declared (many times the same *day*) they immediately close any open accts. So post-bk APR on these particular cards will probably not be a concern for you. A few people here have said that they kept a $0 bal card all the way through bk, but it's very rare. Immediate closure is the rule, unfortunately. Hope this helps.

[MidwestGuy]

Alright, thank you for that information. Me and wifey were discussing that tonight so I figured, where better place to ask then here. Again, thank you.

[yoyoma51]

All our major cards (MC/VISA/DSC) were closed, even if they had a $0 balance.

Two STORE cards with $0 balances remain open and usable, however.

One of them is Kohls (which is owned by Chase, who we BK'd), yet they have let us keep our Kohls charge.

[Dollar Bill]

I've heard the same thing; however, some have said that the banks allowed them to keep their cards, hiked the APR and lowered the limits.

I have also heard that some atty's are telling folks that they do not have to disclose the 0 balance cards because at the time of BK, they are essentially not a creditor....interesting huh?

[HHM]

I've heard the same thing; however, some have said that the banks allowed them to keep their cards, hiked the APR and lowered the limits.

I have also heard that some atty's are telling folks that they do not have to disclose the 0 balance cards because at the time of BK, they are essentially not a creditor....interesting huh?

That is true, you do not need to list on your BK petition credit cards with a zero balance, but your credit cards find out about you BK via your credit report. So even if you don't list certain credit cards, the routine audits and promotional audits reveal the BK to your creditors. That is why zero balance cards get closed even if you don't list them on your BK.

It is hit or miss with closure...but the decision to close is ENTIRELY in the creditors hands.

[SubPrimeME]

See and my question to the creditor is: 'Why close a 0 balance card after the BK?' It's not like we can BK ourselevs again? You are more credit worthy after a BK then at any point in your credit history.

The more I read about people lose 0 balance cards, the more I scratch my head.

I supposed the logic is that you have a 'habit' of running up debt, but that's why they have the waiting period before another BK.... IF only this world made sense.....

[HHM]

See and my question to the creditor is: 'Why close a 0 balance card after the BK?' It's not like we can BK ourselevs again? You are more credit worthy after a BK then at any point in your credit history.

The more I read about people lose 0 balance cards, the more I scratch my head.

I supposed the logic is that you have a 'habit' of running up debt, but that's why they have the waiting period before another BK.... IF only this world made sense.....

Generally, it is because with the BK on your credit report, you no longer meet the minimum qualifications for that specific card (AMEX is a prime example)

[lrprn]

The more I read about people lose 0 balance cards, the more I scratch my head. I supposed the logic is...

There's the flaw - you are trying to think this out logically!

The big credit card companies make billions of dollars in profits, even now in a bad economy. They don't miss the few measley dollars they won't make if they keep your account open. Also you're a known risk now - you filed bankruptcy - they don't think you're worth the risk of future non-payment either.

Frankly, it's actually a good thing for us debtors that we lose our cards when we file. If we can't get a decent rate credit card for awhile, that helps us learn how to live on what we actually make without the credit cards crutch artificially holding us up. That's a good thing, especially if managing credit badly is what drove us to bankruptcy to start with.

[millerc507]

I will say . . . when we went for our 341, and sitting up in the front, I was surprised at the number of people who had filed previously