Rebuilding after BK

[TomBrady]

I have filed bankruptcy and now am awaiting my discharge (some problems there but not the subject of this quesiton). I did not leave any lines of credit open to use to re-build my credit.

I recieved the CC offer in the mail for a CC but the fees on this card are OUTRAGOUS including a 95 fee for membership, 48 yearly fee, 7 monthly service fee, 4 for internet access and the kicker 11 to pay your bill (online or over the phone). The credit limit on this card is only 275, do you have to pay all these fees to build up your credit or is this just some sort of scam where the CC companies are using your situation to scam me agian.

[Flamingo]

Avoid those offers. With a BK in your credit reports, your credit reports are open wide for those searching them for folks who have filed BK. You can contact all three CRAs and opt out of that by asking them to close off your file for solicitations.

You will be bombarded at discharge with all sorts of crazy offers, mostly from car dealerships, loans, more offers like you just received, etc. We even received travel brochures from local travel agencies! Be smart and savvy - know you are a target and they will promise you all sorts of stuff but you will end up paying high interest and high fees. Before you get hooked, read all fine print carefully and it it is too good to be true, it is.

Building up credit after a BK takes time; it cannot be done instantaneously. The best thing to do is wait a few months after your discharge, get all your credit reports pulled and clean them up; don't apply for too much credit too quickly as you more than likely will be denied and you can rack up many hard inquiries while doing that which does not look too good so soon after a BK. It will take you at least a few years to get a handle on a decent score if you make sure you pay everything on time (utilities, mortgage if you have one, rent, etc.). Don't be late with anything during that time.

Best of luck to you...

[JRScott]

As Flamingo says avoid the high interest ones.

Also you cannot actually obtain new credit until after discharge without Trustee approval.

You'll get a lot of offers though, just ignore them for now and wait until after discharge. Then look into what they send you but be careful.

[southernbelle]

I found this post about 4 mos ago on this Forum and thought it would help

BK FRIENDLY CREDITORS
Originally posted by NanaC
Compiled by NanaC


Clarifications: Listings based on earliest receipt of credit. Occasionally, something may appear to be listed twice. This results from the credit being somehow different, for example, secured and unsecured, credit limits, etc. PFB = Planet FeedBack


STARTER BK CARDS: score bad.
1. Household - unsecured 300 - 5 mos., score about 560 ( https://www.householdbank.com/hb/Cus...irect=HomePage )
2. Cap1 - Secured and Unsecured ( www.capitalone.com )
3. Orchard - Secured ( https://www.orchardbank.com/care/Cus...irect=HomePage )
4. American Online Secured Visa ( www.apbank.com/021_scc.html )
5. Mazda (Ford) - 1 day post BK13 - auto loan
6. Kay Jewelers - $2000 - 1 year post BK, score about 540
(www.kayjewelers.com)
7. Verizon (no deposit, as little as 3 mos after discharge - www.verizonwireless.com )

6 MOS - 1 YEAR REBUILDING CREDIT: score low 600s
1. Cap1 - unsecured gold 500 ( www.capitalone.com )
2. Orchard - unsecured $500 ( https://www.orchardbank.com/care/Cus...irect=HomePage )
3. Target Guest Card- unsecured 200 (target.com/common/financialservices/apply_online.jhtml)
4. First Premier - $200 ( www.credit-cards-s.com/premier.asp )
5. Citifinancial Mortgage - 6 mths post - 9% ( www.citifinancial.com )
6. Providian Platinum (www.providan.com)
7. First National Bank Of Marin - $300 unsecured - low 600's (www.fnbmarin.com) - appears to be by mai offer only
8. Raymour and Flanigan Furniture (please provide url if available)

1-2 YEARS REBUILDING: score mid 600s
1. AT&T Wireless - No deposit ( http://www.attws.com )
2. Cap1 Platinum - unsecured 5000. Yes, platinum. started w/regular card and negotiated credit line to platinum. (Wow!) ( www.capitalone.com )
3. Cross Country Bank Visa - unsecured - $300, then $600, then $1250 over time. * ( www.crosscountrybank.com )
4. Cross Country Bank MC - unsecured - $350 * ( www.crosscountrybank.com )
5. Dillards - unsecured - $500 ( www.dillards.com/cca/CreditCardApplication.jsp )
6. Circuit City � unsecured -$2000 ( http://www.circuitcity.com )
7. Western Security Bank - secured ( www.westernsecuritybank.com )
8. Direct Merchants Bank $1001 (Semi-secured) - pre-approved mailings only ( www.directmerchantsbank.com )
9. Sprint PCS - $200 Assigned Spending Limit ( www.sprint.com )
10. Newport News/Spiegals/Eddie Bauer ( www.spiegals.com/home.asp )
11. Merrick - $1000, about 650 FICO (www.applymerrick.com)



2+ Years Rebuilding: score low to mid 600's:
1. Aspire - unsecured - $500 ( www.compucredit.com/pdcts.html )
2. Voicestream - No deposit ( www.voicestream.com )
3. Bank One Checking Account with Debit Card after 5 months usage ( www.bankone.com )
4. Mortgage Received (No specific name as more than one loan was found by those reporting receipt of mortgage loan.)
5. Nordstrom - suggest not applying on-line ( www.nordstrom.nordstrom.com )
6. First N.A. Nat. Bank - 3 years (www.fnanb.com)
7. Citibank MC- will consider post-7 years ( www.citibank.com )
8. Nextel - must be 7 years post BK, no dep. ( www.nextel.com )
9. Exxon - 4 years ( www.exxon.com )
10. Home Depot - 4 years ( www.homedepot.com ) **
11. Bloomingdales - 3 years ( www.bloomingdales.com )
***out of sequence due to updating of information
13. Washington Mutual Visa secured card issued by Citibank N.A. South Dakota ( www.washingtonmutual.com )
14. Mervyn's ** ( www.mervyns.com )
15. Generations (6 year mark!) - $1000 ( www.genscu.com )
16. Target Visa - mid 600's required ( www.target.com )
17. Lowes - 3+ years ( www.lowes.com )
18. Washington Mutual Mortgage - 3+ years ( www.wamuhomeloans.com )
19. Nordstrom - 5+ years (www. Nordstrom.com)
20. Wescom Credit Union - 5+ years ( www.wescom.org )
21. First Nationwide Mortgage - 5 years ( www.firstnationwide.com )
22. Dell - $1500 - 5+ years ( www.dell.com )
23. Nissan Lease - 6+ years (Please provide link if known.)
24. Phillips 66 - 7.5 years ( www.phillips66.com )
25. Ford Credit - 5 years ( www.fordcredit.com )
26. Diamond Shamrock - 6.5 yrs ( www.valero.com )
27. Menard's Big Card (Conseco) - $3000 - 5+ years ( www.menards.com )
28. Capital One Auto Finance -14 % interest, score approximately 650 - ( https://www.capitalone.com/capitalon...d=2000bann0202 )
29. JCB Card - CE642 (www.jcbusa.com)
30. Union Plus - initial rejection, then approved on PFB reconsideration (www.unionplus.com)**
31. Corvette Mastercard - 7 years post (was not in dispute when pulled)- score 678 with 4 CA's in dispute when pulled - $1500 - (https://www.household.com/corp/hipf_..._select.jsp)**
32. J.C. Penney - 4 years, 7 months post bk7 (www.jcpenney.com)
33. BOFA - Alaskan Airlines Plat - 5 yrs, 3 months post BK7 approved on reconsideration (www.bofa.com