Chapter 7, How to keep CareCredit card?

[bkmaggster]

They say when you DMP with CCCS that creditors look at it like you went chapter 13.

In my experience, DMP was NOTHING like BK. I was able to continue getting credit and even bought a house during DMP. You can't do anything like that in BK.

[Chowder]

good suggestion Chowder I already have a policy on him, but the pet policies are not accepted by vets. You have to pay them, and then get reimbursed for whatever your coverage is.

Yeah, I know. In the the old days I worked in vet offices. Some did accept some didn't. One thing common with most of the vets though was their willingness to work with established clientele. Heck, some worked with some newcomers.

Honestly, do you actually think your Vet will turn you away if you come in as an emergency? Is so, I'd look for another vet ASAP.

[LSUTiger32]

I am sorry but I have to say this. You are trying to find every excuse to keep a credit card when the sight of one should make you sick. I know it does for me. What in the world are the odds of your dog needing a $4,000 emergency vet visit?

I mean in that case I am in deep doo-doo because I have kids!

I understand you love your dog, I have one that I love very much as well. However, I am not going to talk myself into trying to find anyway possible to keep a credit card on the off chance that he needs to go to the vet. You have to get over it. Emergencies happen, yes.....but you have to learn to be prepared for them without the use of a credit card.

[OhioFiler]

I am sorry but I have to say this. You are trying to find every excuse to keep a credit card when the sight of one should make you sick. I know it does for me. What in the world are the odds of your dog needing a $4,000 emergency vet visit?

I mean in that case I am in deep doo-doo because I have kids!

I understand you love your dog, I have one that I love very much as well. However, I am not going to talk myself into trying to find anyway possible to keep a credit card on the off chance that he needs to go to the vet. You have to get over it. Emergencies happen, yes.....but you have to learn to be prepared for them without the use of a credit card.

Amen.

We are huge dog people (not huge people or fans just of huge dogs) and have 4 in our home. Pet ownership is a gigantic responsibility and if one is not in the position financially to care for a pet then one should not have a pet.

[Lovesgirl]

You are missing the point . .

It is not a regular credit card. I can't go shopping with it. I can't buy clothes, shoes, or purses or go out to dinner. I can't even pay bills with it.

It is a card that can only be used for the vet or cosmetic surgery or dental which I'm not having either of those.

The odds of my baby having to have surgery, or xrays or getting a broken leg or swallowng something in his 16 years life span? Pretty good odds considering the first week I had him he got sick and was $1200 just to give him fluids and 24 hours nursing care at the emergency vet. A surgery for just about anything would run $3000+ at the minimum. Just traditional preventative care annually is about $600.

Anyone with kids, and no insurance, and no money can take their kids to a doctor or the hospital and get immediate care, even if you have no credit card and no money. They will even let you make payment arrangements. A vet will say "sorry, we don't do payments . . . maybe we should put him to sleep if you don't have any money"

If someone takes their kid to the emergency room for a burst appendix, that kid is getting his/her surgery. Just imagine if a parent took their kid to the hospital with a life threatening problem and was told, sorry if you can't pay in full up front the whole $27,000, then maybe we should just put her down. Can you imagine the horror you'd experience?? to be told that?? about your child???

If my dog eats something he shouldn't and gets a bowel obstruction, and I'm bk, with no credit cards, and my savings and emergency fund isn't big enough, they will send me away and let my dog DIE. If he got cancer, to treat it would be a minimum $7000. I'm sure all of us bk people have $10,000 in an emergency fund when we are barely makiing our mortgages LOL

I know to a lot of people, there is a big difference between a pet and a child but not to me. To me it is the SAME.

I'm sure if hospitals and doctors could refuse to help a child that is seriously injured just because Mom and Dad went bk and have no savings or credit card and let the child DIE, You too would fight to keep an insurance policy or credit card that would ensure that you could protect your child. That is where I'm coming from. I am just trying to protect my "child" and ensure that if he gets sick or hurt, that I can take care of him.

I don't even want to keep an AMX or Discover or Visa, for me this card can only be used for the vet. So there is NO risk in my keeping it.

Just wanted everybody to see where I'm coming from . . .

[OhioFiler]

It is not a regular credit card. I can't go shopping with it. I can't buy clothes, shoes, or purses or go out to dinner. I can't even pay bills with it.

It is a card that can only be used for the vet or cosmetic surgery or dental which I'm not having either of those.

The odds of my baby having to have surgery, or xrays or getting a broken leg or swallowng something in his 16 years life span? Pretty good odds considering the first week I had him he got sick and was $1200 just to give him fluids and 24 hours nursing care at the emergency vet. A surgery for just about anything would run $3000+ at the minimum. Just traditional preventative care annually is about $600.

Anyone with kids, and no insurance, and no money can take their kids to a doctor or the hospital and get immediate care, even if you have no credit card and no money. They will even let you make payment arrangements. A vet will say "sorry, we don't do payments . . . maybe we should put him to sleep if you don't have any money"

If someone takes their kid to the emergency room for a burst appendix, that kid is getting his/her surgery. Just imagine if a parent took their kid to the hospital with a life threatening problem and was told, sorry if you can't pay in full up front the whole $27,000, then maybe we should just put her down. Can you imagine the horror you'd experience?? to be told that?? about your child???

If my dog eats something he shouldn't and gets a bowel obstruction, and I'm bk, with no credit cards, and my savings and emergency fund isn't big enough, they will send me away and let my dog DIE. If he got cancer, to treat it would be a minimum $7000. I'm sure all of us bk people have $10,000 in an emergency fund when we are barely makiing our mortgages LOL

I know to a lot of people, there is a big difference between a pet and a child but not to me. To me it is the SAME.

I'm sure if hospitals and doctors could refuse to help a child that is seriously injured just because Mom and Dad went bk and have no savings or credit card and let the child DIE, You too would fight to keep an insurance policy or credit card that would ensure that you could protect your child. That is where I'm coming from. I am just trying to protect my "child" and ensure that if he gets sick or hurt, that I can take care of him.

I don't even want to keep an AMX or Discover or Visa, for me this card can only be used for the vet. So there is NO risk in my keeping it.

Just wanted everybody to see where I'm coming from . . .

Well, the problem isn't your desire to continue to rely on credit post-bk. We have 4 dogs and 3 kids. I can't even begin to imagine looking at my kids the same way I do our dogs. Dogs are not people. Assigning human traits, emotions and thoughts to a dog is simply wrong. Equating dogs to children is scary. Good luck to you!

[StartingOver08]

OP, the best solution for you is to have a large emergency savings for your unexpected vet bills. If your constant fear is that your pet will have an emergency, then plan for the emergency. Start today by putting aside at least 10% of your income toward savings. To "plan" to use your credit card is planning - but not the appropriate way. This BK filing is to learn from our mistakes. Imagine if you had $100k in savings after you filed - you would not be planning to use the cc. So plan your savings, not your future credit card expenses.

[Over our heads]

CareCredit was the first card that closed, I had a 0 balance, had only used it 1x for 2k and it was paid off w/i 2 months. It was closed just a few months after we stopped paying the other cards. CareCredit does check your credit, and most likely they will close you out.

[lovebirds]

Since you have a high possibility of not having a credit card open, you should consider dropping the pet insurance. If you cannot pay up front anyway, reimbursement is a moot point.

Consider rolling your pet insurance payment into a budget item every month and DO NOT TOUCH IT. I wouldn't even touch it for routine visits. I would get quotes at your local animal shelter since they tend to be less expensive and the money goes towards a good cause.

IMO, you should find a vet that accepts payment plans for emergency treatments. Make sure you keep your dog at the correct weight or risk having him get diabetes.

Equating dogs to children is not scary. It is a perfectly fine thing to do. Just realize pets are not included in the Physician's Oath.

[LSUTiger32]

This continues to baffle me. Let me get this straight. This is a credit card that can only be used at the vet?

Find another pet insurance company, one that pays for services rendered.....if that exists. I should look into it for my dog.

Still, yes.....you should be able now to save up a large emergency fund, if you have income. If you don't have income, well then BK isn't going to help you.....you need to get your income up.

Once you get the emergency fund in place, then you have to decide if $7,000 for doggie cancer treatment is what your money is best used on. Again I ask, what are the odds of a dog getting cancer?

[Lovesgirl]

yes it is

That card I applied for at the vet. It will also cover cosmetic surgery, dental and some medical stuff but I never used it for that.

I do have pet insurance on Boo but it just reimburses you after you have paid the bills in full. The iinsurance is $400 a year and I budget for it. Not that much.

The suggestion to drop his medical coverage AND the Care Credit is double trouble.

The most common cause of death in dogs is cancer. And I'd rob a bank to get the money to treat him if he had it, unless he was deaf, blind, and 25 years old! LOL

[lovebirds]

I never said to drop the Care Credit. It will be closed in your bankruptcy. My suggestion was to consider dropping pet insurance and save that money in cash in case something happens to your dog. It doesn't matter if you have pet insurance if you don't have the money up front to pay for the entire bill.

[LSUTiger32]

I never said to drop the insurance either, I said look for one that actually pays and does not require you to wait.

Yes, the most common cause of death in dogs is cancer, but it's usually when the dog is near or past their life expectancy. You have to be realistic here. I understand now we can't talk you out of this but the chances are VERY high that the card gets killed. You have to prepare for the things that are likely to happen and you have to prepare to pay for them with CASH. The odds are that your dog is going to need a $500 surgery as opposed to a $7,000 one. The $500 one can prepare for.

[HakunaMatata]

CareCredit doesn't care about your dog. They care about their money.

You, on the other hand, care about your dog. I understand your position and your fears as I have two beloved furry monsters. I spent nearly $10k on my "free" dog during his first year of life. Thankfully, I had cash available to provide for my costly "free" puppy.

I experienced a personal need for costly dental care. I didn't have cash available due to job loss. I opened a CareCredit account. My first zero-interest payment was submitted electronically two weeks in advance and I received a late charge on my second bill. CareCredit has a track record of dishonest practices. These "late" payments increase debt load as high interest accrues. A $1,000 balance can readily double.

Like you, I fear not being able to provide for my dogs. My $10k puppy turned older dog has a condition that may cause problems in the future. The only way for me to ease my fears is to save. I won't rely on credit. I simply can't rely on credit in the immediate future. I can, however, rely on cash. Don't over-think, over-worry, or over-pay. I understand your commitment and your desire to provide for your dog. Explore alternative insurance options (vets sometimes have internal programs) and start a healthy doggy savings account to ease your fears.

[JustOverBroke]

We have used our vet for 12-13 years for one pet or another. They do NOT do payments of any kind from my understanding and if they did it for anybody it would be us. So I doubt that is an option. I'm hoping since they didn't close it after the DMP (which most consider same as chapter 13) maybe they still won't. If I pay it off, I do not have to include it in the bk.

You don't know if you don't ask!!!

Never just assume you won't get if you don't ask.
Besides it's a bad economy out there what is this Vet willing to do for you to keep you're business.

There's a lot of good vets out there.

I know how you feel though we juggle 4 animals (3 dogs 1 cat) ourselves.

We take 1 in a month for there yearly shots,exams,and heartworm and pay cash the cat is first this month and the others will follow.

I can't speak for others but credit cards scare the hell out of me and I prefer to not have them anymore.

Besides it's really nice going to the mail box and find nothing but junk mail,boring but nice.