Zero balance CCs -- will those banks close my accounts when I file?

[cupcake]

I am looking WAY ahead here and already thinking about how I will rebuild my credit after I file and get a discharge.

I have three CCs that currently have a zero balance: Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and a Macy's Visa. I am not very concerned about the NM and Nordstrom cards because I never shop in those stores but it would be awesome if the Macy's Visa stayed open because it's not just a store card - it's an actual Visa card. It has a small credit limit of $1,500 so it would be perfect.

They will not be listed as creditors because I don't owe them any money, right? Could these cards possibly survive my BK?

[momof5]

I am not sure about the others but my Macys Visa had a 0 balance on it and I noticed on my credit report that it said "account closed by credit grantor"

None of my cards with 0 balances have survived. Even my Fingerhut credit (never used it) was cancelled.

[cupcake]

momof5, do you know if they were listed as creditors?

I think it's wishful thinking on my part that any of them could possibly survive.

[Cali]

Your main concern now should be filing and not what credit cards will survive the filing.

And all the credit cards I had with zero balance still have zero balance and are open.

[cupcake]

Your main concern now should be filing and not what credit cards will survive the filing.

And all the credit cards I had with zero balance still have zero balance and are open.

It's not my main concern at all. It's just a thought that I had, nothing more. I am someone who looks at the whole picture and who thinks about what is going to happen down the road, not just what is happening in the present.

[PoorGrammyinBK7]

Hi Cali and Cupcake! I was wondering the same thing.

And its not my main concern either - not even a big concern - there is sooo much more to get through. But I do hope one or two of my zero balance cards will survive. Our BK was not mainly due to credit cards but another situation that we couldn't help.

Can't hurt to hope though, right?

[cupcake]

^Exactly! All we can do is keep our fingers crossed. It just seemed like an easier/better alternative than having to get a high-fee or secured CC after the discharge to rebuild credit.

[liz417]

^Exactly! All we can do is keep our fingers crossed. It just seemed like an easier/better alternative than having to get a high-fee or secured CC after the discharge to rebuild credit.

I have one with a zero balance as well, I hope it survives too!

[Cali]

I wasn't trying to be mean in my post. But I have seen way too many posts about keeping CC's with zero balances, credit scores, etc.

When I filed I didn't care if my zero balance cards survived or not. I wanted to be done with all this and go on with my life.

And we didn't file because of CC, we filed because we went from 2 high figure jobs to just 1.

[AngelinaCatHub]

I wasn't trying to be mean in my post. But I have seen way too many posts about keeping CC's with zero balances, credit scores, etc.

When I filed I didn't care if my zero balance cards survived or not. I wanted to be done with all this and go on with my life.

And we didn't file because of CC, we filed because we went from 2 high figure jobs to just 1.

[momof5]

momof5, do you know if they were listed as creditors?

I think it's wishful thinking on my part that any of them could possibly survive.

No ,they were not listed in my matrix as they were 0 balance and either I had not used them ever or they hadnt been used in a long time.

It took 33 days after filing before they showed as closed.

[JRScott]

Most major stores have their store cards backed by the larger banks. So if you have debts you plan to discharge in a bk from any major bank, it is unlikely that any store card backed by the same bank would survive.

It is rare for a card to survive bankruptcy. It does happen occasionally, but it is not the norm.

[RedLight]

I had 2 Citi cards with zero balances with at total CL of $42,000. I will never need that much credit so I just closed them down. I have a Capital One CC with a $2,000 CL and hope it will stay open. If not, who cares, there are other ways of repair.

[No Gravy]

My attorney told me that even the 0 balance ones need to be added. I had hoped to reaffirm with one company (my oldest trade account, since 1994), but they're owned by GE Money Bank. When I called GEMB to ask about their policies, the lady told me they close all GEMB backed accounts and do not offer reaffirmation.

[Flamingo]

My attorney told me that even the 0 balance ones need to be added. I had hoped to reaffirm with one company (my oldest trade account, since 1994), but they're owned by GE Money Bank. When I called GEMB to ask about their policies, the lady told me they close all GEMB backed accounts and do not offer reaffirmation.

We too had to list ALL credit cards, zero balance or not, on the initial paperwork we submitted prior to filing. We had two credit cards with zero balance - Dress Barn and Western Auto. Our attorney advised us we could close them if we wanted but we could wait and see if they survived the filing if we wanted also. They were not included on our creditor matrix, but we had to submit the name and account number on initial paperwork. Both survived. Western Auto is now defunct anyway but I still have my Dress Barn, use it occasionally for work attire, and it has a zero balance.

There were some postings in here by some who state their bankruptcy was not caused by CC but by a drop in income or other situations. Debt causes bankruptcy. When you have a job loss or income drop and have lots of bills and debt that is what causes the problem, not the job loss itself. If one has low or no debt and a cushion one can survive a drop in income or job loss. With a mound of debt, it is impossible. We were in denial about that too and lived way beyond our means prior to my husband's job loss - we thought we were immune and would never have to file - right... Reality eventually slaps one in the face. Our high income paid our high debt and the credit limits and other savings we had kept us afloat for a year after the job loss but we had to file due to the high debt load since a compatable job could not be found nor obtained by my Unix Engineer husband. He went from high tech six figure to retail clerk. Our lifestyle has totally changed since the year 2000 and we look back and would never live like that again. Credit is dangerous. Too much debt is dangerous.