Not lisitng a card?

[findingPeace]

I head read in a book that for instance, if you have a Lowes card with no balance,or small balance to pay it off & not to list it. If its not listed, can you still use it after BK?
We dont have a very big line of credit on it, but until we can put some money back if the water heater or fridge goes out, it would be nice to have.. Anyone ever done this? and were they able to use it after the BK?

[mgmadara]

I head read in a book that for instance, if you have a Lowes card with no balance,or small balance to pay it off & not to list it. If its not listed, can you still use it after BK?
We dont have a very big line of credit on it, but until we can put some money back if the water heater or fridge goes out, it would be nice to have.. Anyone ever done this? and were they able to use it after the BK?

You don't have to list cards with 0 balances but you must list all cards that have balances no matter how small. It is very rare for cards that weren't listed to survive your bankruptcy, but if they do you can still use them.

We filed in 2005 before the current credit crunch and had Lowes, JC Penney, and Lane Bryant cards with 0 balances. The Lowes card survived but the other 2 did not. I also know that some posters here had cards survive their bankruptcies for months or even years and then suddenly they were closed because of their bankruptcies. You might get lucky, but I wouldn't count on it.

[StartingOver08]

I had a zero balance Neiman Marcus card that had been paid off for at least 18 months prior to filing (could have been as much as 2 yrs with a zero, don't remember now! )

When I filed, Neiman Marcus was the first one to send a letter closing the account within about 2 or 3 days of filing BK.

Most of the larger companies belong to a service that provides daily electronic alerts to the card issuer as to bankruptcy filings. Don't be surprised if Lowes closes your account anyway. If they don't - just be aware that they can close it anytime for any reason.

[JRScott]

As previously said if the card balance is 0 you don't have to list it.

If the amount is anything higher than 0 then legally you have to list it. You could pay one off that requires less than 600 dollars to pay off in the 90 days prior to listing.

Keep in mind even if the card is not listed in the bankruptcy the chances of it surviving the bankruptcy are not good. Most store cards are linked to the major banks and they'll probably kill your line of credit.

[2xBK]

In my first BK back in '98 I omitted 4 Amex cards because they had zero balances. Lawyer (a very experienced one) told me I was dreaming, that Amex was famous for closing accounts for anyone in bankruptcy. Those accounts were never closed though and I continued to use them, which helped a great deal in putting me back in the same place again.

I now live in a different state but will be filing once again very soon. Maybe I'll learn my lesson this time.

Anyway, one of my Chase cards that was at zero and wasn't going to be included in this filing was already closed by Chase as soon as I fell behind in others. I don't think the card companies are going to be too lenient in this economy. Good news is that you'll get new card offers soon after you file... at 29.99% and $300.00 up front.

<sigh>

[StartingOver08]

Actually I was just discharged in Jan 2009 and received an offer for a zero percent card - zero percent on purchases for one year. Thought it was a come on type offer but applied anyway. Yes, its low limit, unsecured.

Actually got the card today and it in fact actually has zero percent for the first year. 19.9 thereafter. But what is zero balance x 19.9%? ZERO!

[relief13035]

All of mine were closed real fast after filing.

[JoeBankrupt33]

When I filed in 2001, I had a capital one card with $0 balance. It survived, until now.