Filed Chapter 7, then husband's corporate AMEX was cancelled. Options?

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

I am new to these forums, but so glad to have found them! We filed Chapter 7 on 10/15/14, with our 341 hearing scheduled for 11/14/14. 

In September, DH accepted a position with a corporation that required him to apply for a corporate AMEX card. He applied for it, and received it, prior to our filing. Howeveer, after we filed, he received a letter stating that his card was cancelled. Because of his position, there may be travel involved, and he will need some sort of credit card, as we cannot personally afford to front his travel expenses (some of which may be international). So, he has had to explain this to his boss, his HR department, and is now speaking to his travel department. He has never had an AMEX card - although I have for years, and it is part of our Chapter 7.

Any advice on CC options for him? I've read through and printed out the "From BK7 discharge to 700 in 24 months or less" thread, but that doesn't really address the corporate business side of things.

Has anyone had good luck talking with AMEX and getting this type of card reinstated? Or other, higher-limit CC immediately for corporate use? He would probably need something with around a $6000 limit.

Thanks!

[0REDSOX7]

I find this odd. I had a corporate AmEx card when I filed, and I included several AmEx cards in my filing and my corporate card is still valid (just used it the other week).

With that said - you're gonna be hard pressed to find a card with that limit while in a BK proceeding. Can your husband's corporation tell AmEx that they are responsible for the charges, not your husband?

[Anonymous]

It came as a surprise to us, too.

So far he hasn't had any luck getting it resolved. This card is one that he is responsible for paying, and then his company reimburses him for the expenses through an expense check. But it is definitely a corporate card with the company name on it.

I know there are other corporate cards where the company pays the bill and the employee is an AU. I think ideally that's what we are hoping he can switch to at this point.

[DaveInAZ]

"DH accepted a position with a corporation that required him to apply for a corporate AMEX card."

"This card is one that he is responsible for paying, and then his company reimburses him for the expenses through an expense check."

- That is really strange.An employer can't require someone to apply for credit you are presonally responsible for as a condition of employment. And if he pays the bill & they reimburse, what make him get an Amex corp card, why wouldn't just any existing MC/Visa do?  Are they a really small company or something? Doesn't sound like it if they have an HR & travel dept. The solution is for them to provide a corp card the company has obvtained in their name or a corp officer's name & credit and issue your hubby a card as an authorized user.

Personally, I hate Amex, but I won't waste your time going into why. But I worked for a small company where the President got an Amex Corp card with his  credit, and when they hired me they got an additional card with the co. name on it but with me as an authorized user. That;s what your hubbys employer will need to do because you won't get a credit card with a $6k CL until long after discharge. And it's so much easier if the company pays the card directly instead of your hubby paying it and they reimbursing.

[Anonymous]

[Quote]An employer can't require someone to apply for credit you are presonally responsible for as a condition of employment. And if he pays the bill & they reimburse, what make him get an Amex corp card, why wouldn't just any existing MC/Visa do?  Are they a really small company or something? Doesn't sound like it if they have an HR & travel dept.[/Quote]

It wasn't a condition of employment, really. The applications were provided during his training, and it appears this type of card is this: (from nolo.com)

If you are not an authorized user, you are an obligor on the account. That is, you are liable for the balance. Usually on these accounts the employee and employer are jointly responsible for the debt. This is the type of account you likely hold if you seek reimbursement from your employer for your business expenses, receive the bill directly from the credit card issuer, and are responsible for paying the account each month yourself.

Balance on account. If you file bankruptcy, and you have a balance on this account, you must list it in your bankruptcy schedules because you are liable for the debt. The credit card issuer will probably close the account, and the debt will be discharged in the bankruptcy case.

No balance. If the account has no balance, you might be able to leave it off the schedules. In this situation, you may be able to keep the credit card. Not always, however. Some credit card companies and banks routinely review bankruptcy filings or credit reports and close accounts for any cardholder with a bankruptcy on record.

There was no balance on it, and as of this afternoon, AMEX says he needs to reapply and have the "company back the card". When he asked what that meant, the guy told him to speak to his company's program administrator, but coudn't tell him who that might be. It's a very large global company, so finding all the right people when  you are new to the organization is a bit stressful. He really didn't want to have to share all of this with so many people in his organization. Ugh.

[DaveInAZ]

He really didn't want to have to share all of this with so many people in his organization. Ugh.

- Yeah, I was thinking it must be pretty it must be pretty uncomfortable to have to tell them this a month or os into the job. Uncomfortable no matter how long on the job, but you're thinking about first impressions.

There was no balance on it, and as of this afternoon, AMEX says he needs to reapply and have the "company back the card".

Yeah, if no balance you don't have to include in BK, but most creditors when they receive BK notice on one account they check for any other accounts with that person's SS# and close them. What they're sayhing is they want someone elso to also be legally obligated to pay the account, kind of like a co-signer. When Nolo says "Usually on these accounts the employee and employer are jointly responsible for the debt" that's not the case on this account, your husband was soley responsible fir paying it, from how you desrcibed it, What Amex is saying it that they want it ti be the way Nolo describes it - "the employee and employer are jointly responsible for the debt". And it sounds like his employer doesn't want it that way. Does the employer's name have to be on the card? Maybe a friend or family could get an Amex corp card and add your husband as an authorized user?

[Anonymous]

I just realized I didn't include the fact that the employer's name is actually already on the AMEX. Well hopefully we can go the other route where the company just pays the bill. I'd rTher have it that way so we don't have a u issues waiting for reimbursement and sing our credit once we are trying to rebuild it after the discharge.

Luckily, his boss didn't make a big deal of it, but still it's not the ideal situation for. First impression!

[Anonymous]

Some employers are weird about AMEX cards. I had one employer where they just paid it directly, which was so much easier for employees.

But I had another where the bill would come to me, I would have to request a check from accounting, then pay the bill when the check came. Worst part: while my personal account normally gave me about 3 weeks to pay my AMEX bill, for some stupid reason, I only had a week to pay my corporate bill. Inevitablly, I'd get the bill on the 1st, due on the 7th. I'd make a request to get a check from accounting, get the check on the 2nd. Mail the check to them, AMEX gets it on the 5th. But they don't process it until the 8th. So the 7th comes around and AMEX hasn't been paid. So AMEX will call accounting, wondering why employee X's bill wasn't paid and I'd get a call from accounting asking why I didn't pay the bill. Every single month, this happened.

[Anonymous]

Before I moved, I actually worked in the Corporate side of AMEX and I saw this frequently.  

You are right, Corporate cards are joint responsibility meaning if the employee has to file expense reports to have the card paid and fails to do so the employee is ultimately responsible for the late fees, annual fees and sometimes the balance.  It was a grey area that we as AMEX Employees had to educate the cardholders on all the time.  They are given the Corp. Cards (ie Platinum, Gold) and have not been educated on how it is ultimately up to them to maintain.

For you situation, yes once personal bk's hit, cards are shut down due to prior arrangements and agreements with the Corp when they start their partnership w/ AMEX.  Uncomfortable conversation for sure to have w/ your employer, but to save you as a family from having to front a secured card for the travel I second him asking his HR Dept  (specifically the Program Administrator for AMEX) to guarentee the card for a limit sufficent to cover an international travel and a few months worth of expense accts if they were to be delayed (holidays).  Just FYI, AMEX is great for helping in emergency travel situations, but know if the limit is backed by the company for lets say $10,000 and he needs an extra $100 to get home, that would not be authorized without getting his employer to approve a limit increase.  A hassle yes, but better to go through this now then right before an expected travel.   Hope this helps!