Credit Recovery Success | Chapter 13 dropped from CR - FINALLY!

[Anonymous]

Due to bad luck, bad choices and a bad divorce I filed for Chapter 13 in April of 2010.  I burnt just about everyone imaginable but finally got it together and successfully complete a 5 year plan, the discharge came thru in May 2015.   I am here today to report that my credit has finally recovered!!!!  

There is no way I could have done it without this board.  To give back, inform and hopefully inspire (like so many did for me) here are my milestones:

Day of discharge: EQ 581

• Open Sky secured card for $200. Fees were thru the roof but I never had a problem with them – closed card at 11 months
• Existing BOA 1st Mortgage, 3 baddies
• Existing BOA 2nd Mortgage, 7 baddies
• 3 old/closed accounts are still reporting, all in good standing.

Discharge + 3 days – EQ 581 – Heavy use, paid weekly and ran at about 11% utilization

• Capital One Platinum SL $1500. Received steady SP CLIs the next 20 months to reach 5.5K.  Combined with QS and closed account
• Capital One QS1 SL 2K. Received steady SP CLIs the next 20 months to reach 10K CL.  Combined with QS and closed account
• Menards’s Home Store (Cap1) SL $500. Current CL is $2K.  Just about ready to ditch this card, Lowes is treating me much better

Discharge + 3 to 4 months – EQ 664 - Heavy use, paid weekly and ran at about 11% utilization

• Capital One QS SL $7K. With steady CLI and account combo current CL is $23K
• Shot down by Barclays (forget which card)
• Discover IT SL $5K. Steady CLIs have taken me to $17,700

Discharge +6 months – EQ 704 - Heavy use, paid weekly and ran at about 4% utilization

Discharge + 8 months – EQ 722 - About 9% utilization

• Barclay Rewards SL $2K. Finally received a CLI after calling for APR reduction, the $1K CLI came around the 11 month mark.  I don’t have a lot of love here so I plan to close account at 2 years.

Discharge + 12 month – EQ 745 - No change in spending/utilization patterns

• Lowes SL 3K. Steady CLIs have taken me to $21K
• Kohl’s SL 1K. One CLI took me to 2K. I really have no interest in getting more, just use it for discounts. 
• Baddies are dropping

Discharge + 16 months – EQ 738 - About 4% utilization

• Old positive accounts are dropping. AOA plummeted

Discharge + 19 months- EQ 731

• Capital One Venture SL $15K
• Overstock $6500 SL – dumb dumb dumb!!!! SCT experiment, I don’t even shop there.
• With the exception of the PR all baddies are gone
• AOA down to 2.7 years

Discharge + 20 months -  EQ 736 –Still using cards heavily but keeping utilization around 1%

• Requested early PR removal and signed up for 3b
• EQ told me to pound sand but the others removed the PR - TU 811, EX 805 I about had a heart attack
• American Express BCE $12K

Discharge + 21 months – EQ 807

• YEAH THAT IS A 71 POINT INCREASE!

My advice to anyone starting out… DO NOT GIVE UP.  Chapter 13 can be brutal at times so focus on the long term, take little wins where you can and stick to the plan (ie don’t piss of the trustee).  You can recover and maybe even come thru stronger/more financially stable than before.   Read the posts on this board, search for answers and soak up knowledge.  Feel welcome here, others wouldn’t be reading unless they are in the same boat as you. 

[Anonymous]

SUPER DUPER!!

My 21 months will be June 2018.  Seems like a LIFETIME away.  I am slowly making progress.  I'd be app'ing CLI/HP'ing right now if I could, but I am in middle of new build/mortgage so I am on lockdown.

Thanks for your data!

[Math_Rocks]

Thanks, kgotcha! We are nearing the end of our 5-year chapter 13. I really don't want to play the credit game any more but I know we will need to replace one or both cars before the end of the year and we will not be able to save very much by then. So, one or two car loans (hopefully one!) in the next 6 - 9 months. I wish I could say we'd be able to save what we were paying the trustee when we get our discharge but I anticipate my student loan payments pretty much taking that payment's place. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

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@Math_Rocks wrote:

Thanks, kgotcha! We are nearing the end of our 5-year chapter 13. I really don't want to play the credit game any more but I know we will need to replace one or both cars before the end of the year and we will not be able to save very much by then. So, one or two car loans (hopefully one!) in the next 6 - 9 months. I wish I could say we'd be able to save what we were paying the trustee when we get our discharge but I anticipate my student loan payments pretty much taking that payment's place. Sigh.

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You didnt include your student loans to be paid through the trustee during the 5 years?  How did you get around that?  And why would you exclude them?

[Anonymous]

Good job resisting temptation, willpower has not been my strong suite of late. 

I plan to refinance my mortgage as soon as I am eligible for a great loan.  Big regrets on 2 of my last 3 new accounts because of the refi, they surely set me back. Mortgage scores are much lower than FICO 8, hoping to see a jump in the next few months when a bunch of inquiries drop off:  EX 775, TU 766, EQ 704. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

SUPER DUPER!!

My 21 months will be June 2018.  Seems like a LIFETIME away.  I am slowly making progress.  I'd be app'ing CLI/HP'ing right now if I could, but I am in middle of new build/mortgage so I am on lockdown.

Thanks for your data!

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Opps I posted that that comment incorrectly.  Should have quoted juniebrunner like i did here.

Good job resisting temptation, willpower has not been my strong suite of late. 

I will refinance my mortgage as soon as I am eligible for a great loan.  Big regrets on 2 of my last 3 new accounts because of the refi, they surely set me back. Mortgage scores are much lower than FICO 8, hoping to see a jump in the next few months when a bunch of inquiries drop off:  EX 775, TU 766, EQ 704. 

[luxeprw9]

Wow!!  What an inspiration - thanks for sharing your story!

My CH13 discharged in August 2016 and I didn't think I would see 700 scores until the bankruptcy dropped off completely.  But based on your journey, it is possible for 700 scores while the bankruptcy is still showing.  Bravo!!

[Anonymous]

First, congrats!
Second, thank you for the detailed timeline!

[Math_Rocks]

@juniebrunner, you are correct that student loans cannot be excluded. Our trustee has been making (small) payments for a couple years now, after priority debts were paid off. However, those payments only made a little dent since I had about $75K in student loans when we filed. Depending on how those payments were credited, I will have somewhere from 50K - 60K still to pay after we get our discharge.

[Anonymous]

Thats impressive...congrats! Im 26 months post discharge. I have cap1 plat secured at 850 CL, Cap1 Quicksilver unsecured at 1000 CL, a vehicle loan at 7k, and was just approved for a VA mortgage through NFCU. My scores are EQ672, TU642, EX674. No late payments but i waited until a year after discharge to even apply for a secured card. Simply didnt think I could get any card that soon after bk. I regret thatcand wish I'd of srarted my rebuild immediately after discharge. Question. .....how did you negotiate the CL increases.....yours seem large and very frequent compared to mine. Thanks and congrats again!