Post Chapter 13 Order of Operations

[Eppie1983]

Hey was anybody successful getting cards or loans right off the bat at discharge from Chapter 13? Want to rebuild ASAP. My middle FICO is 639. My Transunion is wicked low compared to the other two, maybe look at credit report and find out why?

[coreyb80]

Most recommend waiting 4-6 weeks after discharge to let the reports get updated and then you can make any changes as needed.  I just tried Wells Fargo and a preapproval for Discover, AMEX, and FNBO.  No dice, so I'll be in the garden for at least a year moving forward now.

[Eppie1983]

Thank you Corey. I noticed my TU is way lower than my other 2 scores. I'll have to look at CR. Is there a notation that changes on CR from active to discharged? And then 2 years later it's gone from what I can tell. 

[coreyb80]

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@Eppie1983 wrote:

Thank you Corey. I noticed my TU is way lower than my other 2 scores. I'll have to look at CR. Is there a notation that changes on CR from active to discharged? And then 2 years later it's gone from what I can tell. 

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Yep my reports all show discharged now.  TU allows early exclusion so you can request that it be removed 6 months before the 2 year mark.  That's my plan next year.

[TRC_WA]

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@Eppie1983 wrote:

Hey was anybody successful getting cards or loans right off the bat at discharge from Chapter 13? Want to rebuild ASAP. My middle FICO is 639. My Transunion is wicked low compared to the other two, maybe look at credit report and find out why?

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I actually started getting cards 3 years into my 5 year plan.  I have the handful you can see below in my sig.  As a result, I haven't applied for any new CC's since discharge in March.  I did get a new auto loan a week later at a nice interest rate.

My TU is also low compared to the others... it's just the way that CB operates I guess.  I've looked at all my reports and they have the same info.

If you have no CC's I'd first check with preapproval sites like Cap One and Discover.  If that doesn't work... try lower quality lenders.  Gotta start somewhere.

[Eppie1983]

TRC,

Thanks for the information. I just found out now a month before last payment in these forums that people got credit during their chapter 13. My lawyer didn't tell me I could and I didn't ask. Wish I could have to rebuild all this time. Not sure if it makes their life easier not to ask for court approval maybe? I am lucky that the trustee when I filed allowed early payment of Ch13 because the new one doesn't. The new one is allowing only because I filed before his time. How do I check those sites for pre approval?

[TRC_WA]

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@Eppie1983 wrote:

TRC,

Thanks for the information. I just found out now a month before last payment in these forums that people got credit during their chapter 13. My lawyer didn't tell me I could and I didn't ask. Wish I could have to rebuild all this time. Not sure if it makes their life easier not to ask for court approval maybe? I am lucky that the trustee when I filed allowed early payment of Ch13 because the new one doesn't. The new one is allowing only because I filed before his time. How do I check those sites for pre approval?

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Just google "capital one credit card preapproval" and you'll find it.  Do the same for Discover and any other lenders you think you'd like to try.

This is my 2nd Ch 13... unfortunately.  The first one I did exactly what you did... waited till discharge and found out people were applying while still making payments.  This time I did the same thing and got approvals.  I never asked the trustee or my attorney... I just did it.  I never heard a bleep from either until the month of the last payment and that was only because I had to send some additional money to close everything out.

The trustee only cared about my monthly payment.  Obviously.  My last new CC was 5 months ago... and the oldest one is 2+ years old and I was just discharged a month ago.  On cruise control now till everything falls off and my scores jump to 700+ because that's what they did the last time when everything fell off.

Don't worry about waiting till now to get cards... you will still be able to build a solid history while waiting for everything to fall off in 2 years.  I did the first time.

[womanonfire]

I filed my Chapter 13 in November of 2021,  in a 3-year plan and I've already been approved for the following:

Venmo $2800 - 3% cash back

Misson Lane $750

Credit One $5000 - 1% cash back

No annual fees. I also got an Openskyy secured card shortly before I was approved for Venmo. I called them to get my deposit back, they said they would waive the annual fee if I stayed. I agreed to stay, they credited the fee and then I called back and closed it. I know closed accounts can lower scores but I am not super worried about that right now.  But five weeks to get the deposit back? Ugh! I do not recommend them! 

I am only using these cards to pay regular monthly expenses that I would otherwise pay with a debit card or bank draft. No more running up debt for me and not incurring any new debt.

[FireMedic1]

Welcome to the forums @womanonfire from a Firefighter! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats on your recovery! Nice job.