@Anonymous wrote:Hey all,
I came here specifically to ask for some advice for my clients, collectively. I occasionally interact with survivors of domestic violence, and I sometimes feel like I don't have the best answers to give them when it comes to finances. I have stalked these forums for years and gotten so much good information, but have never posted. I would like input on the following:
What advice would you give to someone who finds themselves relocated to a different state, with a new name and social security number. Typically these clients are women, and although some are employable at average or above incomes, most are in the lower income brackets. Escaping violence means these people have left behind college degrees, work history, etc. for the sake of safety.
Typically they have obtained a sealed name change, a new social security number, and a birth certificate with their new name. This poses a number if problems, maybe more than it solves in some cases, one of which is how the client is to go about establishing a financial history and credit. They must walk away from previous financial relationships because to keep them would be to risk their abuser finding them.
What are the best steps for someone in this situation to take? Obviously one of the first priorities is to establish a checking account, which is generally simple enough. Are there any banks that are particularly good or bad in terms of privacy? I have always assumed they are about the same. I would also recommend a local credit union. Any financial institution has their own privacy policies which are usually very good - they don't want to get sued for privacy violations.
Also, what would the best first steps be for someone in this situation to establish credit? My standard recommendation tends to be a secured card. Do you guys have any more specific ideas? Besides checking with their new local credit union, I highly recommend Discover or Capital One for their secured cards. Discover especially, since there isn't an annual fee and they have a good graduation rate.
These clients tend to get hit with a ton of inquiries on brand new, baby credit thanks to apartment, utility, bank account, etc. applications. Is there any way for them to minimize the damage? No way to minimize the damage, but creditors usually aren't going to look at housing and related HPs the same as a HP from a creditor for credit.
Some clients also need to be able to finance a vehicle relatively quickly, before they have established any credit. Is there any alternative to the terrible buy-here-pay-here places? I would try their new credit union or Capital One auto, via online, especially after getting a secured card with them. The rates may not be that great, but it's better than the buy-here-pay-here-ripoffs. After 6-12 months of good credit history, I'd recommend getting the loan refinanced if the rate is higher than they like.
What would the best long-game strategy be in these kinds of situations, if the goal is for the client to eventually have a decent credit score without exposing them to the risks of applying for credit repeatedly, by virtue of getting turned down? Every instance of sharing information is a risk of discovery, regardless of how small, and must be reduced as much as possible. I'm guessing the thing to do is only apply for products they are sure they are qualified for, but that's difficult with no history. I'd keep applications to only the cards or loans that they need, as you just stated. Three cards give the maximum FICO scores, but two cards is just fine too, when combined with a loan. It takes a little time to get a decent score going.
I know that was a bunch of questions in one post, and I sincerely appreciate any advice on any of those points that anyone can give!
Thanks again.
My recommendations are in bold.
@GApeachy wrote:Recently this is a Discover card "Thing" ......they are requesting tax return transcripts (4506-T) for up to 2 or 3 prior years. That could affect some of these relocated/new life/no past life ppl. See what I'm saying? I'm not down on Discover but I think about these ppl not having a History, No hate....just wanna point it out.
I'm aware of what Discover has been requesting from some customers but I don't think it's going to be relevant to their situations the OP is talking about. They aren't using a CPN because they'll have SSNs, they will have new addresses on file and as long as their stated income matches what they make, there shouldn't be a problem. For every horror story that gets posted here, they are probably plenty of other people that had no issue getting a secured card with Discover.
@Anonymous wrote:Hey all,
I came here specifically to ask for some advice for my clients, collectively. I occasionally interact with survivors of domestic violence, and I sometimes feel like I don't have the best answers to give them when it comes to finances. I have stalked these forums for years and gotten so much good information, but have never posted. I would like input on the following:
What advice would you give to someone who finds themselves relocated to a different state, with a new name and social security number. Typically these clients are women, and although some are employable at average or above incomes, most are in the lower income brackets. Escaping violence means these people have left behind college degrees, work history, etc. for the sake of safety.
Typically they have obtained a sealed name change, a new social security number, and a birth certificate with their new name. This poses a number if problems, maybe more than it solves in some cases, one of which is how the client is to go about establishing a financial history and credit. They must walk away from previous financial relationships because to keep them would be to risk their abuser finding them.
What are the best steps for someone in this situation to take? Obviously one of the first priorities is to establish a checking account, which is generally simple enough. Are there any banks that are particularly good or bad in terms of privacy? I have always assumed they are about the same.
Also, what would the best first steps be for someone in this situation to establish credit? My standard recommendation tends to be a secured card. Do you guys have any more specific ideas?
These clients tend to get hit with a ton of inquiries on brand new, baby credit thanks to apartment, utility, bank account, etc. applications. Is there any way for them to minimize the damage?
Some clients also need to be able to finance a vehicle relatively quickly, before they have established any credit. Is there any alternative to the terrible buy-here-pay-here places?
What would the best long-game strategy be in these kinds of situations, if the goal is for the client to eventually have a decent credit score without exposing them to the risks of applying for credit repeatedly, by virtue of getting turned down? Every instance of sharing information is a risk of discovery, regardless of how small, and must be reduced as much as possible. I'm guessing the thing to do is only apply for products they are sure they are qualified for, but that's difficult with no history.
I know that was a bunch of questions in one post, and I sincerely appreciate any advice on any of those points that anyone can give!
Thanks again.
My advice would be to walk in to a branch of the local credit union, start a savings account and a free checking account, and get a secured credit card.
