Rebuilding After Bankruptcy Dismissal

[lastchapter_AM]

Hey everyone, I'm looking to get some guidance on where to go from here. Hopefully I can provide enough information to be helpful as my situation seems a little odd & my scores lower than most others. Long story short: in 2015 my vehicle was repossessed (for the second time) and in order to get it back, they wanted payment in full. I was unable to come up with that kind of money, so I was advised to go in to chapter 13 (5 years) to essentially get my car back and continue on, which I did. At the time, I had a Discover card with a small balance that had to be included, prior to I had never missed any payments or paid late. The other was a Best Buy card through Citibank that I had for years, never late, might have missed 1 payment. Either way, these HAD to be included.

Fast forward to end of 2019: I was behind on bankruptcy payments and the trustee was looking to dismiss my case due to this. I called my vehicle lender to see what the balance was and weigh my options (either pay off my car since the note should be low, or come up with the money needed to get current on my BK). Miraculously, my vehicle was recently paid off in a class-action settlement due to something about invalid repossession tactics, etc and I would be receiving the title to my vehicle once that was all set. My BK case was dismissed 08/2019. Because the case was 95% my vehicle, the 2 aforementioned cards did not have anything paid on the principal. I have since paid them both off through the collection companies they were with.

That brings me to now: my FICO scores are low 500's, Experian through Discover is showing me at 519 last month and this month, although it did jump 5 points the month prior. Where do I start? The bank (not a CU) I'm currently with does not offer any secured cards or types of credit building loans. I was told about a "secured CD" some banks / CU's may offer; that helped a friend jump her score a decent amount years back. I also keep eyeballing the Discover IT card but I don't want to waste my time applying with such a low score and since my old card had to be placed with a collector rather than being paid off in the bankruptcy.

Thanks in advance, really appreciate anyone who may share some insight!

[Jannelo]

Have you gone on Capital One to see what, if any, cards you prequalify for?  If not, I would try that.  I owed Cap One on two charge-offs, and I still prequalified for an unsecured Cap One card.  Truthfully, at the time, I didn't even think they would offer me a secured CC card.  My Experian FICO score at that time was 528.

[FireMedic1]

Basically your starting from stratch. I dont see any talk about Cap1. You could start there and see if you could get the Plat. Try the waters with the unsecured Cap1 first. But see if you get any pre-qual choices. QS1 is a no no. https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/prequalify/ If that doesnt work. Then the secured route might have to be the way to get going. Theres the Open Sky with no HP and Merrick Bank which doubles your CL in a short period. Got to get 1 CC to get going. And go from there. Dont rush it and get a bunch of stuff just yet, Your score is low. It will be baby steps for now.

[lastchapter_AM]

Thanks! I filled that out and got: "We couldn’t match your records to a card offer. But based on your answers, we think you might like this card:" and it showed the Plat, QS1 and finally the secured MC. I'm guessing that's essentially a no-go on the prequal, so I'll have to possibly try the secured route through OpenSky or Merrick. Are those more advantageous than say the Discover IT card? I could be wrong in thinking that I might have had some leeway with Discover since I had them prior, possibly being able to call for a manual review if I received a denial, if that's even a thing.

[Anonymous]

Disco would definitely be preferable over the others as you earn the same rewards as the unsecured card, and it is a keeper card long term. Try their prequal and see if they offer you something. If not, use the secured cards above and try back with Disco every couple months until they bite.

[righthererightnow]

Try to focus on cards you want to use, then look for secured versions that will convert over time & save you Inquiries. (Also... Check out Capital One. They are friendly post BK, they forgive).

[FireMedic1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Disco would definitely be preferable over the others as you earn the same rewards as the unsecured card, and it is a keeper card long term. Try their prequal and see if they offer you something. If not, use the secured cards above and try back with Disco every couple months until they bite.

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I agree @Anonymous . I went by no mention of Cap. But Disco was included in the BK. Even though there may be a shot 5 yrs later. @lastchapter_AM Try Disco------->https://www.discovercard.com/application/prequal 

[FireMedic1]

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@righthererightnow wrote:

Try to focus on cards you want to use, then look for secured versions that will convert over time & save you Inquiries. (Also... Check out Capital One. They are friendly post BK, they forgive).

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Read post #3. If you want to save inq's. Cap 1 triple pulls. But to get started if the OP was approved. It would have been worth it. OP tried already in their responce.

[lastchapter_AM]

Unfortunately it's a no go with Discover on the prequal, due to the following: bankruptcy.

Could it not be reporting correctly on my report(s) yet? As I mentioned, it was dismissed in August of last year. I'm going to pull my reports now (which can apparently be accessed weekly due to Covid) and see what the verbiage is? I understand it will still show up but just wanted to make sure it didn't look like I'm currently in one.

[sarge12]

You are in a really tough place credit wise for sure. The only thing on a credit report worst than a bankruptcy is a dismissed bankruptcy. It carries all the weight of a bankruptcy while also leaving open possible judgements. If a family member has great credit and will allow you to be an AU on one of their credit cards it might help a little. The good news is you likely have little to lose from inqueries, but going the share secured route might be best. Many credit unions have credit builder cards. Others do as well, but great care should be used as there are many shady deals in that market designed more to collect fees than actually help. Good Luck, and don't lose hope. I have actually filed both ch13 and ch7 in my lifetime and my scores are quite good since 2008.