Well it's been awhile since I have been hanging out her but I have absolutely been doing great since the filing of my BK 7 last year. It has already been a year and 2 months since that time and rebuilding credit is so easy it is like taking candy from a baby.......well almost. However, I am a bit perplexed by an offer I received in the mail today........from CAP1. They said it was pre-approved.....up to $5K. So I get on the net and say what the heck might as well give it a whirl. And it comes back in about 5 seconds and says APPROVED! I BK'D them a little more than a year ago to the tune of about $3500. And they are going to give me a new TL????? The thought did cross my mind that they might be trying to add the past debt onto this new account. Is that possible or even legal since it is a discharged debt? Everything I read says absolutely not, but I know how unscrupulous some of the CC's can be. Thanks for helping! It's great to be back home and with y'all again.
Cap 1 has been known to offer "CC"s in the amount of an existing account balance. If they were doing this, the offer would have to explicitly say the old account balance was being transferred to the new account. They would also probably be in serious trouble trying this on an account IIB. Sears got in deep trouble trying to get customers to reaffirm debts IIB a few years back. http://directmag.com/news/marketing_sears_unit_pleads/index.html
Actually, a credit card company or bank can hold you accountable for a previous debt. It happened to me with a bank that i had a loan with and defaulted on. I had an account with another bank which was taken over by the first bank. One day there was a debit for 1200 posted to my account. I called the bank and they stated that in my original agreement, they had the legal right to take the money in the case of my default. I'm not sure how this relates to bankruptcy, but I wouldn't put it past any banking institution.
If the account was included in bankruptcy, any collection activity, let alone debiting offsetting balances, could get them in a lot of trouble. Making an unauthorized charge to a new credit account wouldn't be legal either. Including a debt in bankruptcy extinguishes the debt. Part of the purpose is to ensure fairness to all existing creditors, so that whatever payments are distributed are paid equitably. If some creditors had to accept pennys on the dollar, but others, in similar unsecured positions, could just revive their loans later, bankruptcy wouldn't settle anything. In addition, new creditors need to be able to know that if they loan you money after bankruptcy, your post-bankruptcy solvency and earning potential is real, and they are not just sending money to the old creditors.
Thanks for the replies y'all. I contacted Cap1 today and talked to them very openly about this issue.....to an extent. I told them I had a sister that was thinking about activating her card but was afraid of all this. They said absolutely nothing for her to worry about at all and that it would have to be completely disclosed if they were doing anything remotely close to this. They also said it is routine for them to exend credit to a homeowner that has kept current on his/her mortgage and has good income and no other debts (which is me!) approximately 9-12 months post BK because they know that you can't file on them again for another 6 years. At any rate I have activated my new account with no annual fee and a teaser rate of 0% until May of 2006. If they change the terms on me later I'll just cut the card up and send it back. Life is great!
