I live in Wisconsin and it seems that a lot of the ads that I answer for secured cards have an "except for residents of WI" clause which means that I can't apply. Does anyone have any idea why? I do have a couple--Direct Merchants and another one and they are both in excellent standing. But it would be nice to get at least one more. I wanted to get Target but I have a feeling that I will be turned down. Some of the other department stores that were suggested such as Wards and others, we don't have here. How about JC Penny--is that difficult to get if you have had bad credit but have a couple of recent good reports? Any advice that you can offer will be very much appreciated!
It seems that Sears and JC Penney are the hardest retail cards to get. Target would be much more realistic for the present. As far as Wisconsin goes, it could be that some creditors still issue cards in Wisconsin, but with a different application form that they want to use as little as possible. I have seen notices on some applications that residents of some states need to request a particular application from the creditor. If all you have is "a couple of recent good reports," it could be a while before you qualify even for Target. It seems to take about three years after bad credit to rebuild a good credit record. Starting from scratch with no record, it seems to take a lot less time, provided you are able to get some credit to start with. I know a girl at work who got her first $250 Visa from a credit union 8 months ago, got a $1000 Visa from Providian about 5 months ago, and recently got a 2.9% balance transfer offer from Citibank. All right, maybe it wouldn't get approved, but I don't even get offers like that. If we had just managed our credit a little better in the past, we would be in great shape now.
Your state has a very tough consumer protection law. It is the same reason a lot of "late-night" commercials (such as aluminum siding, etc.) have a similar disclaimer.
Thanks for that information Fred. I thought it that it might have something to do with that. People here are pretty trusting and so they are easy marks. We do have a Atty General who is pretty good as far as looking out for us goes. Maybe I just can't see what the difference is or would be in the ones that I do have and the ones that I can't have! I'd love to know what makes the others stand out and can't get approval here.
Actually, JC Penney seems fairly easy. I knew one person who was just starting out with credit, and had had one secured card for less than a year, when they qualified for a JC Penney store card. This was some time ago, so perhaps they have tightened up a bit. Qualifying despite bad credit, of course, may be a very different issue. Sears certainly has a reputaion for being rather aggressive in the event of a default, which could be an indication of tight approval standards, as well. CardReport.Com - Credit Tools, News, And Reference CardReport.Com - Credit Tools, News, And Reference
