RE: More about Orchard Bank RichGuy, My annual fee was only $49.00. I don't think I would have applied if the fee had been $89.00! I like Orchard because the customer service reps are always nice. When I had a problem, the rep suggested that I speak to a supervisor. I did and the supervisor solved the problem. He even called me later to be sure I was satisfied. Orchard also reports monthly to the credit bureaus. I obtain a copy of my credit report frequently from all 3 bureaus and Orchard has always consistently and accurately reported. This is not true for many companies. Finally, the APR on my Orchard card is 18%. I did some research and noticed that the standard card from Chase is 19% and the same for First USA and many other big-name cards! These big name cards make up the annual fee by charging a higher APR! I know Orchard has no extra added benefits. But for someone who needs to build credit Orchard is a great deal. Just avoid the finance charge by paying the balance. Pay on time and don't exceed the limit. You'll get credit limit increases and a positive monthly report to the credit bureaus. All I have written is from first-hand experience and not what I've heard.
RE: More about Orchard Bank Keith, that's my experience with Orchard as well. I've had their card about 14 months. I'm pleased.
RE: Thanks to Dave Richguy, my problem has been tax liens after a failed business venture. They were paid last year but still endure on my report. Payments on cards and loans is A-OK. By the way, I just got a preapproved solicitation for citibank plat. card at a decent interest rate. I'll just wait and see what happens. RichGuy wrote: ------------------------------- Dave, Thanks for the information you shared with us. I always appreciate "public service" postings such as yours. I hope I didn't seem needlessly aggressive with my questions. I'm just a very curious person whose mind works quickly at times. Even if you are stuck with subprime cards after six years, I still admire your patience.
RE: Reality Check and more Ccard companies deal differently with somebody who is late on payments - that's a fact. Providian is one of the worst in this area. Reality check? Be realistic and accept the fact that life is impredictable. No matter how secure somebody feels today, he or she may face difficulties some time or another in the future, so it's better to keep this in mind when chosing a cc. I know people who had a terrible time dealing with unreasonable Providian laywers and will NEVER take a card from them.
RE: Reality Check Yours is a very interesting story, regarding Capital One. It appears there is a way out of being labeled "sub-prime loser for life", well at least in your case. Would be interesting to see if other's in the same boat are willing to try the same. Are you listening Len
RE: An Interesting Question "the sad story is if you have any negative information on your credit report it will affect you for at least 7 YEARS. Reality is no such thing as REBUILDING CREDIT All you are doing is adding positive credit on your credit file example: if you have 10 positive trade lines on your credit report and 1 Major Negative line your stuck in the sub-prime catagory. All you will get is sub-prime offers. That one nasty mark will lower your credit score enough so you will not get any great offers." I concur completely with that and hold to my position that no amount of positive credit lines for any amount will will counteract 1 negative for 2 cents or if that negative were but one 60-day late 6 years 11 months back. Fortunately, the same doesn't hold true for all other forms of credit (car loans, mortgages, cash loans) which don't hold to this insane "one strike your out criteria".
