Jim, You said you were able to obtain secured loans at credit unions. Can you answer some questions about that: 1) How easy were they to get? How long had you been with the credit union? Did you just fill out a form, or did you talk to/show your credit reports to a CU official before applying? 2) Are the credit unions that helped you big or little? 3) What sort of accounts did you have at credit union? 4) How much of a security deposit did you have to put down compared to the loan's size? (For example, was it $100 of deposit for $100 of loan?) Was the deposit put into a CD? 5) Were they installment loans, revolving loans or credit cards? 6) How long after discharge did you get your first credit union loan? 7) Do all of your CU loans/credit cards report to the CRAs? 8) Do you pay with payroll deductions? 9) What other post-BK tradelines did you have when you applied for first CU loan? I'm a member of three credit unions, and at least two of them offer secured Visa cards. But I nervous about applying because I worry about being turned down. I included an unsecured credit union Visa in my BK, and I worry that would be held against me. (I hated to do it, and I was thinking about making voluntary post-BK payments. But the CU has been the only creditor that refuses to acknowledge to the CRAs that my debt was discharged, so now I don't plan to volunteer to pay them anything.) Thanks, ShyGuy
Re: To Jim: secured CU questio 1. Easy once I showed them my assets and teaching income and proved that my injury caused the BK. Otherwise, the impression I got was "see you in a few years". I belonged to the cu's for 15-20 years(back to college age). My talk was with the credit approval manager in one case and a rep in the other. 2 Big 3.Check/savings at the 1st one. savings at the 2nd 4 The credit cards came unsecured. As an unrelated side issue, I took out a secured installment loan in May 2000 to build credit. Already paid off. I plan to do another one this year. 5.Repeating - 2 unsecured credit cards and 1 installment loan 6. 11 months for the 1st unsecured credit card. 14 months for the 2nd card and secured installment loan. 7. Good question!!! Answer = Yes to all 3 CRA's. However, I was warned that one credit card would only report to Experian. All 3 CRA's picked it up. The rep gave me incomplete info here. 8. No 9. Capital One (newly unsecured $1K card). I had the card for 13 months. Also, I had made 11 payments out of 48 on my Ford Explorer. In my letter to the cu's, I referenced my Macys and Robinsons-May accounts which survived my BK.
Re: To Jim: secured CU questio Dealing with credit unions is a whole different ballgame than dealing with banks. First off, they're geared more toward working people--most of which can't present them with high credit scores. The banks pander mostly to the rich; however, they will attempt to tolerate those of us whose deposits are not quite in the millions, as long as we don't demand too much or ask too many questions. Another advantage to working with credit unions is that most are locally controlled, and members usually have the advantage of speaking to a real person when applying for credit. You have a much better chance of being approved when you are given the opportunity to explain the problems you've encountered in the past as well as your goals. The approval process is also completed by real human beings instead of a computer. After which, you'll usually see interest rates even better than prime as well as opportunities to get better deals on auto loans, auto insurance, mortgages, and much more. If you establish your credit through your credit union, you'll find little need to go anywhere else. They tend to be more concerned about your credit situation with them rather than what's on your credit reports. ShyGuy, I hope you'll work up the nerve to apply for a secured account with at least one of your credit unions. You might be surprised!
Re: To Jim: secured CU questio Thanks Jim and Doris. The one I do the most business with (direct deposit of my pay) is huge. But I might at least take my credit reports and talk to a branch manager. Or maybe I'll try with the smaller one -- especially is I start using direct deposit to build my savings account there. It's geared towards immigrants, so it might be more will to help the credit-challenged. I just worry about including a CU Visa in my BK.
