|
Beware
of Credit Offers Aimed at Recent Bankruptcy Filers
"Disguised" Reaffirmation Agreement
Carefully read any credit card or other credit offer
from a company that claims to represent a lender you
listed in your bankruptcy or own a debt you
discharged. This may be from a debt collection
company that is trying to trick you into reaffirming a
debt. The fine print of the credit offer or agreement
will likely say that you will get new credit, but only if
some or all of the balance from the discharged debt is
added to the new account.
"Secured" Credit Card
Another type of credit marketed to recent
bankruptcy filers as a good way to reestablish credit
involves "secured" credit cards. These are cards
where the balances are secured by a bank deposit.
The card allows you a credit limit up to the amount
you have on deposit in a particular bank account. If
you can't make the payments, you lose the money in
the account. They may be useful to establish that you
can make regular monthly payments on a credit card
after you have had trouble in the past. But since
almost everyone now gets unsecured credit card offers
even after previous financial problems, there is less
reason to consider allowing a creditor to use your
bank deposits as collateral. It is preferable not to tie
up your bank account.
Credit
Repair Companies
Beware of companies that claim: "We can erase bad
credit." These companies rarely offer valuable services
for what they charge, and are often an outright scam.
The truth is that no one can erase bad credit
information from your report if it is accurate. And if
there is old or inaccurate information on your credit
report, you can correct it yourself for free.
|
