Is my score too low to be rebuilt?

[Callie]

My bk was discharged on 3/2 and closed on 3/13. Just checked my fico score for Equifax and it's 578. The bankruptcy is on there.

Is it still possible for me to rebuild with a rating so low? Even I wouldn't loan to someone with my score.

[NASCAR20FAN]

My bk was discharged on 3/2 and closed on 3/13. Just checked my fico score for Equifax and it's 578. The bankruptcy is on there.

Is it still possible for me to rebuild with a rating so low? Even I wouldn't loan to someone with my score.

Hey, don't worry. My score I worse then yours! This is the way I look at it... This is another chance for you to get a hold of you life. I've read on here that the best thing to do is wait a little while and your score will come up by it's self then try to get one one card and pay it off every month. Check out this thread where some pretty good information is shared:
http://www.bankruptcyforum.com/t6634...-after-bk.html

Keep you head up! People have survived this, and you will to

[Bronte]

Callie,
Yes it is possible to rebuild your credit. The first thing you need to do is make sure your accounts on your credit reports are correct. If they are not dispute the information with the bureau and once they are corrected your credit scores should increase. You can get free reports at www. annualcreditreport.

It is possible to get credit again after bankruptcy. I was discharged on 2/10 and I already have two credit cards. I have a National City Visa (Secured $500.00) and Orchard Platinum ( unsecured $500.00) and I plan to apply for a Target Guest Card in a few months.

If you look at the link on this website regarding recommended credit cards you can see what credit cards others in your situation have been approved for. You may want to try Orchard(www.orchardbank.com)as they have instant online approval and will do a soft pull of your credit report to see what card you would likely be approved for.

Once you receive new credit you need to pay on time and make sure your utilization of credit is less than 30%. I think the best thing to do to rebuild credit is to use your credit cards to may your monthy expenses (gas, internet ect) and pay the bills as soon as they are due.


It may be helpful to check out this boards and others plus read some books on this subject at your local library.


With time and some effort you can rebuild your credit scores!!

[edwards2]

Callie - my husband and I applied for an Orchard card(unsecured) and both of us received one with a $300 limit. We also both got Target red cards - $300 limits and I got a Cap One card with a $1000 limit. I had this card a long time ago and always paid it off on time and in full. FYI our Bk was discharged in August 2005 and my score is only 650 - at least as of last week. We had a LOT to clean up on both of our credit reports. My husband's score is lower; not sure why except his reports were really a mess. We are still sending out letters. Some companies will NOT budge like Providian - my account only. They sold our account the next month after we filed BK...so they will not change reporting my account 30 days late - one month. I had the card for over 10 years and was NEVER late but one month pre-Bk and they zapped me. IT is still hard for me to fathom the disparity among the 3 reporting agencies. Let me strongly suggest you monitor your reports constantly because they differ so much and you have to make sure they make the changes. I spent 2 days trying to straighten them out...again...and by the way Privacymatters keeps showing the same score for the last month which I know is ridiculous. I really think they do just change the date of the report and nothing else. I have emailed them about it and havent received an answer yet. It is also amazing the difference in what their score is and the FICO score which is what the lenders really look at...My advice...be persistent.

[StaciMM]

It will not be an overnight transformation, but you certainly can move up! Cleaning up and getting 1-2 accounts reporting good info will go a long way to getting you started. As time goes by and the bad stuff (including BK) gets older, and the new good stuff develops more history, you'll make a gradual progress. Once your first 1-2 accounts are 3-6 months old, you should be able to start adding additional accounts here & there. Take it slow-research who you're applying for. Don't go for AMEX, for example. Start smaller (Orchard, like Bronte mentioned, is a more reasonable target right now!)

Having several accounts building history will probably do more good than 1, but getting more accounts doesn't have to mean getting into debt. You may pay annual fees in the beginning, but in time should be able to qualify for no annual fee accounts. APR isn't really important, if you don't carry a balance then it doesn't matter how high the APR is.

[Callie]

Thanks everyone

This forum has been a lifesaver for me.

[bilbo]

Callie--your score is higher than many who have filed. It's not as bad as you think. Once you get some things deleted and the rest of the accounts are reporting 0 balances you will likely see a big difference. and everyone else is right--start the re-building as soon as poosible--just be careful and very choosy. Dont; go app crazy

[newstart]

Callie,

Bilbo is correct my score is alot lower than yours and I have 3 lines of new credit since being discharged in February, it is a slow process so you will need to have some patience. I can say that I got with one of those credit score reporting agencies and I have gotten information about my credit score going up in the last 2 weeks, so again making decisions when using your new credit and time will improve a low credit score.