Bankruptcy question

[KKB]

7 1/2 years ago we had to declare bankruptcy due to a failed business. We still have our home loan, 2 dept. store cards (which we have used periodically and promptly paid off) and my mother put us as a secondary card on her Discover, which does show up on our credit report. The Discover is up & down--we used it for travel & online purchases. We are nowhere close to the credit limit, and we do pay it off completely regularly, but not every month. Apparently our credit score is about 700, which seems to be solid, but I understand that there can be some variance of scores depending on who does the figuring. I
A while back I applied for a Dress Barn account mostly to get the 20% discount, and just to see if we could. They gave me a $250 limit on the spot & it has been paid off & not used since.
We recently applied for a Scheels VISA just to get the extra year of warrenty on a bat. We were denied due to bankruptcy.
MY QUESTION: I was under the impression that after 7 years a bankruptcy is no longer an issue. Am I wrong?
Don't get me wrong, it isn't a huge deal...and we have NO intention of ever filing for bankruptcy again (no need, it was a business failure in large part due to 9/11) , and frankly the Discover is sufficient 99% off the time (OCCASIONALLY a business doesn't take Discover...only a pain online as we prefer not to use the debit for online purchases as you don't get the protection with a debit that you do with a credit if there is fraud)
JUST CURIOUS

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Bankrupcy can show on your credit report for up to 10 years from the date of filing. At that point I would advise you to get a copy of each of the bureau's reports and dispute any companies that have not taken them off. They do have a certain amount of time from you notifying them to do this.

Here is more specific advice and input from various FAQ Farmers:


Seven to ten years from the date of discharge.

All discharged bankruptcies whether a state or federal filing remain on a CR for 10 years. A dismissed chapter 13 remains for 7 years, a dismissed chapter 7 remains for 10 years.

Chapt.7-11-12 will remain for ten years. A chapter 13 will remain for seven years if successfully completed, for 10 years if dismissed.

Ten (10) years for a discharged chapter 7 or 13. Seven (7) years for a dismissed chapter 13, ten (10) years for a dismissed chapter 7.

Although it is true that the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act does provide that bankruptcy entries will remain for 10 years, there are some creditors that will only leave a chapter 13 bankruptcy on your record for 7, rather than 10 years. They do this to encourage people to pay part of their debts rather than discharge it all under a chapter 7. More importantly, the effect of bankruptcy on one's ability to get credit is vastly overstated. The key to getting the credit you need has far more to do with the amount of present income you have rather than any negatives on your credit report. In short, if you have good present income, the creditors will look past your credit report to your wallet in the sense that it is possible, even with a bankruptcy on one's record, to get credit for cars and new credit cards as soon as you are discharged in a chapter 7 (about four months after you file), and after a year or so, you can even get a mortgage on a house. They may not give you the best rate, but if you have good present income, even a person with a bankruptcy on their record can get the credit they want in almost all cases.

You will not qualify for a FHA until a chapter 7 has be discharged for 2 years. A chapter 13, you will only have to wait a minimum of 1 year from filing date.

 

[dd50]

Some creditors will keep that against you but most won't. It is probably still on your report.

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

Yes, it is most likely still on your report, until the 10 year mark. Being 7.5 years out and a 700 FICO, I doubt that the bankruptcy is affecting you too much. The potential creditor may have just used it as an excuse to tell you no, plus you don't know exactly who the card issuer was. Probably Citi, Capital One, BoA, etc., but they were the one's who made the decision to deny.

Another thing that may be hurting you is the amount of available credit showing on your report. May be worth a look at how much you have available, not just what you owe. If a potential creditor see's too much available even with $0 balances, they get nervous about approving more. If you decided to close some of them out, be careful to do it over time, because closing all of them at once can impact your credit score negatively also. If you have several you decide to get rid of, probably best to keep a $0 balance and close out one at a time every 3 months or so, until you get them all whittled down.

There may or may not be something holding you back, so may be time to check out annualcreditreport.com for a freebie from the big 3 and see what is on there.

 

[seashoreCM]

(sic)

Ordinarily when you declare bankruptcy, lenders will shun you with a ten foot pole.

Except some aggressive lenders, knowing that after you declare bankruptcy, you can't do it again for so many years, will proffer you credit somewhat more quickly.