I have been bankrupt for 3 months now and have been completing my duties. I need to buy something online, but it requires a credit card. Can I get one while I’m still bankrupt?
This question came to me in an email last week, and is a question that I get a lot – can I get a credit card while I’m bankrupt?
The short answer is no – while you are bankrupt you can’t get a credit card.
If your bankruptcy has not been discharged, or completed, then as a general rule credit card companies will not issue you a credit card. Even with secured cards, they won’t give you a credit card unless your bankruptcy has been discharged. They will, however, issue a secured credit card to someone who has filed a consumer proposal.
You might be wondering, how will the credit card companies ever know, though? There are two ways they can find out – by checking your credit report and by you telling them.
While you are bankrupt, a note on your credit report states as much, which will alert the credit card companies and they won’t give you a card.
And by law, you are not allowed to borrow any more than $500 without telling the lender that you are bankrupt. To not tell the credit card companies that you are still bankrupt is committing fraud and is against the law.
But that leaves the person who emailed me in a bit of a tight spot – they said they need to use a credit card for this particular transaction.
My advice is this – if you absolutely need a credit card, ask a friend or relative to get you a supplementary card on their account. In this way, you can get around the fact that you are bankrupt.
But the bottom line is this – you will not have a credit card while you are bankrupt.
For more information about your bankruptcy or any other debt solutions, contact me for a free consultation at 310-PLAN. You can also email me, like the person above did, any questions you might have. Your peace of mind and bright financial future could be just around the corner – it’s up to you now. Â
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