Why would credit card companies target newly bankrupt people?
Credit Cards … for the Bankrupt?
Is offering credit to bankrupt folks the right thing to do?
If you’ve spent any time in our eye-opening Credit Center, you probably realize that the credit card industry does everything it can to make money off people who carry plastic in their pockets. Grace periods? They’ve gotten shorter. Teaser rates? They don’t last too long. Annual fees charged on no-annual-fee cards? They’ve been known to appear.
So maybe you won’t be surprised to learn that credit card issuers are going after newly bankrupt Americans. That’s right. And right now, there are a heck of a lot of bankrupt Americans. According to The New York Times, the credit card industry spent $100 million over the past few years lobbying for changes in bankruptcy law. It got what it wanted, and before the new bank-friendly, not-so-consumer-friendly laws went into effect in mid-October, a record number of Americans had filed. In 2005, more than 2 million people have filed for bankruptcy.
Orchard Bank – The #1 Credit Card for Bankruptcy Filers
The Times reported that many of these folks are regularly getting tempting credit card offers in the mail. It might not seem to make sense, since these folks tend to be bad risks, but considering that the new laws make it much harder for people to get out from debilitating debt, it’s not so unreasonable for lenders. (Although we might imagine that most people in steep credit card debt are there because of irresponsible spending, many actually end up there from life’s hardships, such as costly illnesses or job losses.)
If you are newly bankrupt and interested in rebuilding your credit, the following credit cards are recommended.