How can I get past poor credit?

Question

My husband has always been the primary support for our family. When he lost his job and was out of work for two years, we had to declare bankruptcy and our credit is shot. I've been trying to find a job but keep being told (three times now, and I only just started asking) that I can't be hired because my credit is too low. How can I get around this?

Answer 1

In order to build up credit and establish a good credit, you must show a number of stabilizing attributes. Most notably, your report must prove to the lender that he will get his money back. Here are some suggestions:

OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT
Open a bank account and use it responsibly. This is the first step in establishing a financial history.

CO-SIGN
One way is to piggy-back onto someone who already has a good credit history established and is willing to co-sign. Once the co-signing has occurred, you simply make payments on or before the due date. In time you will have established a credit history.

SECURED CREDIT CARD
Apply for a credit card. Shop around and only apply for a card if you can meet the lender's requirements. Responsible use (spending within your budget and paying your bill on time) will help you build a good credit history.

DEPARTMENT AND GASOLINE CREDIT CARDS
Since gasoline credit cards are not revolving (cannot carry a balance forward month-to-month), often they are easier to obtain than regular credit cards. Similarly, some department stores offer revolving credit for a specific purchase and this is sometimes easier to establish. It is also a great way to establish credit.

This website can be very useful for you:
http://www.howtoestablishgoodcredit.com/Credit_Articles/index.php?page=1&category=7

Answer 2

Sorry, but Normobrain has no clue about what he's talking about. There are reasons why a person may not be able to work for 2 years, so he's being a little too harsh here.

Yes, credit reports can be used in hiring decisions, as they are a predictor of how a person will do, sad to say. I would recommend that you pull the credit reports and get them cleaned up. Also, if you are seriously in the running for a position, it may be better to let them know about the bankruptcy and how you are trying to get things cleared up.

If you were denied based on your credit, you are entitled to a free credit report from the participating credit bureaus.

As for raising your credit score, if you can show for 6 months that you have paid all bills on time, that will raise your score, then pull a credit report once again at that time and see how it is going. Good luck to you!!

Answer 3

Build up your credit.

1. Start by cleaning up your credit report. Get copies of it. Make sure it's accurate. Have all discharged items from your bankruptcy removed if they are not. Challenge all existing NEGATIVE items whether they are valid or not. While you can't get rid of your bankruptcy you can wipe everything else off. Good credit is no a matter of always paying your bills, it's a matter of protecting and cleaning your credit report. Cleaning it is very simple, just takes time. I cleaned over $12,000 in bad debt off my credit report and my score is over 700 again.

I avoided filing bankruptcy, but I almost did because some jackass attorney told me too.

2. Build up your credit. Get a store card, use it and pay it off. Get a personal loan, often called a signature loan and pay it off. Don't get a lot of anything. Financial discipline does show up on your credit report just by reading it. That's how lenders decide and scores get computed.

3. Clean your husbands report up to. Same process. You two tied your credit reports together when you filed for bankruptcy. Before bankruptcy they were largely independant, at least in the eyes of the credit reporting agencies.

Answer 4

Are you applying for jobs in Accounting/Payroll or any other financial position? If so, some companies will screen you out because of your poor credit. It's a liability thing. Maybe you should try to find a job in another area until you can get your credit cleaned up. But don't give up--that's only 3 companies, there are a lot of companies out there that won't even check your credit! Good luck!

Answer 5

Get a more menial job that doesn't look at your credit score. There is absolutely no way in hell that your husband was out of work for two years. If he hasn't drawn a paycheck for that long, you need to get rid of him; he's a lazy bum. I don't care if he has a degree in law or medicine; if he lost his job two years ago, he should be flipping burgers or delivering pizzas til he finds a better job. Otherwise, he's a spoiled brat. There is no excuse for an abled bodied man to sit at home for two years and wait for someone to give him something. He needs to leave the cave, kill something, and drag it home.

You declared bankruptcy because you lived (spent) like the world owed you something. It doesn't. Tell your husband to get the hell out there and find a job or get the hell out of the house. Unless he's in a wheelchair, there is absolutely, without a doubt, no arguments accepted, no reason that he can't bring SOME money into the house. I don't care if he works for $5.00/hr, that's better than sitting on hisass doing nothing.

EDIT: the guy ahead of me is a jackass. DO NOT, under any circumstances, get a credit card. You already filed bankruptcy, which means that you've spent more than you've earned. You need to live on less than you make and forget about credit. You don't need credit or a credit score. Any business that uses a credit score as a criteria for the qualifications of a prospective employee is one that is run by people with their heads up theirasses. They are robots that use computers to evaluate you. That's not someplace that is going to offer you a reasonable amount of security in your employment. Rich people that pay cash for everything have a credit score of zero. Bill gates has a zero credit score. Credit scores are an "I love debt" score and are a reflection of one's ability to manage a lifestyle beyond their means.

Answer 6

First, get a look at your credit report. The BK is not the major contributor to the score. Write letters to the 3 reporting agencies. Whatever debts were released in the BK should be removed.

Answer 7

I don't know where you are in the world, but I think that it could be illegal to discriminate against financial status and they don't have the right to ask for your credit rating as part of a requirement for a job.

Answer 8

get a new social security number, or go work in an industry where they dont check your credit. You can get a fake SS number at any mexican swap meet. Just ask anyone outside where you can get Chuecos (pronounced chey-ko's) They are 250 dollars more or less. Its illegal to use them, but virtually impossible to get caught. Government spends almost no money to find people that use them.

Answer 9

Easy. Pay your bills.