'Guaranteed' Credit Cards experiences please

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Repossession : One Thread

Does anyone have experience of dealing with any of the several brokers who advertise that they can obtain credit cards for applicants regardless of how much bad credit history there is? They 'Guarantee' that cards are available to people with numerous CCJ's, defaults, IVA etc.

Having spoken to a couple and seen their advertising material I am suspicious that there really are no cards available and that this is simply a fraud designed to extract an up-front fee from the applicant. Can anyone confirm my cynical hypothesis or tell me otherwise?

Greg

-- Greg Smith (RSmit962@aol.com), April 26, 2001

Answers

I would speedily substitute "marketing ploy" for fraud if I were you. as I am sure that's what you really meant...lol..but in essence you *can* get a credit card with any sort of history if you can: a) cough up an amount equal to the "credit limit" you want b)pay their "arrangement" fee for being such kind, public spirited people.

The typical one is 500 pounds - you give it to them and they give you a card with a 500 quid limit on it. What it does is re-establish a credit history of payments with no risk to the card issuer. If you default - so what - they have your 500 quid and your credit history gets further blackened. If you *really* have a chequered history it may be worth it only if you need to redeem yourself and start afresh. You will be registered at the usual organisations, however, and the address information etc will therefore be available to other creditors. If you have been made bankrupt you may be prohibited from getting one for a while under the terms of your order.

-- Too scared to say (iwasduped@yahoo.com), April 26, 2001.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ