Sometimes life lands you in a situation that causes your credit to suffer. A job loss or illness can send your credit rating south leaving you with nothing to do about it. Some creditors may let you slide a month or two, but your records will still show a delinquency. A stolen identity can also leave you feeling violated and unable to resume a normal life with credit.
It is during these times you may have to search a little harder to find companies that wan to deal with people who have bad credit. There are a handful of lenders who will help you re-establish your creditworthiness by using one of their credit cards.
The price you will pay
Searching the Internet will give you a good idea of what types of credit card companies will deal with bad credit.
Companies like Capital One, Orchard Bank, Providian Financial and even Citibank have plans to help you get back on your feet again. But at what price will you have to pay?
The price is interest. Interest rates from these companies can be up to 25-30% annually. So it is important to manage your money and credit more wisely.
One of the many benefits of using one of these preferred lenders is that they report positively to the major credit scoring repositories. That means if you make timely payment it will be in your favor and will help boost your credit rating back up. The interest you pay is a small price to pay to get back on your credit worthy feet.
The secured credit card route
Most of the major banks and lending institutions may seek a deposit matching mechanism called a secured credit deposit before backing a credit card for you. This card is used the same way that a normal credit card is, however the cardholder must fund it before using.
If the cardholder deposits $100 into the interest bearing account their credit card is funded at 100% of their deposit. Some credit cards can at their disposal issue double or triple matches to boost the amount the creditor can spend.
The deposit of $100 can return $300 in credit terms. Secured credit cards also report positively to the credit agencies and will eventually become normal revolving accounts and the balances held for deposit are credited back to the cardholder’s account. A very positive way for people with bad credit to obtain the financial vehicles they need.
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com
. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.
