Secured Credit Card - Denied in Consumer Proposal

I just came from the bank who said that I could not get a secured credit card - secured with a savings account - from any bank while in a consumer proposal.  We are only 3 months into our proposal and she said that I would not be able to get one until 2 years after the proposal was complete.  I have to travel occasionally with work and need a credit card for hotel and car rental and a prepaid card will not work for this purpose.  Don't understand if you have the money to secure a visa why they would not approve you.  Any suggestions?

 I believe Money Mart offers a secured MasterCard.

Hi Martin - thanks for the tip. I looked at Money Mart's website and I did see that they sell pre-paid cards, but didn't see secured credit cards. Often, with places like Money Mart and even chartered banks, one actually has to go in and ask about secured credit cards to see if they offer them. I've heard that Royal Bank, too, offers a "secured" option on many of their VISA cards.

This has also been discussed on the thread, "Pre-paid Cards" (but remember that pre-paid cards and secured credit cards are two different things).

For more information on secured credit cards, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has a good publication available on the web - just Google "FCAC secured credit cards" and you will find it.

Best wishes,
~Wendy

I received in the mail one of those letters everyone gets for a new credit card from Capitol One. I applied for a secure card. They accepted for $300. Should I continue keeping up with the payments on this card, they will increase the limit in time. Forget prepaids. Went that route and cannot book anything with them.

Hi,

Yepp, it's true, as you mentioned in another post - some pre-paids, especially the ones without raised numbers, are not accepted everywhere.

Thanks for the info about Capitol One.

~Wendy

Living on cash only isn't easy.

I only have 6 months left in my proposal.

I really require a cc for work so I tried various options. RBC basically told me sorry, can't help you. I can obtain a prepaid or secured card from Capital One, however, most businesses don't accept them.

My fridge and stove gave up at the same time. I have a good job, but, like most people I'm living from pay cheque to pay cheque. I was desperate and called one of the finance companies who charge a gazillion in interest. When I called for a short term loan to be paid off in four months the girl on the phone, after hearing I was still into a Proposal, laughed and hung up on me.

So now I'm working two jobs and getting 4 hours sleep per night to save enough money for a fridge and stove. Sometimes the future looks very bleak.

Hi Kelly,

Who has told you most businesses don't accept them?

I've used my Bank of Montreal pre-paid Mastercard at dozens of diverse businesses - never been turned down. Some people have reported problems at hotels, although it's never happened to me.

In any case, with either the secured card or the prepaid card, you'll still have to put as much money in as you take out - so it won't solve your cash flow problem.

Sorry the finance people are being rude to you. They don't deserve your business.

~Wendy

Hello..

 we also have a BMO prepaid card and have not had one problem using it. Even ordered off the web with it..but you do have to load it first...with what ever dollar amount you can afford...

How do you load the BMO card?  Do you do it on-line or do you walk into a bank and transfer the fuinds?

Hi Kelly,

I happen to have a BMO bank account, so I transfer funds from my account to my MC either on the phone, online or at the teller. If I had an account at another bank, I could probably make a "payment" through online or telephone banking. And, of course, you can always walk into a BMO branch with cash to put in it.

Best wishes,
~Wendy

I notice nobody mentioned hometrust.  Home trust offers a secured credit card that will report to your bureau as you continue to pay on time.  Though as someone mentioned, it doesn't solve cashflow since you need to secure it with funds before being able to use it.

I've done all the research on this.  Do not go with "prepaids", go with Secured Credit Cards as they report to the credit bureaus. 

Captial One Secured (Mastercard) are accepted everywhere and is the best bang for the buck compared with the rest.   Hometrust secured cards requires a minimum deposit of $1000.

When I submitted my $300 deposit for Capital One, they gave me a $500 limit.  9 months later, they increased it to $1500.   If you're trying to re-establish your credit, do not close down your "secured" cards even if you qualify for "unsecured" cards.   Keep them open and use them on occasionally and pay on time as it will increase your credit rating and FICO score.  That alone is worth paying the $69 annual fee.  Trust me.

I need a credit card for occasional hotel and car rentals for work. There seems to be a lot of somewhat contradictory information out there. I have a few questions  I would appreciate your comments on

1.Has anyone here acquired a secured or any other card while the proposal was ongoing or do you really have to wait two years AFTER the proposal is completed as one member noted with the Royal Bank?

2. Has anyone out there successfully rented a car or hotel room with the BMO card and if so what amount of funds had to be on account as security?

3. Does anyone have any experience with being named as a a secondary card holder during a proposal assuming a relative is in a position to help?

Any clarification anyone could provide would be much appreciated.

Hi Cornered,

I can address questions 1. and 2.

1. I began my proposal in August 2009, and it will last five years.  A few months into the proposal, I applied for a Bank of Montreal Pre-paid Travel MasterCard. I've written details earlier in this thread. I recently also applied for and received a Home Trust secured VISA card, for which I had to send in a $1000 security deposit. I was then informed by Home Trust that they would also need a letter from my trustee stating that the acquisition of this card would not negatively affect my performance in my proposal. Once I sent in this letter, I received the card quickly.

2. I have rented hotel rooms in person with the BMO Prepaid Card (Days Inn in Superior, Wisconsin). Different hotels take different security deposits, so all I can say is, if you don't have enough on deposit in your card it the transaction will be declined. I should think that likely $200 above the nightly rate should be enough. I realize some people have reported that prepaid cards are sometimes turned down outright, especially for online reservations. This could easily be true, and BMO themselves have told me it sometimes happens. However, it doesn't sound as if it happens often.

Hope this helps!

~Wendy

could you tell me what credit card companies under what act in canada they must abide by??/

in the usa its The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when collecting

also another question i have