The bankruptcy schedules are filed under penalty of perjury. If Debtors perjure themselves by failing to disclose all Creditors to whom they owe money, the Bankruptcy Court may refuse to grant the Debtors a discharge of their debts. In addition, perjury in connection with a bankruptcy case is a federal crime. However, if a Debtor has a credit card, but owes no money on it, it is not necessary for the Debtor to include this obligation in their bankruptcy filing, and the credit card company will not receive notice of the bankruptcy filing. Creditors may, however, find out about the bankruptcy filing through some other means and cancel the card anyway.
Many Creditors permit Debtors to reaffirm on credit card debt.
Debtors should consider carefully whether reaffirming a credit card is worth the benefit of retaining charging privileges. Some Creditors solicit new cards from individuals who have recently come out of a bankruptcy case. One reason for this may be that Debtors are limited to filing Chapter 7 once every 6 years. However, if Debtors pay all debts in a timely manner following their bankruptcy discharge, they are generally able to receive credit within 18 to 24 months of a bankruptcy discharge.