Did any of you reaffirm any of your debts? If you DIDN'T, did your loans reflect your payments after your bk on your credit reports?? I know Topazmoon had this topic going a bit back, and I'm one who spoke up against reaffirmations as they strip away the protection of your discharge. In a lot of states they aren't even allowed. They are supposed to be voluntary and are NOT required by law, you CAN just keep paying if you're current. ...here's why I'm asking: I help out on a bk board and have someone who says her lawyer had her sign one to "keep showing her payments" on her reports. This seems like blackmail to me if they can force you to sign on these grounds. Isn't this along the lines of what got Sears into trouble before?? Just wondering what anyones experiences may have been as far as what your own credit reports showed. In my own case, I didn't reaffirm and there isn't any notation of my bk on my car loan at all. It's just reporting as normal. I'm just curious now.....
My secured loan (car) and mortgage both showed as "included in bancruptcy" even though I kept making payments on time. Heck, I've even paid the mortgage off with a refi. Now I'm fighting to get them out of that status and over into "paid, never late". I didn't reaffirm anything but the house prior to discharge. The finance company for the car asked me to sign a reaffirmation agreement after the CH 7 and promised to swap it over. (I only owe 1K on it, but it's an account that can be reported as "Paid/never late" so I want to keep it. I had to get my lawyer to sign off on the agreement but that wasn't a problem. Right now I'm arguing with Chase Mortgage over changing the listing. The CH 7 was discharged, I kept making payments, I reaffirmed the account and kept making payments. After it was out of bancruptcy, I kept making payments and then paid it off. Naturally, the CRA's all have it listed as "included in bancruptcy". Anybody got any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks. Dancer
When I contacted Mazda, they told me that without the reaffirmation agreement they would no longer send me bills or report to the CRAs. When I checked my CRs earlier this month, all three showed Mazda as "Closed" and "Included in Bankruptcy." Most lawyers strongly urge you not to reaffirm debts. The only reason I wanted to reaffirm my car loan was to use it to rebuild my credit. I knew Mazda couldn't take the car as long as I was current on my payments. Even though bankruptcy is supposed to be based on Federal law...I think rules vary from district to district. When I called Mazda and told them the judge had refused to sign the reaffirmation agreement, they were first surprised then commented, "Oh...you're in California's Central District...the judges never reaffirm anything." If you're friend signed a reaffirmation agreement, I believe they have 60 days from the date they signed the agreement to cancel it. If it's a matter of whether the payments will show up on the CR and it's no big deal to them....cancel the reaffirmation agreement. Only if they risk losing an item because it was used to secure a loan should they consider a reaffirmation agreement esp. if they don't have enough exemptions to cover it.
Oh yeah, the finance company who had my car loan definitely stopped sending me statements or reminders. Kind of a pain in the butt to not have anything to work from. Hopefully, since I reaffirmed (which, BTW, can't be filed in court since I'm already discharged) I'll start getting them again. I think getting the signed reaffirmation agreement on file is more of a branch managers CYA thing, than anything else. I really don't care since it'll mean it'll be a good account reporting paid. Dancer
No I did not reaffirm with anybody. Really had nobody that I wanted to keep. Wrote off the following: First USA Credit Acceptance Pacific Bell (and their collection agency) - the reason for this was to clear a $2K debt that wasn't mine. Somebody got hold of my calling cards and went to town. Pac Bell argued that this was all in my spending patterns and that they didn't believe me. One other utility 3 collection accounts from minor crap that just annoyed me because these people reported me without discussing it before hand. FNANB - whose collection agency argued with me later that I COULDN'T write them off in BK as my agreement stated that it was a secured debt. Typical. As of now I am in the mid-500s on all credit reports after 1 1/2 years of the bk being discharged. I am cleaning the credit up by fixing stuff that is listed as collection which SHOULD be listed as "Included in CH 7 BK" which I hope helps my scores. I have wayyyyy too many inquiries which is frustrating. I have a loan for a new car, a jewelry store account (getting married, needed to pay for the ring), 2 Cap One cards, 1 First Premier card, 1 closed Providian account (closed by me, paid in full) and 1 closed FCNB account (again, closed by me, paid in full). Plus a mortgage that I co-signed on and don't pay a thing (since it's my mom's house)...Plan to file a quit deed next year which will totally help my scores...
I reaffirmed my car loan and a private loan from a credit union, as well as my mortgage. Trust me, they kept sending me statements. None of these loans read "included in BK". Of course, my BK happened in 1995. Some of the other loans which WERE included I had to "remind" the credit bureaus that this was the case so my credit report was correct. However, this was pretty easy to do.
Are you just writing them letters and sending copies of the bk paperwork as proof? My bk was discharged in January and I just got my reports last night. I see that there are quite a few things showing balances, etc that should have been included in the bk. My old car loan is showing a balance on two of them! dartol EQ: 626 EX: 652 TU: 598
Could you tell me where this bk board is? I'm about to file ch 7 -- I enjoy reading about credit repair but right now, I'd really like a board with bk as its only topic too.
I try to help answer things at Prairielaw.com (which i asked this at and no one even responded) and Ivillages- Bankruptcy Q & A board. I just found one the other day called The Bankruptcy Forum also but I haven't had much time to review it. It's at www.chat-cards.com/wwwboard/bankruptcy It seems I might be chasing a rainbow that never ends...from all of our posts that there is no set of rules on how this works with the lenders and CRA's. All of us have had different results with our cases!! I don't get how some secured creditors can continue to not reflect payments if you don't reaffirm, (or as in some of these cases even if they do!) or that attorney's can tell you you have to sign one when that's not true. I know from things I've read that they are sometimes pushed more in some jurisdictions but that they still aren't required. In the past few weeks I've read where one gals attorney told her that if she didn't sign, they could and would take back her property. And the other one said that her attorney told her if she didn't sign, her credit would be messed up. Something seems really fishy here!! I guess all we can do is keep fighting the reportings with the CRA's and the creditors and try to fight to get our payments reflected. I guess I'm one who just got darn lucky as my CU reporting doesn't even reflect our bk! Thanks to all for your responses. If anyone figures this out or remembers something their attorney's said, I'm all ears! (Or eyes in this case!) LOL
My car is leased through Wells Fargo. I did not include them in my BK. When I called them re: the car, they said no need to reaffirm simply continue to make the payments. They were legally bound to discontinue sending me statements so I made payments for about six months without invoices. After discharge, I called to request that they send me invoices again. THey did so. The entry on my report is paid never late. Hope this helps.
we reaffirmed the following: both of our cars: a) we were told not to burn our bridges with Ford Motor Credit-- that they would be a helpful lender post bankruptcy. b) we reaffirmed Sears because they made us a deal- pay only $500 on our $2000 debt and we could keep the credit card and have a line of credit of $750. c) we reaffirmed with a secured creditor for our wedding rings (we didn't want to have to give them back) Now, I realize this is a lot to reaffirm, especially since we "didn't have to". But, we went from owing $27,000 to owing $800. Not a bad deal.
