I have just recently received my ch7 discharge and afterwards pulled all three files (via snail mail). I would like to start on the road to credit recovery. I have a few questions and will probably forget something and post here again. It's late so please forgive any typos or spelling errors. 1.) Can the 'public record' (ie. ch7) be deleted from my file? If it can what steps should I take to facilitate this, and is it legal? 2.) What can be done about all of the 'included in bankruptcy' entries? I think I would like to have them changed to 'paid as agreed' but would settle for deletion, I think that no entry is better than a negative entry, don't you? 3.) What to do about all the inquiries from various companies, some I recognize, some I don't, some I know I've never had business dealings with (citifinancial mortgage, wtf)? 4.) Is it in fact illegal to make false statements regarding your credit history while disputing information? What I mean is; if I dispute an entry as 'not mine' when it really is mine would this be considered illegal? If it is illegal, why (what law) and what penalties could I face? 5.) What effect, if any, does the ch7 discharge have on the included accounts in relation to closure and the creditors rights to pull CRs? Should I attempt to collect $$$ from creditors that pulled my file after the discharge? In relation, what date should be used, the date of the filing, the date the creditor was notified, or the date of the discharge? I think there may have been some violations of permissible purpose if the creditors pulled my file after the ch7 was filed/discharged. Any guideance here is appreciated. If I think of anything else I'll post here again, Thanks for any help you can provide. PAE
First, welcome to the board. The best answers to most of your questions are already posted in the FAQ section. This is the best place to start. Read, read, read. Remember, it took time to get your credit in that shape, it will take time to improve it as well. Think of this as a credit diet. Even when the most drastic of diets (stomach stapling) is performed, it still will take years to lose the weight. This won't happen overnight either. Most creditors will still verify right after a ch7. Six months from now when your file has been packed on ice, this is when to dispute. Most won't bother to verify and they will begin to disappear. If you look very closely at the data, you will most likely find an error. I challenged the pay history on a foreclosure and it was deleted since they could not verify. The pay histoy *was* wrong. This way if you have an ethical issue with "not mine" when you know it is, then dispute something else about the record. No offense, but with a fresh Ch7 and all those "incl in BK" accounts, the least of your worries are your inquiries.
I'm not worried about the inquiries as they relate to my ability to obtain credit, I honestly don't want or need credit right now. I am interested in the inquiries as a way of possilby obtaining a judgement or settlement based on the fact that the inquiries in and of themselves are incorrect information. I was hoping for some advise about how to handle my letters to the inquirer as far as the law and the wording of my letters.
So you suggest waiting six months or so and then disputing based on innacurate pay history or what not? What about the legality of submitting false or misleading statements in a dispute? Is it illegal to lie in your dispute? Thanks for your help and encouragement. Sometimes I really feel like a loner because of all this. My deep dark secret!
I was wondering this myself: 5.) What effect, if any, does the ch7 discharge have on the included accounts in relation to closure and the creditors rights to pull CRs? Should I attempt to collect $$$ from creditors that pulled my file after the discharge? In relation, what date should be used, the date of the filing, the date the creditor was notified, or the date of the discharge? I think there may have been some violations of permissible purpose if the creditors pulled my file after the ch7 was filed/discharged. Any guideance here is appreciated. Also, what if you filed bk but haven't yet received a discharge, but creditors verify during the automatic stay? If this is actionable "continued collection activity" under normal circumstances, during a bankruptcy, wouldn't it also be a violation of the automatic stay injuction?
I rather think that this would be an issue under Title 11 (Bankruptcy) rather than Title 15. It is the instruction of the Bankruptcy court for creditors to cease collection efforts (Automatic Stay). I think that the only thing you could do is bring it before the Bankruptcy court. But if anyone else knows differently please correct me. Just my humble opinion. PAE
Snicker, I would not really worry about the legalities of disputing information at all. I very seriously doubt that anyone anywhere has ever been prosicuted for making false statements to the credit buearu. As far as the moral issues go, those people lie every day, so its pretty much laughable. I would dispute with Equifax every time you get a chance too. With the other two, after you dispute a couple of times, they tend to be more hard nosed. You have to change your reason, say 'Wasnt opened on <DATE>.' or something crazy like that.
I recovered 2 years ago from a bk and this is what I recommend: Do this: 1. Read our FAQ section 2. Go to another free site www.mix6.com and read their free kit. It's great stuff and then you'll understand our methods here. That will keep you busy for a bit... then, after you've done that, come back and we'll answer whatever you need (but remember: you can use the search function and find a lot of answers in the archives here) Rebuilding post-bk is actually pretty easy. You will want to start right away as the sooner you start rebuilding the sooner your scores rebound... As an aside, it's totally legal to clean your credit and rebuild. Most of us are very careful to only use truthful statements to the bureaus as we sometimes need to sue... Fortunately for you, there are so many errors the bureaus make that you can normally find a real reason for dispute Happy reading... see you soon!
Thanks for all of your help and encouragement everyone. It is nice to find other people that have had the same or similar problems that I now face. Hopefully I won't screw anything up too badly. I've already started disputing things with the CRAs (already got one deletion (CC account was showing as 'included' when it was not and in fact had a zero balance when I filed)) so I'm darned proud of that! =) Thanks kbanger for the newbie bump by the way! PAE
Fortunately... your credit can't be screwed up anymore Nowhere to go but up ;;)) If you do reading here you'll learn who to do business with and who to stay away from in the next several years of rebuilding... for the first 2 years or so you'll pay more to get your foot in the credit door (but that doesn't mean you have to get completely taken advantage of in the process)... then you will see a big score boost after 24 mos of clean credit... all the while you're working on the reports while using our tips to get better terms with the cards you do get... We use retention a lot to help us... and you can use Ford (as one example) to get a reasonable car loan and not UglY Duckling's 22+ interest rates...
