My BK 13 (filed 7/95) has dropped off of Experian and Transunion reports. I wrote to Equifax asking them to delete. I received a reply today stating that it would remain for ten years! The Equifax web site clearly states that BK 13"s remain for 7 years unless they are "non-dismissed" or "non-discharged". What should I do now? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
do you have a copy of your discharge papers from the Chapter 13 Trustee? anyone see a down side to sending a copy of this discharge to the CRA that has not deleted at 7 years from date of filing?
"EQUIFAX" How long do you keep my credit information? Payment in full does not remove your payment history. The length of time information remains on your credit file is shown below: Credit Accounts: Accounts paid as agreed remain for up to 10 years. Accounts not paid as agreed remain for 7 years. Collection Accounts: Remain for 7 years. (The time periods listed above are measured from the date in your credit file that is shown in the "date of last activity" field accompanying the particular credit or collection account.) Courthouse Records: Remain for 7 years from the date filed, except: Bankruptcy - Chapters 7 & 11 remain for 10 years from the date filed. Bankruptcy - Chapter 13 non-dismissed or non-discharged remain 10 years from the date filed. Unpaid Tax Liens remain indefinitely. Paid tax liens remain for up to 7 years from the date released. Paid or unpaid judgments remain on file 7 years from the file date. New York State Residents Only: Satisfied judgments remain 5 years from the date filed, paid collections remain 5 years from the "date of last activity". California State Residents Only: All tax liens remain 7 years from the date filed.
Here is a part of a previous post of mine The law states that credit reporting agencies may not report a bankruptcy case on a person's credit report after ten years from the date the bankruptcy case is filed. Other bad credit information is removed after seven years. The larger credit reporting agencies belong to an organization called the Associated Credit Bureaus. The policy of the Associated Credit Bureaus is to remove chapter 11 and chapter 13 cases from the credit report after seven years to encourage debtors to file under these chapters. Specifically the FCRA states any bankruptcy can remain for 10 years. The 7 years for completed and discharged 13s is the policy of the credit bureaus' association. It seems you are not the only one having this problem with equifax. I have suggested in the past to write to the professional association and complain about equifax's practice in this matter. Here is the site for the professional organization of credit bureaus...why don't you try and send them a fax and ask about equifax? http://www.cdiaonline.org/ I have also heard that dogged persistence with them sometimes does the trick. Hope this helps, clc
I also would write a well worded and strong statement to equifax asking them why they are not complying with their own professional association's policies. CC it to the BBB and the professional agency. Keep at 'em! clc PS Discharge papers are fine...but nothing else to CRAs
Zoe, was your bk-13 acutally discharged or dimissied? I am having a rough time with TU as they have me listed as dimissed, and the other CRAs have me listed correctly as discharged. Best regards, Mirage
