I am pretty new to certain areas of credit repair, and am still reflecting on all my options. I have been told that many people have inaccuracies on their file After BK7. Are these "errors" usually a creditor convienantly failing to list the trade as included in BK? Am I naive in assuming when one files Everything on their file in BK and it gets discharged and some trades still report innacurately to give the impression the debt may still be active or at least collectible which will obviulsy reduce score and make lenders think you have unfinished business with a company. Ok, heres the real naive part.... Shouldnt these erroneous trades be easily fixable since one would have a BK discharge stating that in fact the item Was inccluded in bk and should ne reported accordingly? I have read that people are weary of authenticating a debt to the CRA post BK because it means showing the CRA the BK discharge which in turn would be a self admission of the debt. But my question is.. if the debt is already discharged and destined to be in your file anyway as a dishcharged trade, what the difference? will those trades still go off 7 years after DOLA? or do they stay the dirration of the BK? I am sorry if I sound stupid in some areas. But I am learning. Way back when I actually thought that when you file for BK7 and it's discharged, all trades are literally banished from the CR and all that remains is a notation of a BK discharge which in itself would stand as damaging proof enough that you had former trades that you couldnt pay. I have a handful of collections. I have about 5 credit card charge offs that havent been turned over to any CA, and a lovely repo of about 2 and a half years. The thing that disuades me from trying to launch a huge repair campaign is that it would seem to me that unless I got like all but one or two trades removed there would still be sufficient damage reporting in order to keep my history and score (440) low enough to have lasting damage. I know there are many here saying dont file BK unless Absolutely needed and probably have first hand reasons behind that. While a good number of others are filing BK and within 1-2 years they are able to have established credit back (though beit primarily subprime lenders to start). but point being even some banks it seems monitor reports for recent BKs just to send the person promotions to reestablish. Yes, I know the initial offers you get are going to suck fee-wise, but still its more than Im being offered now. Some people are getting into car trades in a relatively short period of time post bk. they may have to put money down, but some companies are even giving reasonable 12-14% auto loans to people 6 months out of BK. some even better (would assume with a greater amount down). One theory says BK will be ok for those things, but theres about 5 dozen other known lenders who wont touch you for the full 10 years after. And there is the other theory that has a lot of folks trying to get deletions. some having quite a bit of success. So, if a few of you can throw your 2 cents in here Id be grateful!
There is hope. The minute you file bankruptcy Equifax will delete all tradelines included and simply insert BK in your file as public record. Experian and Transunion will still list each tradeline but list it as "Included in bankruptcy". Transunion erroneously listed a couple of my accounts as charge-off that were included in the BK. No big deal - your score is still going to suck for at least 2 years. Some of the larger companies have been very firm in the past about offering credit to someone who has a BK on their file, but this is quickly changing. GE for instance who finances many of the major department store credit cards in the US would not budge on this issue until early 2002. They have now changed their policy and will offer a limited credit line.
There is hope. When you say your score will suck for a couple years, are you referring to the fact it wont likely get above 700 very easily? I am seeing a whole lot of people whith mid 600s just a few months post bk. And compared to the 440 I have now, mid 600s sounds pretty sweet. Obviously I assume to get a score in that area so quick after BK you need a few open trades that dont exceed 50% credit line?
Many factors. Well it depends on many factors, the most important being how many good tradelines you have left on your credit report (paid off) that were not included in the BK. ---- Payment history (35%). Your score is negatively affected if you have paid bills late, had an account sent to collection or declared bankruptcy. The more recent the problem, the lower your score -- a 30-day late payment today hurts more than a bankruptcy five years ago. Outstanding debt (30%). If the amount you owe is close to your credit limit, that is likely to have a negative effect on your score. A low balance on two cards is better than a high balance on one. Length of your credit history (15%). The longer your accounts have been open, the better. Recent inquiries on your report (10%). If you have recently applied for many new accounts, that may negatively affect your score. Promotional inquiries don't count. Types of credit in use (10%). Loans from finance companies generally lower your credit score. FICO says this is most important when there isn't a lot of other information upon which to base a score.
Re: There is hope. Where did you get the idea that Equifax will immediately delete all tradelines associated with a bk? The truth is, that will not happen. If it happened to you, you were very lucky.
Re: There is hope. We were the type of people that after we filed bk in 1996 never even looked at our credit report until recently. Big mistake. Transunion and Experian's reports included 7 accounts that were included in the bk all as charge offs. Still appeared we were 30k in debt. AND TU never listed my discharge date either!! LOL I filed bk but never discharged!! I never saw Equifax's until last week, but one account shows incl. in bk the other shows as a charge off. If I knew then what I know now, I would have checked my reports alot sooner.
I had one account, GE Capital Financial (personal loan) that was listed as a charge off on both Equifax and Trans Union. I just disputed them online on Feb 9th. I am still waiting to hear back on the results. Now, Experian is listing this same account as a good tradeline...so I am leaving this one alone for the time being. Nothing will disappear when you file. When I first filed...the first notation on my credit report was the public record...then one by one, the accounts that were included in my CH 7 were listed as so. As you can see below...my scores didnt change drastically. I was current on all of my bills right up until the time I filed. I guess that makes a huge difference. My scores will drop a bit once my new tradelines start to report but in the long run it will be worth it. As said in previous posts of mine...one month out of BK...I was approved for the Cap One secured card, sent them $99 and have a $500 CL. I also have Orchard Bank unsecured with a $1000 CL and Providian Platinum unsecured with a $2000 CL. Granted all of these cards are between 18 and 19.99% interest and two have annual fees...but IMO, it is a small price to pay to rebuild. ***************************************************
CK70 Would you mind sharing what exactly you did to dispute online? I have between three to five accounts that were included in my bk that two months post discharge are reported as "paid collection" (never paid a dime) or "charge off" by the CRA's with Experian being the most accurate.
After I pulled my reports...I just went to the investigation page and disputed what needed to be disputed. I received a confirmation of receiving my dispute but I havent heard back about the results.
Did you dispute as "Not mine" as many here are advocating or "should have been included in bk" are similar verbiage?
I disputed it as should have been included...there is never any way I am going to get all of my BK's removed plus the public notice...Im not looking for an easy way out of this...I made my bed and now I have to lay in it. My scores are pretty decent right now and I have 3 major credit cards plus my student loans reporting as positive. I dont have to look for a car loan until December...I should be able to get my scores up a little more before then. Good luck with your reports!
CK70 Can I ask another "stupid question"? Was there a choice or some other verbiage to say that the item you mentioned was to be "included in bk". I've never done any kind of dispute before, online or otherwise. I'm afraid I'm like you and Jason1971 - I made my bed (well, my ex made most it quite frankly, LOL) and I'm not looking to get out of it. I think Jason is right, Bk's if not TOTALLY erased everywhere, are "Public Records", especially since any creditor/employer or even Joe Q. Public can have a PACER account (I do) and your bk will show there.
If I am not mistaken when I filed my dispute online, you choose which creditor you want to dispute and there were a list of choices as to the reason you wanted to dispute it (ex: not mine, included in BK, etc) Im not sure of the exact wording. I only had to dispute the same creditor on two reports. The other report is still showing it as a positive tradeline...as soon as that changes then I will dispute if necessary. BTW - no question is ever stupid!!! We are all going through this process together!
i have post bk errors every month on tu and experien. the filing and discharge dates are changed every month due to the creditors who report my bk accounts. it knocks the system out of whack, i am told. so every month, my credit score drops. i call and have the accounts updated, my score rises. it's so much fun i may kill myself or get even. since the account are due to fall off in two years and i don't need new credit, i figure to just play along. sherman acquisitions bought a bk account and is trying to collect. now i am really mad.
Thanks CK70 for your answer. I'm thinking of disputing two AMEX cards as "not mine" (I was an AU, put less than $200 on my card and paid it off) that are showing only on my TU account as a positive tradeline (that's a laugh, my ex stopped paying his personal AMEX bills in 11/01 - I was harassed by my ex's collections agencies for about six months last year). In Jan 01 I pulled just one credit report (Experian), saw his amex accounts showing with an open balance of >$19K; wrote a nice letter to Amex, canceling my account as an AU, explained that I was involved in divorce, and I wanted to reduce any "shared" financial obligations. They responded with a letter that they were canceling my acct at my request and they would notify all three CRAs - AMEX put the CRA addresses at the bottom of my letter. Apparently Experian and Equifax removed the tradeline but TU didn't. Even though this is showing as a positive trade (???) the high balance will ultimately throw my ratios off when I do receive fresh credit.
I will say it one last time. DO NOT DISPUTE ANY ITEM AS " SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN BK". If you doubt what I am saying, do a search here. You will see for the past 3 years, creditnet posters have repeatedly said not to admit that. Should you decide to do as Jason suggests, I wish you luck as you will need it.
