Hi everyone, I have been lurking the credit boards for a few weeks now and feel I am finally ready to start working on my file. I have searched the archives and found lots of answers, but need to ask a few questions that go unanswered. My wife and I were forced to file BK7 a couple of weeks ago. Like most that end up here, we waited way too long before we finally decided to save ourselves. Actually, other than ending up way overextended on CC debt, our credit has always been quite good. Never had any lates or collections other than one dispute with a cell phone company. In October I bought my 3-in-1 Credit Report online, along with 30 day access to MyEquifax. My Equifax report was actually quite complete, but does have some obvious errors I will need to fix. My FICO score was 627 - not stellar, but not trashed either. My 3-in-1 Credit Report however, has a tax lien that is over 10 years old from a business I closed, along with some other negative info from TU that I will need to dispute. The thing that really bothered me the most was that after 10 pages, the report ended without listing all of my accounts. Left off were 6 of my 7 credit cards, 3 mortgage/refinances, 2 lines of credit and 1 car loan - some good, some bad. In the 3-in-1 they didn't show up at all - even though they were listed in my individual Equifax CR. Has anyone else experienced this?? Should I go back and ask the company I bought the reports from to rerun them (its been 4 months now)? It seems obvious that I need to purchase all three credit reports from all of the CRAs and compare them closely. 1) Any recommendations on where I can buy the individual reports all at once? Is it a "hard" inquiry when I purchase them? I have seen a lot of different thoughts on this. (It DID show up as a hard inquiry when I purchased my Equifax report.) I don't want to ding myself here before I even get started! 2) Do I need to purchase my wife's CRs separately, or can I ask for a combined report? Some of the cards were issued in her name with me as an AU - they did show up on my report. 3) Should one of my priorities be to get rid of the 6-year old address that my tax lien and cell phone are tied to? Will this make it easier to get them deleted later? How do you get old addresses taken off? I couldn't find a letter for that. 4) We have always had our telephone listed in my wife's maiden name. That makes it EASY to weed out the telemarketers when they ask for her as listed in the phone book <grin>. But I was reading that quick credit checks look for a phone listed in the home as a criteria. Has this been hurting our credit and we didn't even know it?? 5) I did manage to keep one CC out of my BK. I use for my business travel and then pay it off every week or two as I am reimbursed by my employer. I am afraid that the bank might cancel it once they see the BK on my file, so I am pondering how to get another card WHILE the BK is in progress - any ideas anyone? I can't rent a car, a hotel room, or buy airfare without a valid CC (not a debit card). I do have access to enough cash to "secure" a card if I need to - but I haven't found any secured cards that aren't a ripoff or that a bank will issue before the BK is discharged. Well, this is my first step down the cobblestone road to repairing my credit. I know the real challenges will be AFTER the BK is discharged......... God bless all of the good people trying to do the right thing on this board. I have a LOT of respect for you and hope to use what I am learning to be a contributor here too someday. (Maybe someday I can LOL too!) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - STARTING TODAY!!!!!!!!!!
1. It is generally recommended that you go "straight to the source" for your credit reports. I'm not sure where you got your EQ, but if you order it directly from the CRA it is a soft. 2. No such thing as a combined spousal report. You will need to get all 3 of hers. The AU's if the card reports them, will be on the reports. 3. Definitely get your old addresses off, this is one of the few things you can handle by phone easily. 4. I dunno - never heard of that one. 5. No experience with BK, but have heard others say that good ones might cancel if they get "wind" of the BK. I'm also not sure that you can/should apply for more until after discharge. Welcome to the board!
Welcome to the board. I don't know the answers to all your questions, but I can give you some insight into some of them. 1. I wrote directly to the EQ,TU and EX and let them know that I had recently been denied credit and would like a copy of my report. I got all 3 for free. You can actually get your TU online for free by doing this. 2. Each individual has their own report 3. Yes, get old addresses removed. A phone call will usually do this "This is not or was not my address" 5. I would NOT apply for any credit prior to your discharge. It could be grounds for dismissal of your case. Good luck. I'm in the same position as you having been discharged in Jan '03 and starting to the process of credit repair! I'm sure we'll learn together!
Touchdown, Thanks for the excellent feedback. Please feel free to email me and we can compare notes as we travel parallel lanes on the cobblestone road to credit recovery. I studied and prepared myself well for the BK7, but this credit recovery is MUCH more complex, with more laws and challenges! I will contact EQ,TU and EX and obtain both reports as a baseline. Thanks for your ideas. Once I get the reports in my hands, the first thing I will do is call them to remove the old address. Next I will set my priorities in correcting the rest. My BK attorney did say it was OK to obtain credit AFTER the BK7 was filed. Any money earned or obtained after filing BK7 is not subject to disbursement by the trustee (unless there is evidence of fraud). Most of the CC companies I have looked into either won't touch a BK for several years. The ones that will won't do so until AFTER discharge. I suppose they may be concerned that the existing BK filing might be dismissed and then refiled, including them. My case is a no asset case and should sail along quite smoothly - but I can't wait 3 months to be able to secure business travel for my job! Perhaps I should be looking at a Credit Union for another card. Anyone out there have any thoghts on that???? BKinUT
