Once my clients complete their bankruptcy filings, one question that has frequently emerged in my practice is: How exactly did the bankruptcy discharge affect my credit? Running your Credit is a fast way to see the effect bankruptcy had upon your debt situation.

Free Credit Reporting

The three nationwide Credit Reporting companies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian are required to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, upon request, once every twelve months. To order these, visit the website of each credit reporting company, call 1-877-322-8228, or visit annualcreditreport.com.

What if the Credit Report Shows Debt that was Discharged in Bankruptcy?

If a discharge is granted in your bankruptcy, your unsecured non-priority debts are subject to discharge and the creditors will need to cease any and all collections, including but not limited to reporting negative information on your credit report.

Once a debt is discharged, your credit report should indicate the account was included in a bankruptcy filing. If the account is shown as due and collectible on your credit report then it could be having a negative effect on your credit and you should take immediate steps to make corrections so your ability to acquire loans or lines of credit is not limited by a mistake on the part of your creditor. The bankruptcy court will not reopen your case to litigate issues of credit reporting, so what do you do next?

To begin the process of resolving an incorrect credit report entry, you will need to inform the credit reporting company, in writing, what information you believe to be inaccurate. The Federal Trade Commission has provided a sample letter for use in these matters. Your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in question circled. Send your letter by certified mail, “return receipt requested,” so you can document what the credit reporting company received. Remember to include copies of the applicable enclosures and save copies for your files. If you do not have your bankruptcy paperwork available for enclosure in this letter, please feel free to reach out to your bankruptcy attorney so that they may provide you with your relevant case filings to provide as evidence of your discharge.

Once your letter is received, credit reporting companies will investigate the item(s) in question with a typical turnaround time of 30 days. In their investigation, the credit reporting company must forward all the relevant information you provided about the inaccuracy in question to the creditor who provided them the faulty information. Once the creditor receives notice of a dispute, it must investigate and report the results back to the credit reporting company. If the information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide credit reporting companies so they can correct the information in your credit report.

In addition to writing to the credit reporting bureaus, you will want to write your creditor(s) who are providing faulty information to the credit reporting bureaus. The FTC has provided a sample letter for this matter, as well. In your dispute, include copies (not originals) of documents that support your assertion that the credit report is incorrect. If the creditor provides their address in the credit report you will want to send your correspondence to that address. If no address is provided, contact the creditor and ask for the correct address to send your letter. If the creditor does not provide you an address, you may address your letter to any business address for that creditor.

If the provider continues to report the item you disputed to a credit reporting company, it must let the credit reporting company know about your dispute. And if your dispute is valid, the information provider must tell the credit reporting company to update or delete the item.

If you have questions about the bankruptcy process reach out to your Stockton bankruptcy attorney at (209) 952-0355.

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