Dear Steve,
I have a question with regards to bankruptcy and negative reporting by creditors. I filed for bankruptcy on 4/1/13 and the Bankruptcy Automatic Stay kept creditors from collection efforts. The bankruptcy was discharged on 7/31/13 which then reverted the automatic stay to a permanent discharge.
From what I understand, creditors cannot collect on the discharged debts, as well certain requirements they must follow regarding credit reporting. If the debts are discharged and the amounts I owed were changed to zero as of the date I filed, being 4/1/13 as a result of the bankruptcy, doesn't that also mean they couldn't continue reporting me as being late beyond the date I filed since they would have been reporting on being late for owing a "zero balance"?
If you have any information from a federal regulation or guidance on this, I would really appreciate it.
Nancy
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Dear Nancy,
The previous past due status of the loans would not be eliminated with the bankruptcy and the balances should all be reported at $0. All of the items should be reported as being included in bankruptcy and the delinquency clock would stop as of the date of your filing.
Typically collection agencies are the worst at updating this information.
I would urge you to get a three bureau consolidated credit report or report from all three credit bureaus for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Look for any credit reporting agencies that are not reporting the data correctly and file a dispute. The information on how to dispute the item will be on the credit report.
But frankly, the lesser issue is the incorrect reporting of an item. Most people make the classic mistake of not being proactive to repair their credit and that's really what hurts them.
To learn what to do to repair your credit, read this free guide. It's actually stupid easy to do.
Steve
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