Bankruptcy Tile and Related Icons Cardoza Law CorporationThere’s no way around it—filing for bankruptcy will tank your credit score, and for good reason. While it may have been the best solution for your debt situation, it will take time to rebuild your credit again. One of the first steps you should take after declaring bankruptcy is to check your credit reports and make sure the debts you discharged through bankruptcy are showing a zero balance. If they aren’t, you will need to take action to fix it.

You Still Deserve an Accurate Credit Report

The one good thing about bankruptcy is that it gets debt collectors off your back and discharges the burdensome debt that has been haunting you for years. If that is not reflected on your credit reports, however, you are not getting the full benefit of bankruptcy. Here’s what I recommend:

  • Send a copy of your discharge to each of the three credit reporting agencies (CRAs)—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—immediately to let them know that they should no longer report any negative information on those accounts.
  • Check your credit reports until the discharged accounts show a zero balance.
  • If one of the CRAs continues to report negative information about an account that has been discharged, send a written dispute to the agency to have it corrected.

If a CRA fails to correct your credit report after you have notified them in writing, you may have cause to file a lawsuit.

Bankruptcy Will Stay on Your Credit Report for a LONG Time

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years from the date of delinquency of the account. Chapter 13 bankruptcy remains on your report for seven years. This is a long time, to be sure, but once the 7 or 10 years are up, your credit report should be cleared so that you can start your financial life over from square one. If bankruptcies older than 10 years still appear on your credit report, you need to dispute it with the credit reporting agency.

How a Credit Reporting Dispute Attorney Can Help

If you’ve already been through the bankruptcy process, you have suffered enough! Don’t let a credit reporting agency jerk you around by failing to update discharged accounts or remove bankruptcy notices after 10 years. Contact me online or call me directly at 855.982.2400 and let me know what’s going on. I’ll guide you through the process of getting the information corrected and, if necessary, filing a lawsuit for damages. You have rights, and Cardoza Law Corporation is here to help you protect them.

 

Michael F. Cardoza, Esq.
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U.S. Marine & Consumer Financial Protection Attorney helping victims of ID theft and Credit Reporting errors.
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