Credit Bureau Early Exclusion and Bankruptcy

[justbroke]

So, here's some things I have learned as my Chapter 13 aged off my account:

• Assuming that the debtor filed a Chapter 13 on May 28, 2014.
• Assuming that 7 years from May 28, 2014 is May 28, 2021.
• (For a Chapter 7 it would be 10 years from May 28, 2014 which is May 28, 2024. The same early exclusion periods would apply at 6 months, 3 months, and 1 month.)
• These were not my dates. I used a late day in May to demonstrate the exclusion date.

With those as parameters, here is what I learned. For the following major credit bureaus, the "exclusion" date is the 1st of the month. Based on our example, the working date for removal is May 1, 2021.

• Trans Union, you can dispute the bankruptcy 6 months prior. Given our assumptions, we can dispute this on November 1, 2020. (I did this via on-line dispute and it was removed within several hours!) I do not know when they automatically stop reporting since I did the 6 month early exclusion dispute.
• Experian, this automatically stopped being reported 3 months prior. Given our assumptions, this will automatically stop reporting on February 1, 2021.
• Equifax... do not call them or write them. The entry will be removed 1 month prior. Given our assumptions, this will automatically stop reporting on April 1, 2021. Just let the exclusion kick in automatically!

Please take note that your credit scores could go up or down with the removal of the bankruptcy! Older accounts being removed could affect your Average Age of Accounts (AAoA) and you could suffer from the FICO phenomenon known as rebucketing.

[shipo]

Good stuff justbroke, at this point I'm assuming your TU scores went up and your EX scores either just went up or are about to. Any update on what your EQ scores are doing?

[justbroke]

My EQ score went down to just over 670. I was definitely a victim of rebucketting! No worries, I'll get back into the 700s. Also, the drop may be due to EQ automatically removing some IIB accounts. These were older accounts which included a vehicle (installment) loan from 2012. I have a couple of new accounts that are < 2 months old so I'm sure I'm taking a beating for my average age of accounts. I also self-removed myself from 2 authorized user accounts during the last month.

I'll give it another month or two to see if things settle down.

I'm not happy, but the removal of the "public record" does look nice. Woohoo! I can now say that I haven't filed bankruptcy within the last 7 years! I'm thinking of jumping further into this housing market before and after it implodes. I want to be ready and leverage existing holdings if the market collapses. I don't wish that it collapses -- since I'm holding property -- but I want to be in a position to buy.

[shipo]

While I have no property holdings, I too am thinking there might be a collapse. Funny thing, due to travel requirements for both my current job as well as the jobs which I'm being recruited for, living here on the horse farm may no longer be viable. Over the last few days I started looking at options for buying or renting some time later this year. Ummm, wow, has the market changed since last fall. Back then there were literally dozens of homes and apartments available to rent or buy, now, crickets! In our current town there isn't a single 3-4 bedroom home, townhome, condo, or apartment available either for rent or to buy, not one! This kind of demand simply cannot last (or maybe it can and I've got it all wrong).

So, 2022, after my Chapter 13 falls off, is my target year for buying; time will tell if the market is kind to me, or if this crazy market keeps going like it is.

[justbroke]

Just what I suspected. Received an alert just now that "An account was removed." This will be fun as they now remove all my old accounts that were marked IIB. I may need to add the authorized user (AU) accounts back so that my AAoA is good again.

[justbroke]

For anyone that cares, I am back over 710 and approaching 720s across the board. I think I'll actually be over 720 in about a week or two. I was an authorized user on a few additional accounts. I'm realizing that they are holding me back. I just ended the authorized user with another creditor today, so we'll see if this pushes me back over 720. There's another 2 that I need to do but haven't had the time. Hopefully removing the last 2 will put me over 740.

Much of this is just having newish credit but I think in 3 months I could possibly be over 780 as I strategically remove the remaining 3 AU accounts. My average age of accounts iAAoA) s 4 years 7 months, which isn't too bad. Oldest account reporting is 10 years 7 months (thank God!).

I added two new cards of $10K each from my credit union and my score went up 11 points. American Express, which had blacklisted me since 2008, finally showed love and I obtained a platinum charge card.

[justbroke]

Yep, that did it. I'm back over 720! Note to self: be careful of AU account when the primary is not managing their account too well. There are two more I need to get rid of because one of the others is over 70% (less than 79%).

[shipo]

Yep, that did it. I'm back over 720! Note to self: be careful of AU account when the primary is not managing their account too well. There are two more I need to get rid of because one of the others is over 70% (less than 79%).

Congratulations on the higher scores!

I took a rather different approach to my rebuild than you given I eschewed the AU option in favor of doing it on my own. I started with a $5,000 secured card (which graduated to an unsecured Signature VISA after exactly 6 months) and two unsecured cards from CapOne and PenFed ($3,000 and $6,000 respectively), plus a $3,000 SSL from PenFed. All four accounts were opened between 3 and 13 months post-discharge, and now, some 21 months after my discharge my FICO 8 scores are 709/688/734 (EQ/EX/TU), which are by far the worst of my scores; my 5/2/4 Mortgage scores are 720/738/739, and my FICO 9 scores are 749/741/806. Come January when my Chapter 13 drops off my record I'm hoping for a healthy bump in my scores.

[justbroke]

Ha, that's where I'm at... Penfed and I did a share-secured loan (SSL) with them as well.

My 24-month post discharge happened in late August (my 13 fell off earlier because I had a late discharge). I think I'll be over 740 at EQ later today once that dropped account hits. Both TU and EX went up 15 points just on that one AU account that was over 78%. I'm going after the other 2 during this reporting cycle.

Life after bankruptcy is possible. Anyone reading this, please be responsible. Use credit as a tool not as a crutch.

[Johnworker1]

My Chapter 13 was recently discharged on 10/2023 and originally filed on 3/2017 and per this I disputed the Chapter 13 on the public account section of the Trans Union nothing specific on the grounds that I can recall earlier this month (11/2023) and just found out that they removed it completely.

Looking on the Equifax and Experian dispute page your choices of grounds are to say it was dismissed, or discharged or something like it wasn't mine so nothing general like TU. I checked discharged on Equifax and the page automatically updates to say that it takes 7 years to remove so I didn't complete the dispute.

I take it that I should just wait for Equifax and Experian to remove it on or near 3/2024 but I am open to other suggestions.

[justbroke]

I take it that I should just wait for Equifax and Experian to remove it on or near 3/2024 but I am open to other suggestions.

Based on my extensive research on this topic and my notes above, just wait for the other two. If you do it with Equifax you'll suffer slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune (borrowed from Shakespare and modified to fit the situation). It's best just to wait for the other two to remove them at their normal 3 months for Experian, and 1 month for Equifax.

[Johnworker1]

Based on my extensive research on this topic and my notes above, just wait for the other too. If you do it with Equifax you'll suffer slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune. It's best just to wait for the other two to remove them at their normal 3 months for Experian, and 1 month for Equifax.

Thanks I will wait...no need for me to suffer the slings and arrows needlessly

[jaffy83]

Thank you for this guidance. I filed towards the end of June, 2017 and discharged June 2023. Filed the dispute with TU online a few moments ago, and the dispute was immediately processed and the BK removed all in the span of 60 seconds.... talk about efficient!

[Johnworker1]

Based on my extensive research on this topic and my notes above, just wait for the other too. If you do it with Equifax you'll suffer slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune (borrowed from Shakespare and modified to fit the situation). It's best just to wait for the other two to remove them at their normal 3 months for Experian, and 1 month for Equifax.

I followed your suggestions and just chilled and the Experian removed the Public Record for the Chapter 13 (not sure when) and if my math is correct the Public Record on Equifax should fall of by 2/28/24.
I was anticipating refinancing my auto loan that I got at discharge when my scores were much lower and Bankruptcy was on all 3 of my credit files. I am hoping that after it falls off Equifax my interest rate on refinance loan will be less than 1/2 of my current rate (12%).

[justbroke]

Please let us know how much your score jumps. There is not much detailed data out there except for shipo's and mine here.