i want my credit back!

[feelthevibe]

hi people,

i went bankrupt in October 05 before the new law was coming in, i got discharged of a car loan repo of 5k,credit card debt of 2k, and various
accounts for about 2k. i was 19 at the time i went bankrupt which was very depressing to know that my credit has been shot in the head.i was lucky to have a good attorney, one of the best i might say in new york, his father is a trustee so what more can you ask for.

right now after a yr i have got my credit report and it is horrendous, my credit score for experian is 491, there is countless amount of errors cause i discharged 90% of the debts on it, the only one that remains is this bill from my old university which i though the state would pay now im stuck with a 650 dollar bill. but i disupted alot of info its only been 2 weeks, i hope that with the updates on the credit report that my score will rise.

im worried because at 20 i have to get my credit polished up for the time im going after jobsthat require good credit so im very worried, i need some advice on rebuilding credit, as far as it goes i got a New millenium secured card with 300 dollar limit i put down.im gonna make a deal with the one i own 650 for. can someone give me insight, experiences and such im hoping that in 3-4 yrs my credit can be back to at least average i know that my bankruptcy will be on my record for a long time but i just want to get my score back up to average.

thanks

[HHM]

First, the main problem with your credit is the lack of credit history (you are young). Payment History and Length of Credit History, combined, make up 50% of your FICO credit score, and you have neither. On top of that, you have a BK very early on in your credit life (so to speak).

The diputes will probably take about 45-90 days to resolve.

What specifically are you disputing...after all, your credit report is your "credit history". You won't able to "remove" the old accounts, about all you can do is make sure the accounts are reporting the proper status, which would be "Included in Bankruptcy" (IIB) and show a zero balance owed.

Objectively speaking, filing BK over $9k at 19 may not have been your best option...was there really no other way?

About all you can do is get some type of credit card (secured, or whatever), charge no more than $100 (or less if you cannot afford $100) and pay off, IN FULL, each month...and do this every month. After about a year or so, you will probably start getting more mainstream credit card offers...go ahead and accept one that looks good (no annual fee, no security required and a relatively low interest rate) and start doing the same thing, charge no more than $100 and pay it off, in full, each month. That is about all you can do.

If your timeframe is 3-4 years, your credit will probably get back to average or slightly above average in that time.

[feelthevibe]

well irresponsbility cause me to bk i had no money my parents wouldnt fork over the amount and i had no capability to work paying years and years of this.but lets talk after bk cause its done so nothing i can do

im disputing the repo amount, my bank of america credit card which i maxed out at 500 and there showing i own now 2500 verizon wirless bills showing 800,macys card at 200,best buy card at 500, they all show that it was petitioned or charged off and balances, 45-90 days? so if these get zero'd will my credit score go up? i hope so.

what about prospective employers, what can happen when they do a credit check?

[HHM]

Sounds like you definately need to clean up your credit report...once the balances are reported as zero, your credit will probably go up some what.

Basically, any account that you declared BK on, should say "Included in Bankruptcy" and report a zero balance, so get about doing those disptues. They should not be reporting "Charged Off" if the account was discharged in your Bankruptcy.

As for prospective employers, that is anyones guess...strictly speaking, they are not supposed to discriminate based on Bankruptcy, (and proving that they did so is very difficult). Thus, there is no hard and fast rule...but if your applying for a job in any financial arena, they will look at your credit report, but if you wont be in the job market for 3-4 years, it probably won't be an issue. If you maintain good credit habits from here foward and get your credit report cleaned, it won't be an issue. And honestly, its a little late to worrying about this now!

[feelthevibe]

hey HHM i appreciate the advice, i hope to get some more advice from you time to time, i got some questions about credit cards, obviously i tried to apply for a couple, do they impact ur credit if they check? and i want to know if theres any unsecured cards out there that i can work on building credit that are not bs when it comes to there policy's, im going to pay off this debt from school ccause it came after the discharge. yes im gonna work hard the next few yrs not only for education but for my credit as well, does the bankruptcy come totaly off after 10 yrs? im curious in that sense

[lrprn]

Some answers to your questions in red below - HTH!

hey HHM i appreciate the advice, i hope to get some more advice from you time to time, i got some questions about credit cards, obviously i tried to apply for a couple, do they impact ur credit if they check?

Yes, every "hard" check on your credit (such as when you apply for a credit card) takes your credit score down a few points.

and i want to know if theres any unsecured cards out there that i can work on building credit that are not bs when it comes to there policy's, im going to pay off this debt from school ccause it came after the discharge. yes im gonna work hard the next few yrs not only for education but for my credit as well, does the bankruptcy come totaly off after 10 yrs? im curious in that sense

Yes, 10 years after filing, Chapter 7 bankruptcy comes off your credit record. Since you filed in 2005, your Ch 7 will come off your credit record in 2015. Bankruptcy is a last-resort solution....hopefully this time around you've learned what happens when "I want" gets out of control. Good luck - keep us posted on how your credit clean-up goes.

Also just one small request....we're aren't IMing here, so to make your posts more readable in the future, capitals would be much appreciated! Obviously we will always try to help you, capitals or not, but thanks for considering!

[feelthevibe]

Hey, Thanks for the replay. Yeah im not forum savy when it comes to making
proper format post. I'll try to learn some proper formats on forum talks.

Yeah, im very used to the IMing style . I appreciate all your input on this.
I'll definetly keep you all posted on the progress. I wont be making any more attempts to get a credit card. But can you tell me when is a good period to attempt to get a credit card in terms of the FICO credit score?

Thanks

[feelthevibe]

Good news on my credit report is that 11/14 credit inquires will be gone next year .

[CindyLou]

When did you incur the 650 debt? Before or after you filed?

[feelthevibe]

it was before the bankruptcy but i didnt find out til after

[CindyLou]

any dischargeable debt incurred prior to filing is discharged whether listed or not! Simply fax or mail the creditor your discharge sheet! do not pay them! (this isn't a student loan, right?)

[feelthevibe]

i actually cant find the discharge paper, no its not a loan just tuition bill. can i get a copy of it somewhere?

[lrprn]

i actually cant find the discharge paper, no its not a loan just tuition bill. can i get a copy of it somewhere?

So you've lost your bankruptcy discharge paper sometime in the last year? That puts you in a bad spot, doesn't it? Your lawyer can help you get another copy...for a fee, of course. May I suggest this time that you keep the document in a safe place? It's a very important legal document for you to keep at hand for the next ten years.

As far as discharging tuition, it sounds like you completed a semester without paying the tuition so that's why you now owe this $650 bill to the university, correct? It can be dischargeable UNLESS the university clearly stated when you signed up for that semester that the tuition is considered an educational loan. These days some universities do that with language like this: "All outstanding tuition account balances are educational loans extended with the express understanding that future repayment shall be made to the University. Pursuant to federal bankruptcy law and regulations, such tuition expenses are educational loans that are not automatically discharged in bankruptcy." [from http://www.stjohns.edu/services/bursar/payments.sju ]

Is your university one of these?

[tradewiz50]

hi people,

i went bankrupt in October 05 before the new law was coming in, i got discharged of a car loan repo of 5k,credit card debt of 2k, and various
accounts for about 2k. i was 19 at the time i went bankrupt which was very depressing to know that my credit has been shot in the head.i was lucky to have a good attorney, one of the best i might say in new york, his father is a trustee so what more can you ask for.

right now after a yr i have got my credit report and it is horrendous, my credit score for experian is 491, there is countless amount of errors cause i discharged 90% of the debts on it, the only one that remains is this bill from my old university which i though the state would pay now im stuck with a 650 dollar bill. but i disupted alot of info its only been 2 weeks, i hope that with the updates on the credit report that my score will rise.

im worried because at 20 i have to get my credit polished up for the time im going after jobsthat require good credit so im very worried, i need some advice on rebuilding credit, as far as it goes i got a New millenium secured card with 300 dollar limit i put down.im gonna make a deal with the one i own 650 for. can someone give me insight, experiences and such im hoping that in 3-4 yrs my credit can be back to at least average i know that my bankruptcy will be on my record for a long time but i just want to get my score back up to average.

thanks

First thing you need read the stickys in this forum first. All your questions are already answered there.

Basically after your discharge. all your discharged tradde lines should be showing zero balances and IIB status. (Included in bankruptcy)

[tradewiz50]

Good news on my credit report is that 11/14 credit inquires will be gone next year .

Thats really not good news.