Cleaning Up Your Credit Report

[buffy]

I am trying to clear up some inaccuracies on my husbands Experian report. About half the accounts that were included in bankruptcy are listed as charged off. Some show 30, 60, or 90 days past due even though we paid payments right up until the day we filed.
Some show account balances after we filed. I thought we got a stay starting the day we filed. Is this correct? I already disputed all inaccuracies on-line but they all came back as correct and verified. Now I am going to dispute in writing by registered mail. Has anyone ever filed a lawsuit against a creditor for reporting and verifying incorrect info to the credit bureaus? Also one creditor has the bankruptcy date wrong. They then verified that they were reporting correct info. Shouldn't Experian have caught this error since the court info is a part of the credit report?

[maungoo]

I called Experian and disputed the charged offs and late payments. They removed the accounts which showed charged off and late payments. I just explained the agent when I filed BK and about reporting charged off after filing was not right according to BK law.

Before I called them, I tried both on line and writing but failed.

[curiouscat]

Thanks for the good info here. I have a slightly different variation of a credit reporting question: Soft and hard inquiries that are run after you have filed (stay in place) should have to be removed, shouldn't they? They are no longer permissible purposes and are attempts to collect debt. The TU people (in India) didn't have a clue what I was talking about and argued that it is a "permissible purpose".

[BankruptinNJ]

How long should I wait after my bk discharge to check my credit reports for inaccuracies. I mean, how long does it take for the correct information to show up?

[backtoschool]

How long should I wait after my bk discharge to check my credit reports for inaccuracies. I mean, how long does it take for the correct information to show up?

I would check a couple of weeks after discharge and start disputing, and then dispute for the next couple of months as well. Once you are officially discharged you can put that discharge date in your dispute when you dispute the inaccuracies. The sooner you fix the inaccuracies, the sooner you can repair and rebuild your score.

[LSUTiger32]

How long should I wait after my bk discharge to check my credit reports for inaccuracies. I mean, how long does it take for the correct information to show up?

Wait at least a month, but most people suggest waiting even longer (6 months). I think two months is a good middle ground, you want to make sure they have had time to report. Most places report only once per month.

[backtoschool]

Although waiting several months will not really hurt you, buying a credit report right away and disputing what is incorrect will speed up the process of repair. Some trade lines can be disputed pretty much immediately after discharge. Some trade lines will take longer to report zero balances and a discharged bk. Ymmv.

[treehuggie]

Hi
I recently pulled my credit report from Equifax. All my BK accounts are showing correctly. In 2007, I co-signed a GMAC loan for my nephew. In Sept, 2008 he bought another vehicle and rolled my co-signed loan into his own loan, so the loan I had with him is paid off. The description for the loan says closed/zero balance, but the current status says 30 days past due, which is saying it is a negative indicator. I'm sure at one point he was probably late with the payment. Does anyone know how long the current status will remain 30 days past due or if I would be able to dispute it to get it removed?
Thanks for any help!

[LSUTiger32]

Hi
I recently pulled my credit report from Equifax. All my BK accounts are showing correctly. In 2007, I co-signed a GMAC loan for my nephew. In Sept, 2008 he bought another vehicle and rolled my co-signed loan into his own loan, so the loan I had with him is paid off. The description for the loan says closed/zero balance, but the current status says 30 days past due, which is saying it is a negative indicator. I'm sure at one point he was probably late with the payment. Does anyone know how long the current status will remain 30 days past due or if I would be able to dispute it to get it removed?
Thanks for any help!

Dispute it. It's incorrect. Like you said, he may been late once, but that should be under times late not the current status. Don't mention anything other than the current status is being incorrectly reported.

[Amy26]

How long should I wait after my bk discharge to check my credit reports for inaccuracies. I mean, how long does it take for the correct information to show up?

I started a week after I was discharged. My discharged showed up on my reports days after it happened and I wasted no time getting in there and repairing it. My mentality was why wait for the creditors to get their acts together for months and then have it hurt my score that whole time when I could get in there and be proactive and personally I think it paid off well... I've been able to get my score up significantly.

[garyp15]

I'm a bit confused. On my experian report for AMEX it states "Included in Chapter 7 bankruptcy" and below that it states "Charge off"...and shows a 0 balance. Is this ok? If not what needs to be corrected.

[Amy26]

No, if it says Charge off on it you need to dispute it. The debt wasn't charged off it was included in your bankruptcy. Also make sure they don't have any delinquency dates listed on it after your file date.

[Jmotr]

Question for you guys, I checked my credit report post chapter 7 discharge and found that I had 10 credit report pulls from collection agencies and or Collection Attorneys. I did not authorize any of these pulls and this of course pulls my FICO score down even further. Are those disputable and or removable?

[garyp15]

No, if it says Charge off on it you need to dispute it. The debt wasn't charged off it was included in your bankruptcy. Also make sure they don't have any delinquency dates listed on it after your file date.

Amy,
Thanks for the info...I guess I will have to dispute it with AMEX..are there any form letters that can be used? Also, is there anything that points out the legality or lack of, in reporting an amount as a charge off when it was included in a bk.?

[Amy26]

I would dispute it with Experian first, not Amex.