My mixed up social security number - BAD NEWS!

[CityGirl]

What's with the fees ya'll are paying for Chapter 7!!!!!
My attorney here in New York only charges $600 bucks for chapter 7 and $$600 for Chapter 13 ( with 1200 going into the plan )
What's with these idiots charging so much for Chapter 7??? My God!

[brokeinmichigan]

Can you not just contact the creditors? Fax them a copy of your SS card with the correct number, and request that they correct it in their system. Believe me, if you owe them money, they will change it and they will locate you even with the wrong SSN. I think they would be more than happy to have the correct number for your accts. Or you could NOT contact them, change your name, and not have any of this debt connected to you in any way! HA-HA...just kidding, of course!

My last name is listed incorrectly on our BK (I kept my maiden name when we married, but our atty inadvertently used my husband's last name as mine, too), but that didn't pose any problems at all.

Good luck...oh, and about that atty....NOT! Keep looking!

[PaKettle]

hope you get a good atty you feel comfortable with....best of luck with your case...you'll be ok.....alot of these bk lawers have seen it all....

It's not the bankrutpcy attorneys I'm concerned about, it's the Trustee! and the creditors!

But yeah, I'm beginning to feel confident that the first guy I spoke with who said the number was a problem, was just a jerk. I now have 2 attorneys who've told me it "should not be a big problem".

[PaKettle]

What's with the fees ya'll are paying for Chapter 7!!!!!
My attorney here in New York only charges $600 bucks for chapter 7 and $$600 for Chapter 13 ( with 1200 going into the plan )
What's with these idiots charging so much for Chapter 7??? My God!

In case you don't see my other thread, the attorney I spoke with today wanted FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS for my wife and I's personal bankruptcy! Of course, I said "Thanks, but I'll keep looking". After I said, "Oh my god!!!", that is.

[PaKettle]

Anyway, just another follow up on this predicament:
The 2nd attorney I spoke with today also told me "That shouldn't be a problem" as to the mixed up number. Apparently the thing is to just file both numbers on the bankruptcy form.

To those of you who have asked, "Why not just correct it now with the creditors or credit bureau?", I have been advised by 2 attorneys NOT to do that, to just leave it alone and put both numbers on the bankruptcy forms.

I'll keep you updated as to what others say and what I finally do, and what the outcome of it is...

[familyof7]

Sounds right!

[freshstart06]

Pa, have you ever pulled your credit report with your real social on it, there may be a chance everything already merged. Do feel bad, I had file single on my taxes and I really truly meant married filing separate. I was freaking out but the a couple of lawyer told me that all the trustees really care about is if you file on time. I have since amend my taxes but sometimes we freak out about our mistakes and there is an easy fix or nothing to much to worry about. I am sure I will have to answer about my mistake at the meeting maybe but it is taken care of and I now owe a little back to the IRS but not much

[PaKettle]

Pa, have you ever pulled your credit report with your real social on it, there may be a chance everything already merged. Do feel bad, I had file single on my taxes and I really truly meant married filing separate. I was freaking out but the a couple of lawyer told me that all the trustees really care about is if you file on time. I have since amend my taxes but sometimes we freak out about our mistakes and there is an easy fix or nothing to much to worry about. I am sure I will have to answer about my mistake at the meeting maybe but it is taken care of and I now owe a little back to the IRS but not much

Yes, I do have my credit record. Experian has the correct number listed as a "variation". The other 2 TRW and Equifax do not have it at all.

I was advised by 1 attorney and the paralegal of a very highly rated attorney to just leave it alone (don't adjust it with the creditors or credit bureaus) and just file under both numbers. I'm still talking with attorneys so I'll see if all agree. If not I'll have to use my judgment. But I'm inclined to think they are right, to just file and list both numbers. They are only a digital factor of 30-something off, you know, like, say --48 instead of --84, and only the last 2 numbers. It was clearly a typo.

[PaKettle]

hope you get a good atty you feel comfortable with....best of luck with your case...you'll be ok.....alot of these bk lawers have seen it all....

Thanks for the encouragement.
No one here probably has this problem, so it's probably not of much interest. But since someone in the future may have this problem or a similar one I am going to keep following up on it, for the archives.

I talked to 2 more attorneys, one of which I FINALLY am hiring.

Neither of them had ever heard of such a problem, but they both think it won't be considered fraud because obviously I was paying all this time and they have all my real info (address, phone, employer, etc), and the number isn't a whole different number but just a "typo" on the last 2 digits...

So that seems to be the consensus. BUT, as far as how to deal with it, no one is quite sure. These 2 attys I last talked with seem to think I should write the Credit Bureaus - all 3 - and straighten it out, now, which is not what a couple other guys I talked to thought, but since that was also my original thought on it and no one seems to really KNOW, I'm going to go ahead and contact the credit bureaus about it.

The complication is that we don't really KNOW if someone else may have the WRONG number, and so if we file on that wrong number, it would reflect on that person's credit file in a negative way.

So one atty suggested I go to the social security office and ask them if they can tell me whether or not another person is assigned to that wrong number. Not sure if they will do that, or not. But if they were to say "No, no one else has that number" then it would be easy to just file against both the real number and the incorrect number.

So right now that is the next step I am going to take, going to the social security office to ask about the wrong number.

If they will not tell me if someone else has that number, or not, then we are back to square one.

My new attorney (I finally chose one of these last 2 guys I talked with) says he will ask some other attorneys about it and let me know what they say.

But he says it shouldn't really be seen as fraud nor should it negatively affect my case, it's just a matter of figuring out how to deal with the paperwork.

Whew! I HOPE he's right!
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Update after Discharge, a few months later:

I did what people here recommended: I corrected my social security number with all 3 credit bureaus via Certified Letters and followed up with them to make sure it was done. Experian took longer, and required more bureaucratic b.s.; the other 2 made the corrections quickly and easily.

Although one attorney I had consulted with advised me NOT to do this, most did advise it and the one I retained advised I do it plus he advised I send certified letters to EACH of my creditors re the change (with all of these I sent a copy of my social security card and copy of letter from social security stating the number was now correct and a copy of my driver's license).

After doing this I also called each creditor to Confirm that the social security number was now listed correctly with each account.

I was afraid this ss# issue might come up with the Trustee, or perhaps with a creditor who might use it as a way of Objecting to the discharge. However, that did not happen, all went well and there were no objections or questions from teh trustee regarding any debt.

I think that since my ss# mistake was of the nature of a "typo" (last 2 numbers reversed), it did not stir up any major problems. I think if you have a ss# that is a completely different number, then you might run into problems.