OMG....Just pulled FICO scores....

[cfgdag]

So it's been 2 months since filing for Chapter 7. I have not checked our credit scores in probably over a year. We have ALWAYS been current on our bills up until 1-2 months before filing. We have approx 12 years of excellent credit history, with not one late payment. I always prided myself on our excellent credit. When buying our first house several years ago our mortgage broker said we had the highest scores he had seen in a very long time for people our age(early 20's). So...knowing we had excellent credit scores made filing for BK a very hard decision. I just HATED the thought of our scores tanking for a long time. Today, I decided to pull credit reports on me and hubby. I was SHOCKED our scores weren't as bad as I thought. I was expecting to see scores in the 500-600 range. Are these scores really possible at this point?? I pulled them from Trans Union so would they be reliable?

1 year ago scores: 786 & 765.
Today, 2 months after filing BK: 738 & 719.

[frogger]

Pull them from all 3. I think you're going to show a lot more hit than that.

[NoMoreRed]

You're going to need to wait until after discharge to get a clear picture. Once you file, your creditors will stop reporting. Once your discharge comes then your credit history will be updated on the accounts that were included in your bankruptcy to show that they were included in your bankruptcy...that's when your score will change.

...at least that's what I saw on mine.

[cfgdag]

I will pull the other 2 reports tonight.

As far as what creditors are reporting, they all already show "IIB".
Guess I will just sit tight and pull them again in a few months, once my discharge goes thru.

[whipster1]

Pulled my Experian and the BK is not on there....wonder how long before it shows up...

[aljohnson007]

I filed bk to get out of a bad credit situation and don't intend to ever go back there again. My credit score doesn't matter and even it it did, there is nothing I can do to change it short term. I hope this is the plan for all who have fallen victim to the "plastic." JMO.

[MyStimulus]

I agree with Aljohnson,,,,Our society has been frightened into believing we have to have credit. As if we could not live without it. Truthfully, I wish I never started a credit file. I have been paying cash for everything for 2 years now and life could not be better. Sure it helps to get a home or a car, but I sure do not want to buy a home and be stuck in it for years like I did 5 years ago. I enjoy the freedom of having a choice to live without having to wait for a house to sell in this market. Also, paying cash for a car is much smarter than paying interest monthly.( and I am in the car business!) It boils down to wants vs. needs. I had it the other way around for 20+years thinking that my material items were a direct reflection of me,,,,wrong!!! They owned me! I am currently working on getting rid of 80% of my things, packing up, and relocating somewhere,,,who knows where!! Life should be an adventure. I will not buy into material America again!! Just my .02 worth!

[IBroke]

Pull them from all 3. I think you're going to show a lot more hit than that.

I thought the third is not available any more?!

[MrSmithster]

mine didnt tank till i was fully discharged (it took 4 months for my discharge). i week prior to discharge i still had decent scores similar to your current, 1 week after discharge mine where at 560-585. good luck

[leena]

I filed bk to get out of a bad credit situation and don't intend to ever go back there again. My credit score doesn't matter and even it it did, there is nothing I can do to change it short term. I hope this is the plan for all who have fallen victim to the "plastic." JMO.

I could not agree more! The only thing anyone should ever finance is a house. Maybe, maybe a car if the situation absolutely demands it but I would really hesitate to say that too, and fergoodnessakes if you do buy a house make sure it is something you can actually afford and never borrow against it!
Credit score? Whatever. Your first priority is learning how to live cash, not worshipping a credit score that mostly serves to get you in more debt.

[startingovr]

It's very interesting how the whole credit score thing works. I went to go buy a car less than a week after I was discharged and had no problems doing it. I still can't believe my credit score was 660.....

[Flamingo]

Don't worry about your credit score...usually as soon as most creditors see the BK on your reports nothing else matters even if your score is high. Time is your friend after BK discharge. Go slowly in rebuilding your credit and showing you are credit worthy again.

[frogger]

I thought the third is not available any more?!

As far as I know, there are still the big 3.

[StartingOver08]

As far as I know, there are still the big 3.

There are the big 3 CRA's. There is also a 4th one that is called INNOVIS and it reports too. In fact most of the public record data provided on your big 3 come from INNOVIS. https://www.innovis.com/InnovisWeb//...ditReport.html

What IBROKE is probably referring to is that Experian no longer provides FICO scores to consumers....they provide their own formula which has no relationship to the FICO scoring model. Experian decided to stop providing FICO scores to consumers as of 2/14/2009 and only provides them to commerical customers (read lenders). http://consumerist.com/5148022/exper...from-consumers

[cfgdag]

Well I hope I didn't give off the wrong impression that I want my credit score high again just to get back into debt. We learned our lesson, big time. I was raised to believe a high credit score is "what life is about", but have since realized different. I was mearly asking about the score because I would have thought it would have dropped much lower by now. We have been living on cash only for months now and it is working very well for us and I vow to never let ourselves get back into debt for anything other than another house in a few years. It's actually quite refreshing and rewarding to buy things with cash....not to mention it really makes you evaluate your wants vs your needs.