Can creditors continue to report ongoing charge-off/default status during active BK?

[bcohen]

I filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 12. I included all of my creditors, as well as the collection agencies, collection law firms, and JDB's who have handled these accounts in my mailing matrix, as I should. I also sent a letter--by certified mail with proof of delivery--to Gurstel Chargo, the law firm which had sued me on behalf of Discover Card, gotten a judgment, and attempted to levy my bank account notifying them of my bankruptcy filing and warning them against continued collection activity.

Anyways, according to Credit Karma, and confirmed by pulling other credit reports, Discover Card has reported a new charge-off status and delinquency for the month of April. The JDB who owns my old Citibank card also reported a new charge-off status and increased the balance owed for the month of April. Can they legally report a charge-off status after the BK filing date, and report an increased amount "past due", or does the automatic stay prevent that? All of these debts have been charged-off since 2009, and no payments were made since then.

[Floridagail]

I would wait until after discharge, then dispute them. BOA has done that to me. I disputed all 3 CRA with my free annual report and it got corrected.

[Pjmax]

I had a few JDBs report similar, one on my actual date of discharge. Anyway, about a month after discharge, I started disputing all incorrect info on my CRs, and within 2 months all collections and JDBs were deleted off my reports. I agree with FG, wait until after discharge, then start on your CRs. My CRs went through an evolution of changes from filing date to post discharge. I kept an eye on it, but about a month after discharge, many of the things I was concerned about dropped off without any intervention from me.

[btbeme]

Your credit report is absolutely worthless during your BK and for a couple months afterwards. While you are in Ch 7, you have no credit, things change daily, and it all takes time to shake out.

Maybe 2-3 months after discharge, pay to pull your reports and dispute inaccuracies. Any time before that is a waste of time - kinda like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Side note - I am well-stipulated in these forums to be a non-credit type of guy. In fact, I agree with others that it isn't a "credit report" so much as it is a "debt report" - do a search to see if that argument makes sense to you. Even if you disagree, I suggest that you seriously consider NOT being a slave to your credit score, since anyone who can pay cash for their lifestyle - a guarantee that you can afford it - actually has NO credit score.

Just a thought.

[EandGWZ]

Your credit report is absolutely worthless during your BK and for a couple months afterwards. While you are in Ch 7, you have no credit, things change daily, and it all takes time to shake out.

Maybe 2-3 months after discharge, pay to pull your reports and dispute inaccuracies. Any time before that is a waste of time - kinda like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Side note - I am well-stipulated in these forums to be a non-credit type of guy. In fact, I agree with others that it isn't a "credit report" so much as it is a "debt report" - do a search to see if that argument makes sense to you. Even if you disagree, I suggest that you seriously consider NOT being a slave to your credit score, since anyone who can pay cash for their lifestyle - a guarantee that you can afford it - actually has NO credit score.

Just a thought.

Couldn't agree with you more, the amount of anxiety people experience over this nonsense, especially those with no assets is mind boggling.

[bcohen]

Thank you all for your input. I am not concerned with my credit reports for the purpose of obtaining any sort of loan or other credit product in the foreseeable future. I am concerned for purposes of obtaining employment when I graduate from college this December. Employers in the field which I am studying for are concerned with the existence of OPEN charge-offs, collections, or judgments due to the fact that strict confidentiality is required, and companies believe that being heavily indebted or having open judgments can cause poor work performance and breach of trust issues. As long as everything shows as $0 balance owed, discharged in bankruptcy, that is fine.

I expect to be discharged long before then, and will hopefully have enough time to get the negative information and judgment removed, by disputing, or by legal means if necessary.

[paulsk]

Your credit report is absolutely worthless during your BK and for a couple months afterwards. While you are in Ch 7, you have no credit, things change daily, and it all takes time to shake out.

Maybe 2-3 months after discharge, pay to pull your reports and dispute inaccuracies. Any time before that is a waste of time - kinda like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Side note - I am well-stipulated in these forums to be a non-credit type of guy. In fact, I agree with others that it isn't a "credit report" so much as it is a "debt report" - do a search to see if that argument makes sense to you. Even if you disagree, I suggest that you seriously consider NOT being a slave to your credit score, since anyone who can pay cash for their lifestyle - a guarantee that you can afford it - actually has NO credit score.

Just a thought.

That is exactly how i feel about debt and money after deciding to declare BK. I wish i had done this earlier.