Copy of Discharge Order to Credit Report Agencies

[NoMoe]

I filed for Chap 7 (pro se) and I'm expecting to receive my Discharge Order early next week.

Anyway, I was told by the bankruptcy clerk's office that once I received my Discharge Order I should send a copy of it to each of the credit report agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).

I looked for this advice here and in NOLO's How to File for Chap 7 Bankruptcy, but I couldn't find any information suggesting I do this. I'm going to do it anyway, but I guess I was hoping to find a sample letter to send along with the Discharge Order. Or at least read about what others have done. Or advice for finding the correct mailing addresses to the credit report agencies. (By doing a Google search, I did find a website with a sample letter online, but it recommended that I also send a copy of my drivers license and social security card as proof of my identity. That last part scared me, so I'm seeking advice here.)

I appreciate any thoughts and help on this. Thanks.

[LadyInTheRed]

Your discharge should show up on your reports without having to send the agencies a copy of the order. Check your reports 30 days after discharge and dispute anything that is incorrect. If you have to dispute anything, then you might want to include a copy of the discharge order.

[NoMoe]

Thanks LadyInTheRed.

I'm sure you are correct, but it's hard to ignore the advice from the bankruptcy court. It's probably more of a suggestion based on their experience rather than a necessity. They (the court) just provided me with the names of the credit report agencies, their phone numbers and website addresses, but no mailing addresses.


Anyway, this is a sample letter I found online:

Date
CERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT
TransUnion
Attn: Dispute Resolution Department
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
In the Matter of:
Your name
Address
Address
Case: 09-xxxx
Chapter 7 or 13
File Date: (date you filed)
Discharge Date: (date of your discharge)

Dear Sir or Madam:

For your reference I am enclosing a copy of the Order Discharging Debtor entered on my bankruptcy case. Please update the subject credit file(s) to reflect the discharged status of the debts as indicated on the Final Report from the Trustee. It is my understanding that the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Regulations implemented by the Federal Trade Commission under the Act requires you to report a current balance of “0″ on all of these accounts that have been discharged in my bankruptcy case.

To the extent that any of the discharged debts are reporting anything other than a “0″ balance, please consider this letter as a Dispute under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Consequently, I am requesting you to immediately activate the Automated Dispute Resolution System program with respect to this written notice.

It is also my understanding that pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are required to conduct an investigation or reinvestigation of each of the items in my report that are disputed by me and that you will promptly notify me of the results of your investigation. In addition, it is my understanding that each of the above creditors is required to investigate my disputes upon receipt of notification from you of this information. In order to facilitate those investigations I request that you forward this letter, and the enclosures, to each of the creditors listed above. If for any reason you decline to send a copy of my letter and the enclosures to any of the creditors, I request that you promptly advise me so that I can take additional steps to protect myself.

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Sincerely


Your Name

enclosures: Discharge Order
Color copy of Driver's License
Color copy of Social Security Card

[LadyInTheRed]

It can't hurt. But, I think a letter targeted specifically at the incorrectly reported items, if there are any, will be more effective.

[LadyInTheRed]

By the way, the clerks at the bankruptcy court probably have no experience with this unless they filed BK themselves. They probably get the question all the time, so somebody at the court put together information to give to people.