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When I file Bankruptcy my credit report is wiped clean right? |
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I cannot get credit for 10 years after Bankruptcy right? So why bother to fix my credit reports? |
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Why will a credit card company or a home mortgage lender give me credit after I filed Bankruptcy? |
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Well, I misued my credit before, I probably should not get another credit card or loan, right? |
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What exactly is a credit report? |
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Is my credit score really that important? |
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How do I read my credit report? |
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How long is information listed on my credit report? |
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How long does Rocketdog Reports take to work? |
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What do I have to do once a sign up for Rocketdog Reports? |
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How do I get a copy of my credit report? |
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Even though I reaffirmed my loan in Bankruptcy, my bank will not report it on my credit report. |
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When I file Bankruptcy my credit report is wiped clean right? |
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Yes. And No.
The negative credit on your report is still there. It is not erased. It will be notated on your report before your bankruptcy file date is listed on your report. I call the bankruptcy file date the “bright line” on your credit report.
Any credit going forward in time will come after your bright line. This is often wrong on your credit report and needs to be updated.
For example, let’s say, that you defaulted on your car loan and put it in your bankruptcy and your credit report shows “Default or Repossessed” in the current month. It will look as if you have a current account in default when really it was “wiped” out in the Bankruptcy.
The fix is to alert the credit reporting agencies to this error and update the report removing that default showing it as “discharged” or “included in bankruptcy”.
What is a credit report?
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I cannot get credit for 10 years after Bankruptcy right? So why bother to fix my credit reports? |
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Wrong. This is often misunderstood with how long a Bankruptcy is on your credit report. A Bankruptcy is on your credit report for 7-10 years. This is different than getting credit again. You can get credit again based on each creditor’s approval. Only the creditor decides whether to give you credit or not. There is no “federal ban” on credit for 10 years. This is an common myth.
Most credit cards will give you a card again in about 3-5 months after Bankruptcy discharge. And a home loan in 2-3 years after Bankruptcy discharge.
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Why will a credit card company or a home mortgage lender give me credit after I filed Bankruptcy? |
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There are many reasons. The most important reason is, you are a brand new customer again! All you dischargeable debts are wiped clean, you are a fresh slate to a credit card company. And you cannot file again (in most cases) for 7 years so they are guaranteed your payments for at least 7 years.
And remember home industry makes money selling homes and making loans. Mortgage lenders advise me you can get a home loan 2-3 years after a discharge. As long as your debt to income ratios look good (you make enough money vs your debts which are now gone due to the bankruptcy), you are a good credit risk for a home loan.
This is why it is important to have your credit reports be correct right after bankruptcy, so in the years after filing, you have a clean report and the right credit scores.
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Well, I misued my credit before, I probably should not get another credit card or loan, right? |
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Well, I misued my credit before, I probably should not get another credit card or loan, right?
No, without a credit card, you cannot even rent a car at the airport and you are not rebuilding your credit in the eyes of the credit industry. So you go to get a car loan and you may be denied for not re-establishing your credit.
Most often the first card you will get will have a very small balance ($200-$300) and this is just fine to get started.
Am I advocating to live beyond your means with credit? Absolutely not, just use what you have learned with your Bankruptcy and use your credit cards wisely.
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What exactly is a credit report? |
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A credit report is documentation of all your credit activities. It will list all of your loans and credit card accounts. It will list the balances and how current you are on your payments. It will also show a bankruptcy discharge, collections, and any activity such as a defaulted or loan “paid but not as agreed”.
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Is my credit score really that important? |
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We all know how important a credit score is. Therefore, we cannot stress enough how important it is to have your credit reporting accurately. Your credit score is drawn from your credit reports. We help you after filing bankruptcy to update your credit score by updating your credit reports. You probably wanted a fresh slate when filing bankruptcy. Remember, it is not “a fresh start” until you update your credit reports.
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How do I read my credit report? |
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There are common elements that appear in each of the three credit bureau reports. They include sections entitled:
When you alert the credit bureaus that you have been discharged from the Federal Bankruptcy Court they will record the information under the section entitled, “Public Records” with the date of you discharge and the Chapter you filed under.
Any new credit will show up after that date and all old credit that has been discharged will be listed before that date and noted as being discharged.
The point is, after you file Bankruptcy, your credit reports should not show, late, surrendered, defaulted or other negative listing for debts included in your Bankruptcy. This is what has to be fixed.
Your credit reports should also show and be correct:
- Personal information
- Public Records
- Potentially negative item/adverse accounts
- Accounts in good standing/satisfactory accounts
- Requests for credit history
- Personal statements
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How long is information listed on my credit report? |
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All credit information, negative or positive remains on your report for seven year. Bankruptcy remains on your credit report for 10 years. That is why it is imperative to make sure your credit report is reporting accurately.
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How long does Rocketdog Reports take to work? |
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Once we receive your request form, we process it within 48 business hours. Then it is mailed to you by US mail. After you send your Rocketdog Reports out, by law the credit reports should be updated 30 business days from the date they received your letter.
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What do I have to do once a sign up for Rocketdog Reports? |
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Once we receive and process your submission, we will mail you a packet to sign and forward to the three (3) major reporting bureaus. We also mail you an original to keep for your use and files. You should obtain your reports to verify that they made the changes after the 30 day time period. Unfortunately, oversights and errors may occur so that is why we recommend you use the copy in the packet we sent you to follow up.
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How do I get a copy of my credit report? |
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You are entitled to receive on free credit report every 12 months from each of the credit reporting companies. You just need to contact them directly by phone, mail or their website. As a Rocketdog Reports customer we can order your reports for you right now. This is due to our partnership with First Advantage Credco.
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Even though I reaffirmed my loan in Bankruptcy, my bank will not report it on my credit report. |
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Recently there has been a trend by some banks and other credit lenders to no longer draft and file reaffirmation agreements for debtors in bankruptcy. They have been allowing debtors to make verbal agreements. If you checked your intention to reaffirm but did not sign or send in a reaffirmation agreement, the banks are often blaming your bankruptcy lawyer and not reporting this on your credit report.
I firmly believe this to be another bank trick. Whether you signed a reaffirmation agreement or not, your credit report, by law, should show the payments you have been making to the bank.
I am also actively pursing a stop to this bank tactic with specific reaffirmation language in my Rocketdog letters as an extra option.
And I may also include filing suit with certain cases in Federal District Court under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. |
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