Credit Reports & Creditor Matrix

[danaf]

I got my credit report yesterday. I have a crap load of creditors - over 50 or so. Many of them old with zero balances. Do I have to list ALL of these on the matrix? And what if some of them are closed?

Also - for the matrix, should I use the creditors address that's on the credit report or the address that's on my bills?

[Flamingo]

All your open creditors at this time are to be listed. Accounts that have been closed and no longer active do not get listed. Those open accounts with zero balances may still have to be listed (ours had to be but survived the BK and were not closed out) so check with your attorney. Our attorney advised us not to list the billing address for the creditor but the correspondence address so there will be no delay or nonreceipt of BK papers by the creditor. The correspondence address may be listed on the back of one of your billing statements, online at the creditor's website or call their customer service number to obtain an address for correspondence. Some creditors also have addresses for BK purposes/correspondence.

[Flamingo]

May I clarify one point as to my previous posting - if the account is closed but you still owe a balance on the account, that account needs to be listed. A creditor may close your account due to nonpayment or otherwise but you may still owe a balance. Old closed, paid accounts do not get listed.

[danaf]

What is the point of listing accounts still open but with zero balances? Too much work.

[Flamingo]

I am just telling you what we were instructed to do. Since you are filing without an attorney, others on here who have filed pro se can probably give you better advice.

[monkatom]

My attorney only had me list accounts with a balance?? I hope he did not mess up.

[HHM]

You only need to list accounts with a balance, but...

What you list just depends on how messy your credit report is. If you have collections, junk buyers, etc on the report in addition to regular creditors, I would list everyone. But if your report is rather clean and you have a good handle on what accounts are still valid, you need only list those that have a balance.

Odds are, those open accounts with a zero balance will get closed by the creditor anyway when you BK pops onto your credit report. (it just depends on the internal policy of the lender, for example, AMEX is notorious for closing accounts when a debtor filed BK even if there was no balance on the card at the time of filing).

[Cali]

The attorney I spoke to today said that you only have to list those with balances.

[movingon]

Don't report the "open, zero balance"...if your lucky, they will not get closed after your BK (some probably will, though). Having those accounts, especially if you have some years behind them, will greatly assist you getting your credit back up after the BK.

[jp2861]

I would recommend pulling all 3 of your reports. I looked at TU a few months before I filed. All my creditors were on that report. Well, fast forward to 6 weeks after filing. I decide to get all 3 reports so I can get educated on making sure they're clean. Low and behold I find a collection account on Equifax from 2002. I have no idea what it's for and the report lists only the company name, but no contact info. So, now I have to Google and make a bunch of calls to try to find out who this creditor is. Not to mention the added cost of filing another amendment.