Sooo overwhelmed about fixing up credit reports...

[my4devils]

Does anyone have any advice about how to start this process? Is there like a "Cleaning up your credit reports for Dummies" book? I really have no clue what is right, what is wrong, what should be changed, etc... For example, many of our creditors who were paid up until the month before we filed show a charge off status in the month we filed. Can they do that? A few other things I cant seem to figure out but I really need an all in one type of resource. Any suggestions?

[Cali]

All accounts that were included in the BK, should say Included in BK, with a zero balance. Now if you were late prior to filing the accounts will say past due whatever amount of days. And if they were charged off before filing, I think they can still say that.

I wouldn't start cleaning anything up until you are discharged.

[Flamingo]

I agree with Cali. Unless there is some serious reason for you to be worried about your credit after filing (i.e., fraud), I wouldn't touch cleaning up your reports until either a few years after filing (if you file a Chapter 13) or a few months after discharge (if you file a Chapter 7).

As Cali stated, the accounts included in your filing should not state any late payments or charge offs and should state they they are included in a BK filing. However, charge offs and late payments prior to the filing date will remain and will not be removed if disputed.

I believe there is an entire section on here on cleaning up your credit that includes a lot of information. Have you reviewed that yet?

[my4devils]

Thank you both for your replies. I have been doing alot of reading to educate myself (this forum and others)so I think I am in the bombarded with information stage. Like many BK topics, there is also alot of contradictory information. I am planning to start the clean up process in July/August. I want to make the most of those 2 months as the kids are home from school and football isnt in full swing yet. I guess I was just hoping for a trusted simplified version to start with.

Is there a way to find out the exact date of a charge off? Our accounts are paid to date all the way to February, then show charge off for the month of March- the month we filed. Doesnt sound legit to me.

Thanks again for your help!

[Flamingo]

Is there a way to find out the exact date of a charge off? Our accounts are paid to date all the way to February, then show charge off for the month of March- the month we filed. Doesnt sound legit to me.

Thanks again for your help!

We had that occur on ours also. When you dispute the reports, just dispute the charge off on that account and provide the Credit Reporting Agency with a copy of your BK paper showing the date you filed. If you paid your account up to and including February, it should not be showing as Charged Off in March but only maybe as 30 days late at that time. I am sure once you dispute it, the charge off will get removed and the BK will be listed in it's place, as it should and as stated above in the postings.

[PaKettle]

I did a lot of reading in one of the old threads on this topic of what the credit reports SHOULD say, and I found out that mine are listed as follows:
"Discharged through Bankruptcy Chapter 7/ Past due 180 days". [Some say 90 days, some say 120 days, etc.]

The thing is, someone in one of the other old threads said that they shouldn't be able to put "Past due xx days" because these accounts are NOT past due, they are discharged!

I agree, it's got to be one or the other, it seems to me. If they are discharged, how can they be past due?

It doesn't say they WERE past due, it says "Past due" which seems to indicate they ARE past due, not WERE past due. One, for example, says "Closed/current, was past due 180 days". I have less of a problem with them saying "WAS past due" but to say just "past due" is not accurate. Right?

So how would I go about getting the "past due" off there, and has anyone here had any success with this?

Also I have one that says "Account charged off/ Past due 90 days". I am not aware it was ever charged off. How would I find out if it was? And don't they have to remove that, anyway, and replace it with just "Included in bankruptcy"?

As to disputing these things, what do you do, just send them a copy of your discharge paper with social etc. and say "I want this removed because it is not LATE, it was discharged in bankruptcy"? (Obviously I am new to this credit cleaning thing...)

[lrprn]

I agree, it's got to be one or the other, it seems to me. If they are discharged, how can they be past due?

If the account was charged off BEFORE you filed, then the lender can leave that in place on your credit report even though the debt was discharged because charged off was the truth of the account when you filed.

The creditor can't re-age the debt or change the dates however.

[PaKettle]

Is there any downside to just disputing all these things, like their saying " Past Due" when it is not past due, but in fact WAS past due? (i.e.; they are not saying it WAS past due, they are saying it as if it IS past due).

Or disputing a charge off even though it may have BEEN charged off? But I have no memory or proof that it WAS charged off?

Is there anything wrong with the philosophy of "Dispute! Dispute! Dispute!" hoping that some of them may stick due to the lender not getting around to proving the disputed item is true? In other words, is there a downside to just disputing EVERYthing?

[sharksfan]

https://www.creditboards.com/forums

Lots of information in the BK section on this topic. Look in the sticky threads.

[2confused]

Could you be a little more specific...there is so much info and these are good questions.