***pls dont use freecourtdocuments for status check ***

[music12]

mine doesn't either. lucky indeed. they really should stop listing it in papers. it serves no purpose. those who need to know, like creditors, already get notification.

[Bell30656]

In many towns anyone that files bankruptcy finds that information actually listed in the local newspaper. Lucky for me, my local newspaper doesn't.

[music12]

hiding behind the "public knowledge" clause is something that really gets me very upset. it's true that anything in court is public information. but the intent was to make the law and precedents available to people who might find themselves in a similar situation so they can research what the law says about it. the intent was also to ensure that things are not done in secret, because that can become abusive - a public trial is a person's right. but the intent was never, ever to make it so that someone who filed for bk would be exposed as such to the world. why should someone who just, say, wants to get somebody's address or phone number online end up finding out that they filed bk? they weren't looking for legal information yet it's being shoved down their throats.

i think court documents should be searchable by everything but a person's name.

i could go on forever...

[tdawg]

It does appear to move back in order though. The first day I went into google I notice it was on page one, now it is page two if when you refine the search. But then the names are not something we post ever, and we have common names so they show up with a variety of spellings, both first and last names are so common that google is full of them. I hope that helps, but what is done is done, and I am sorry for everyone else too that are on google now. These sites need to be shut down if they continuet to spew out private information. I know they are hiding behind the "public" knowledge clause, but those laws were in effect decades ago, the electronic age should adjust.

This might not be what you're looking for, but you can create more of an online presence which might enable you to "drown out" those results. For example, if you purchase a domain name which is based on your name and put your name in the metadata, and also post onto bulletin boards, etc. with your name frequently then you might be able to make it so those results will show up first (no one usually ever goes to the second page of searches, so as long as the freereport one gets to 11 or higher, you're good).

[HHM]

Although the information is accessible at the court, someone needs to be motivated to go get it. In geneal, a BK doesn't show up in a name search on google. Reason being, the firms that collect information such as BK info, want to charge someone to access that info, so generally, a randomn name search will not pull up a BK.

If someone wanted to find out you filed BK, they would practically need to know you already filed BK in order to even do an effective search.

So yes, this info about this website is somewhat disturbing.

[Bell30656]

Bankruptcy is public information as is criminal convictions and civil suits. These sites just help make the stuff more accessible. At any time you want to you can go to the courthouse and check out any document in any case unless the case is under seal or a juvenile is involved.

[johny]

momisery..i fully tend to agree with you...thats why i decided to start this thread...i am kinda screwed but i dont want anyone else in this situvation..all of us want to get a fresh start after bk which in itself leaves a painful scar...we dont need further setbacks in our process of starting afresh...

unfortunately my namesearch on google shows the link on the very first page...my wife's is even worse ..its the first link on the first page...no other links in her name....and a search of either of our names in any combination shows this link...since we are joint filers.

as music12 has rightly posted ....

" i never signed up for free sites only because i saw a different one, "recap", where i saw an actual explanation that said they keep any document you view for other viewers as well. once i saw that, i decided not to look anywhere but pacer. i don't know if the terms and conditions for these free sites are clear enough, and i think a big disclaimer here as a sticky would be a very, very good idea: even if it saves one forum-reader from unnecessary embarrassment, it is worth it. not everybody reads and/or understand these
types of terms and conditions, and they really should not end up paying for it."

cld'nt agree more...even if it saves one forum-reader ...the main idea of this thread..

for those of us who r already stuck i just hope this doesn;t tag on to the other search crawels like msn/yahoo/ask/zaba search...and so on...i guess its just a matter of time before its on all search sites...

like one poster mentioned it lasts on our credit reports for 10 yrs available to private searches but once in the public domain it lasts forever and is avialable to one and all..what a joke!

i am now trying to push this link to the 2nd or 3rd page in google..for this to happen we need to create as much positive info abt ourselves and start posting it in various blogs that get hit frequently..have registered and posted my bio on linkedin, myspace, i plaxo, facebook and so on..but i guess it takes time..i was told anywhere betn 3 to 6 months....and even if it does there is no guarantee that it will stay behind...it all depends on the crawlers and how often they do their serch..also freecourtdockets site has so many hits that google notices that and brings any links related to that site on page 1

also looking at some online reputation defender sites...but looks like most of them are spams...and do cost quite a bit.

any ideas and suggestions r more than welcome..

johny

[momisery]

It does appear to move back in order though. The first day I went into google I notice it was on page one, now it is page two if when you refine the search. But then the names are not something we post ever, and we have common names so they show up with a variety of spellings, both first and last names are so common that google is full of them. I hope that helps, but what is done is done, and I am sorry for everyone else too that are on google now. These sites need to be shut down if they continuet to spew out private information. I know they are hiding behind the "public" knowledge clause, but those laws were in effect decades ago, the electronic age should adjust.

[justbroke]

I suppose there is no way to remove these from google for everyone? Time as long as you don't use freecreditdocs again, will make it move out a long ways of course, but is there any other way?

No. So long as that site stays up and the information is "crawl-able"... it will remain so long as Google, Yahoo!, Bing and any other global search engine, continues to serve up global searches.

I can find old things I posted when I was at a New England college back in the 1990s. It just won't go away! Glad I didn't post anything stupid.

[momisery]

I suppose there is no way to remove these from google for everyone? Time as long as you don't use freecreditdocs again, will make it move out a long ways of course, but is there any other way?

[MSbklawyer]

Look, all you have to do to get a free copy of all your court notices is file a request for notices with the court. You can request notices by email or by mail. You'll get a copy of everthing filed in your case.

[AngelinaCat]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I also signed on with Pacer and have been pleased with it up until now. We had a hearing yesterday and nothing has updated on Pacer-no minutes, no adjourment, no continuances, nothing. Maybe computers are down in our district but I am dying to find the outcome of this hearing. I saw somewhere on this forum that there is an 800 number you can call to get updates on your case. Does anyone know this number and is it more current than Pacer? Thanks.

Depending on where you are, PACER can take up to 24 hours or a little more to update. As I advised someone else with a similar question yesterday, we are entering the Holiday Season, where people are taking time off. Tomorrow is Friday, and in my opinion is the last chance that we will see that actual real work is done before Monday, January 4, 2010.

Good luck to you!

[music12]

i do think this should be a sticky! i never signed up for free sites only because i saw a different one, "recap", where i saw an actual explanation that said they keep any document you view for other viewers as well. once i saw that, i decided not to look anywhere but pacer. i don't know if the terms and conditions for these free sites are clear enough, and i think a big disclaimer here as a sticky would be a very, very good idea: even if it saves one forum-reader from unnecessary embarrassment, it is worth it. not everybody reads and/or understand these types of terms and conditions, and they really should not end up paying for it. jmho.

[Kingxray]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I also signed on with Pacer and have been pleased with it up until now. We had a hearing yesterday and nothing has updated on Pacer-no minutes, no adjourment, no continuances, nothing. Maybe computers are down in our district but I am dying to find the outcome of this hearing. I saw somewhere on this forum that there is an 800 number you can call to get updates on your case. Does anyone know this number and is it more current than Pacer? Thanks.

[tdawg]

Yes, I remember when the site was being promoted, and I warned about the Google crawls then, and you did too. Online nothing is free. If you are getting free information from a site, rest assured that they are making more money by giving you that little bit of free info and then selling YOUR info to someone else, then they would make if they charged you directly for the info.

Pacer is 8 cents a page. Most queries are one page. You get 10 dollars a quarter of free queries. You also can check to see if there are any updates to your docket for free. There is really no need to use the free sites. If you are not too compulsive about it, Pacer will end up being free anyway.

I totally agree that pacer is absolutely worth it (as opposed to the free sites). I think I've spent $3.00 in pacer so far (because I've been very careful what I've looked at).
I guess I was just thinking that it would be very easy for someone to sign up for that free site without realizing that a google search of their name could reveal their bankruptcy which could be very embarrassing and/or detrimental to future jobs, especially since a Google search could still turn it up forever (not like credit reports where it won't show up after 10 years).
I have to admit that I rarely read the entire terms and agreements when I install software. I would guess that less than 1% of people do. But I did heed the warnings that were given here (and appreciate them too).