Law Office of Rick Morin, PC

I tell all of my clients to check their credit reports after bankruptcy. There are some dirty tricks that some creditors are using to impact your fresh start. But you don’t have to put up with it. Read on to learn more.

After your bankruptcy has been discharged, your credit report should list your unsecured debts as “discharged in bankruptcy” and the accounts should show a $0 balance. However, this is not always the case.

Some creditors will still report to the credit bureaus that you owe them money — even after your debts have been discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. They could be doing this because they are lazy, incompetent, or worse. They could be reporting that you owe them money in attempt to get you to repay a debt that you no longer legally owe!

Imagine trying to purchase a car after bankruptcy and being denied for a loan or charged a high interest rate. Not because of your bankruptcy, but because of some delinquent credit accounts still being reported on your credit report.

Some creditors are hoping that you will decide to pay them just so that they will clean up your credit report. This is not acceptable, and it is highly illegal.

My office takes aggressive action against creditors that fail to properly report debts after bankruptcy. Sometimes a warning will suffice. Other times, we can sue the creditor in federal court and obtain monetary sanctions. After all, even large credit card companies and banks are required to comply with the law.

This is why I tell my clients to check their credit reports 3, 6 and 12 months after their bankruptcy. This is the only way to see whether any creditors are misreporting discharged debts. If you see any debts that aren’t properly classified, you should contact my office immediately so that I can help fix this issue.

Having problems with credit reports after bankruptcy? Call me today at (916) 333-2222.