Category: Credit Report

HOW TO DISPUTE CREDIT REPORT ERRORS

12/17/2018

Check your credit report for errors

Many people have credit errors they are unaware of, which could be hurting your credit. If you have recently been denied credit or a loan, it is important to check your credit report for errors.

The FTC has found that an estimated 1 in 5 consumers has an error on their credit report, which could be causing you to pay higher interest rates and insurance premiums, or to be denied credit.

When checking your credit report for errors, you should look for some of the most common credit report errors such as incorrect personal information, accounts that do not belong to you, potential identity theft accounts, closed accounts that report as open, duplicate accounts, inaccurate payment history, or incorrect balances on your credit report.

If you have filed for bankruptcy, checking your credit report after bankruptcy can also help you discover credit report errors that could be harming your credit. After filing bankruptcy, you should check your credit report to ensure discharged debts are reported as closed, included in bankruptcy and with $0 balances. If an account is reported as open, or with an existing balance after bankruptcy, this could mislead creditors and lenders and make you appear to be a riskier candidate for credit. If your debt was charged-off or assigned to collections prior to filing bankruptcy, you should also ensure that these accounts report as closed, with $0 balances, and remarks that indicate the account was included in or discharged in bankruptcy.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR CREDIT REPORT

How to read your credit report and understand your credit report is essential to performing a credit check. The national consumer reporting agencies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion maintain your personal credit information and are commonly referred to as the credit bureaus.

Credit reports contain personal information such as names, date of birth, addresses, public records, and financial information, including past or existing credit card accounts or loans. Checking your personal information is important to ensure that your credit report does not contain information belonging to someone else. If you see an address you do not recognize on your credit report, this could signal potential identity theft.

Public records on your credit report typically include things such as bankruptcy, and in the past, civil judgments.

Each individual account or tradeline appearing on your credit report typically includes the following categories of information reported by furnishers of this information such as creditors or collectors to the credit bureaus:

Name of Creditor: the name of the bank, lender or credit card company.
Account Number: the unique account number associated with your account or loan.
Account or Loan Type: these include (1) "installment" accounts such as automobile loans, mortgage loans, and student loans, (2) "revolving" accounts such credit cards or home equity lines of credit, and (3) "open" accounts such as a utility bill or cellular telephone bill.
Account Balance: the current amount owed.
Past Due: whether there is a past due amount.
High Balance: the highest reported balance on the account.
Account Status: this can indicate whether the account is open, current, past due, charged-off, in collections, settled for less than the full balance, or included in or discharged in bankruptcy.
Date Updated: the date the account information was updated by the furnisher.
Date Opened: the date the account was opened.
Responsibility: this indicates whether you are individually responsible for the account or whether there is a joint accountholder.
Payment History: this will indicate whether past payments have been made on time or late. Most late payments reported on credit reports will report the days past due, such as 30, 60, 90, 120, and beyond. Alternatively, late payments can be reported by codes such as 1, 2, 3, 4, and beyond denoting a certain length of time (for example 1 can mean 30 days late).
Remarks: like the Account Status, this can indicate whether the account is open, current, past due, charged-off, in collections, or included in or discharged in bankruptcy.

Collection Accounts on your credit report will typically report similar information, and include the following additional information:

Original Creditor: the name of the original bank, creditor, or lender.
Original Balance: the balance prior to collections.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT CREDIT REPORT ERRORS

Should I dispute my credit report myself or hire an Attorney?
If you find a credit report error, you should contact an attorney familiar with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Attorneys that help with credit report errors typically market or advertise services as consumer attorneys, or consumer protection attorneys. A consumer lawyer can help you dispute credit report errors by writing effective credit disputes to the credit bureaus.

Some attorneys will help you dispute your credit report with the credit bureaus for free. This is because if your credit dispute is denied, you may be a good candidate for an FCRA lawsuit, in which case the attorney will typically work on a contingency basis because of the fee-shifting provisions in the FCRA.

You can also dispute credit report errors for free by filing a dispute directly with the credit bureaus yourself. We recommend that you dispute credit report errors in writing with the credit bureaus. Although credit bureaus allow you to dispute your credit report online, there are often benefits to writing your own dispute and including the details of your credit dispute and any supporting documentation.

You should be cautious when dealing with non-attorneys such as credit repair companies, or persons asking you to pay money up front who make promises guarantees. Remember: the bureaus do not charge you to dispute your credit report, in other words, you can dispute your credit report for free.

Disputing YOUR CREDIT REPORT

How to dispute errors on your credit report.

When preparing a credit report dispute, you should provide a detailed explanation of the credit report error. A detailed description of the reason your credit report is inaccurate will help you resolve credit report errors. You can also include supporting documents with your dispute.

Your dispute should contain the following information:

Full Name
Current Address
Date of Birth
Social Security Number
The File Number or Report Number contained on your credit report (this may not always be applicable)
Identify the disputed item(s) by Account Name and Account Number

The dispute should be mailed to the credit bureaus, and not the bank, creditor, or lender that reports inaccurate information (also known as the "furnishers" of information).

You should mail your credit report dispute to the credit bureaus at the addresses listed on their websites (please be sure to check for up-to-date addresses):

To dispute your credit report with Experian, mail your credit report dispute to:
Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
P.O. Box 4500
Allen, TX 75013

To dispute your credit report with Equifax, mail your credit report dispute to:
Equifax Information Services, LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374

To dispute your credit report with TransUnion, mail your credit report dispute to:
TransUnion, LLC
Consumer Dispute Center
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

Please be sure to mail your credit report dispute by certified mail so that you can prove that the dispute was mailed if necessary.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I DISPUTE MY CREDIT REPORT?

After you dispute your credit report, the bureaus are required to perform a reinvestigation of your credit dispute. Depending on the type of credit dispute, the credit bureau may be able to make changes to your credit report based on the information you provide with your dispute. In other cases, the credit bureau will contact the company reporting the information you disputed (also known as “furnishers”) and ask them to review your credit dispute.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit bureaus must complete their review of your dispute dispute within 30 days (unless you have supplemented your existing credit report dispute with additional information during this time. At the conclusion of this review, the bureaus will notify you of the results of your credit dispute.

If your dispute is resolved, you are typically not required to do anything else.

If your credit dispute is not resolved, you have certain rights, including, appealing the results of your credit dispute with the bureaus, sending another credit dispute, or filing a lawsuit under the FCRA.

If your credit report dispute is denied by the credit bureaus, you should speak to a knowledgeable FCRA lawyer. You may be a good candidate for an FCRA lawsuit.

We offer free phone consultation and credit reviews by phone. If we accept your case, we will handle your matter on a contingency fee basis, meaning we will not charge you any attorneys' fees unless we recover money from the defendant(s).

You may contact us using our contact form below.

credit after bankruptcy

5/22/2017

There are many steps you can take to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy. Some of the easiest ways to rebuild credit after bankruptcy include the following:

Check your credit report after bankruptcy for credit report errors
Secured credit card
Co-signed credit card or loan
Authorized User

Checking your credit report after bankruptcy is essential. If your credit report contains errors, this could hurt your credit and lead to the denial of credit or loans. For example, your credit report after chapter 7 bankruptcy should report discharged debts as closed, and without a balance. Sometimes collection agencies will not update your credit report, or will open new collection account tradelines after your bankruptcy even though the underlying debt was discharged in bankruptcy. Don't wait until your denied credit to take action. Check your credit report 60 days after your bankruptcy discharge to ensure there are no errors or mistakes on your credit report.

A secured credit card is similar to a debit card and can help rebuild your credit after bankruptcy. A secured card requires a cash collateral deposit that becomes the "credit line" for that account. For example, if you put $100 in the account, you can charge up to $100.

A co-signed credit card or loan can help rebuild your credit, but you need to have a friend or family member with good credit history who is willing to co-sign for you.

Being an authorized user on someone else's account can also help you rebuild your credit after bankruptcy. Being an authorized user mean that you are allowed to make purchases with someone else's credit account, but are not personally liable for payment of that account. Being an authorized user can appear on your credit report, and can help rebuild your credit if the primary accountholder makes regular payments and keeps the account in good standing.

credit report and collection accounts: "Double jeopardy" or "double entry reporting"

4/28/2017

What happens when an original creditor and collection agency both report the same debt on your credit report?

Although there is no technical term, when an original creditor and collector both report you to the credit bureaus for the same debt, this usually referred to as double entry credit reporting, double jeopardy reporting, or double entries on your credit report. Sometimes, there can even be multiple collection accounts for the same debt.

Original creditors and collection agencies are generally permitted to report separate tradelines so long as the reporting is accurate and complete. Sometimes collection agencies will adjust the balance or the date of the delinquency to make this look like a new debt. This can happen when consumers have recently filed bankruptcy and an unscrupulous creditor continues collection efforts after bankruptcy. Learn what you can do when a collector attempts to collect a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy.

You should review your credit report to ensure that old collection accounts do not show up as active or with incorrect balances, or pay status information. Inaccurate collection accounts can harm your credit by making it appear like you have more debt or collection accounts than you actually have. When a collection agency sells, transfers, or no longer services the account, the collection agency should delete the tradeline or update the tradeline by stating it is closed or has been transferred.

You have the right to dispute credit report errors with the credit reporting agencies and other credit bureaus. If the credit bureaus refuse to correct credit report errors, the FCRA permits you to file a lawsuit against the credit bureaus.

You should speak to an experienced credit lawyer if you believe your credit report contains errors, or has double entries that are inaccurate or misleading. Our Michigan credit lawyers can help you dispute credit report errors. Please contact us by using our contact form at the bottom of our website.

Credit Report and Judgments Included in Bankruptcy.

2/21/2017

If you are sued and a creditor gets a judgment against you, you may be able to discharge your personal liability for that judgment in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and your credit report should list the judgment as included in bankruptcy or discharged in bankruptcy.

This will depend on whether the underlying debt on that judgment is dischargeable in bankruptcy or nondischargeable.

Nondischargeable Debts:
Certain debts are usually not automatically nondischargeable, such as student loans, child support or spousal support obligations, debts owed to government entities (fines, taxes, court costs, restitution in criminal cases, etc., post-petition HOA and condo fees, and, death or injury caused by driving under the influence, or DUI.

Other types of judgment debts may not be dischargeable if the creditor objects to a discharge, including, injury caused by a willful or malicious act, such as assault, fraud used to obtain money, goods or services, or fraud committed while in a position of trust, such as embezzlement while acting as a trustee or guardian.

Judgment Liens:
Even if you are able to discharge your personal liability on the judgment, there may be a lien that survives the bankruptcy. Under certain circumstances, you may be able to avoid a judgment lien in the bankruptcy, depending on available bankruptcy exemptions. You should speak to a knowledgeable bankruptcy attorney about whether you can avoid a judgment lien in bankruptcy.

Dischargeable Judgments:
If a creditor sues you and gets a judgment for debts, including a judgment for credit card debt, medical bills, lease or rental agreements, and the debt is later discharged in bankruptcy, you should check your credit report to ensure that the judgment is updated after the bankruptcy.

Judgments can remain on your credit report for up to 7 years from the filing date. Your credit report should accurately report public record information, including judgments.

After filing bankruptcy, a judgment on a discharged debt should be reported as included in bankruptcy or discharged in bankruptcy. You should check your credit report to ensure that the credit bureaus do not incorrectly report the status of the judgment, or report a current balance for discharged debt.

If you believe your credit report contains errors, or incorrectly reports debts or judgments that were discharged in bankruptcy, you may contact us by using our contact form at the bottom of our website.

bankruptcy and your credit report

1/11/2017

Why you should check your credit report after filing bankruptcy.

When you file for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy shows up on your credit report as a public record. Filing bankruptcy also affects the individual credit accounts or tradelines in your credit report.

Public Record Reporting
If you file chapter 7 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for 10 years from the date of filing bankruptcy. If you file chapter 13 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for 7 years from the date of filing bankruptcy.

But how should your individual accounts be reported on your credit report after filing bankruptcy?

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Discharge
After filing chapter 7 bankruptcy, your credit report should list zero balances for discharged debt, and include language to the effect of “discharged in bankruptcy” or “included in bankruptcy.” Your credit report should not list any discharged debt with a balance, or report the account as open or charged-off following your bankruptcy.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

After filing chapter 13 bankruptcy, your credit report should accounts should list the balances for each account you are required to pay through the chapter 13 plan while your bankruptcy is pending.

Since a chapter 13 plan can take 3-5 years to complete, your accounts should include language to the effect of “involved in chapter 13 wage earner plan” or “making payments in wage earner plan” while your bankruptcy is pending. Your credit report should not list these accounts as open or charged-off while your bankruptcy is pending.

After receiving a chapter 13 bankruptcy discharge, your credit report should include language to the effect of “discharged in bankruptcy” or “included in bankruptcy” for the accounts that were discharged in bankruptcy. Your credit report should not list any discharged debt with a balance, or report the account as open or charged-off following your bankruptcy.

Our Michigan bankruptcy lawyers and credit lawyers can help answer your questions.
If you have any errors on your credit report, or have questions about filing bankruptcy and the effect on your credit, contact one of our Michigan credit lawyers . You may contact us by using our contact form at the bottom of our website.

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