Question about credit reporting of charged off debts in bankruptcy

[Divaofsongs]

My chapter 7 was discharged in Aug of 2013 and I am trying to clean up my credit reports. Most of my accounts say IIB but some of them say charged off/collections for the pay status. All of them show a zero balance but I am concerned that the pay status of charged off/collections is hindering my credit score from going up. Should I dispute those accounts and ask to have it changed to IIB or does it really make a difference as long as the balance is zero?

Also, I have more than 10 collections showing with a zero balance. Is it possible to have them removed from the collections area or will they stay there until they drop off at the 7 year mark? There are new collections being posted to my account that were IIB but sold to a different collection agency and they are putting it back on my credit but they are reporting the account open date as recent, instead of from 2007/2008, when the collection/debt originally occured. If the debt is discharged then won't they have to remove it if I dispute?

I have had some real issues with collection agencies reporting discharged debt to my credit report AFTER the discharge. I have had 6 accounts that were IIB show up with a new collection agency and on my credit report in the last 3 months. Thankfully, I have a service that allows me to check all 3 of my CR's and scores daily. They are FAKO, but gives me an idea of where I am. If it weren't for that, I would not have even known but they send me an alert the moment something is added or changes about my credit. I have the service for both me and my husband and I check both of our reports daily. It is the best $17.95 a month that we have ever spent.

Thank you in advance for your replies and help.

[gdale6]

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@Divaofsongs wrote:

My chapter 7 was discharged in Aug of 2013 and I am trying to clean up my credit reports. Most of my accounts say IIB but some of them say charged off/collections for the pay status. All of them show a zero balance but I am concerned that the pay status of charged off/collections is hindering my credit score from going up. Should I dispute those accounts and ask to have it changed to IIB or does it really make a difference as long as the balance is zero?

Also, I have more than 10 collections showing with a zero balance. Is it possible to have them removed from the collections area or will they stay there until they drop off at the 7 year mark? They drop from the DoFD of the OC that they represent.  There are new collections being posted to my account that were IIB but sold to a different collection agency and they are putting it back on my credit but they are reporting the account open date as recent, instead of from 2007/2008, when the collection/debt originally occured. If the debt is discharged then won't they have to remove it if I dispute? They still have to abide by the DoFD and if they are appearing as new CAs post BK discharge send letters to them with demand for immediate deletion for violations of BK law, if they refuse file a CFPB complaint on them. A new collection on discharged debt cannot be started post filing month/year provided the BK was successfuly discharged.

I have had some real issues with collection agencies reporting discharged debt to my credit report AFTER the discharge. I have had 6 accounts that were IIB show up with a new collection agency and on my credit report in the last 3 months. Thankfully, I have a service that allows me to check all 3 of my CR's and scores daily. They are FAKO, but gives me an idea of where I am. If it weren't for that, I would not have even known but they send me an alert the moment something is added or changes about my credit. I have the service for both me and my husband and I check both of our reports daily. It is the best $17.95 a month that we have ever spent.

Thank you in advance for your replies and help.

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[ezdriver]

I know that folks can eventually cause corrections to their credit reports through individual efforts but I do believe that an attorney's letter to a credit/collection agency will have a much more powerful impact than one from the debtor. That said, the laws governing creditors' reporting after a bankruptcy has been filed are clear. One should hasten to file complaints to CFPB once a reasonable time period has passed since delivering the request for correction to the creditor/collection. I have learned a long time ago that just because a law states that a particular action is illegal does not prevent that action from being taken by some. It is up to the victim to pursue their ights under the law.

[StartingOver10]

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@ezdriver wrote:

I know that folks can eventually cause corrections to their credit reports through individual efforts but I do believe that an attorney's letter to a credit/collection agency will have a much more powerful impact than one from the debtor. That said, the laws governing creditors' reporting after a bankruptcy has been filed are clear. One should hasten to file complaints to CFPB once a reasonable time period has passed since delivering the request for correction to the creditor/collection. I have learned a long time ago that just because a law states that a particular action is illegal does not prevent that action from being taken by some. It is up to the victim to pursue their ights under the law.

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^^^This is so true. It is almost like the CA will do whatever they want to do until you catch them with their hand in your cookie jar. Once caught - they will back off.

[sylviagarcia]

Hi All,

I am having a similar problem. my Ch7 Bk was discharged Nov.2014 and just today I got notified by EX that one of the creditors updated my status to "charge-off" on July 2015. What do I need to do? Write a letter to the creditor? I also see a few status as "Unknown", "Charge-off" on my experian reports.. What can I do about that since no matter how many letters I send to the CRA's they simply don't fix it.. I get the usual automatic letter of "Its been verfied"... I opted to pay a company to help me and although I do know I can do it on my own I felt that for this entire year after my BK d/c I got nowhere with the letters I sent, nothing was updated, nothing was deleted etc.. it started to get my stressed out and seriously frustrated because I can't believe how easily these agencies get away with so much and affect us in so many ways.. Anyhow, now I'm simply venting.. thanks in advance for all the help/feedback.