Should I be worried about this???

lilrosy4 · ‎01-07-2011

My hubby and I filed Ch 13 in Aug of 2009...I have been trying to take advantage of my free credit reports to see if everything is reporting correctly...Well I just checked my Equifax report and everything seems to be reporting correctly with the exception of one item....I had a kohls card that was included in my Ch 13.....In the comments under this card it say Ch 13, Ch 13 pettion...but up in the balance past due category it says 1044..past due..Shouldnt this be 0??? Since it does say Ch 13 in the comments should I be worried about this???? Im ready to do what I can to get it corrected...Found out we only have 20months left of our ch 13 so im wanting to make sure everyhting is how it should be on all reports when we are discharged..Any input is appreciated! Thank you

Anonymous · ‎01-07-2011

Hi lilrosy and welcome! It sounds like you are making great efforts to rebuild during and after your BK - congrats!

You are correct - it should not show a past due amount and IIB once the BK is fully discharged.

And you are wise to check your CR's to see that it is all reporting correctly.

I am unsure about one thing though. Maybe someone else will chime in on this. When your BK is discharged in 20 months, then I know that they have to report that you owe them zero, and that the account was IIB. However, while the BK is in process, you are probably still paying the creditor - and I'm not sure how it should report.

I know we could check our balances online and see how much was paid to each creditor as the BK progressed. During the BK, most of our creditors still had balances that were being paid down, so in reality we didn't owe them zero while we were in the process.

This is an interesting question - and I hadn't thought about it before. It's absolutely vital to check your credit reports - especially when the BK is discharged. Ours had tons of errors and it took a few months to get them all reporting correctly. However, when we were in the middle of the BK, we looked into refinancing our mortgage. Several of our accounts were reporting IIB and a balance due. Our mortgage broker checked in with the CRA's and they said it was reporting correctly. And because most CH 13 do not make it "full term" to discharge, but are dismissed with balances still owing to the creditors, I can see how reporting can become a real mess.

Hopefully some other experts will chime in!

lilrosy4 · ‎01-08-2011

Thank you for the input!! All of my other accounts are actually reporting zero or N/A...The Kohls one is the only one of my accounts that shows any balance past due....Why is it you think most Ch 13 dont complete???? I had to call our trustees office because our payment didnt come out of my hubbys paycheck....Thats when she told me we had 20 months left and we are doing very well and were actually a month ahead so that is whay a payment didnt come out! I just wish these next 20 months would fly by..Im so ready to be through with this.....

Anonymous · ‎01-08-2011

@lilrosy4 wrote:
Thank you for the input!! All of my other accounts are actually reporting zero or N/A...The Kohls one is the only one of my accounts that shows any balance past due....Why is it you think most Ch 13 dont complete???? I had to call our trustees office because our payment didnt come out of my hubbys paycheck....Thats when she told me we had 20 months left and we are doing very well and were actually a month ahead so that is whay a payment didnt come out! I just wish these next 20 months would fly by..Im so ready to be through with this.....

Just my guess - CH 13 BK puts you on a very tight budget that takes significant effort to stay on. Not completing the payment plan will result in a ~~discharge~~ dismissal . In my state, any change in the original reported financial data may cause a BK to be ~~discharged~~ dismissed by the trustee - therefore my state has a very high percentage of filing - it's not uncommon for folks to file, be ~~discharged~~ dismissed, and need to file again to complete the program.

Doh. I hate it when I post this incorrectly. Thanks dlm1113 for reminding me to correct my terminology.

For clarity - a dismissal is when the trustee dismisses your BK without it being completed. You will still have to handle the debts that were in the BK, along with lots of fees and interest rates from your creditors - you do NOT want to be dismissed. Discharge is what happens when you successfully complete a BK - you want to be discharged.

Proof positive that I should never post before noon.

debtfree09 · ‎01-11-2011

We went through Chap 13 in 2004-2009, falling off our CR in Aug 2011, yeah!!! Our lawyers told us the same thing about people not finishing Chap 13, the budget they leave you with is right to the bone. I know there were months I thought we would never get through it but we did and today my hubby's score is 724 with TU and 673 with Equifax and both mine are in the high 600 range.

dlm1113 · ‎01-18-2011

You could possibly refinance to pay off the bankruptcy early if given permission by the Trustee. Ch13 is very tight with the repayment plan, and if you miss any payments, the trustee will definitely DISMISS the BK, not discharge it. It is discharged by the court when you complete the requirements.

Thanks

Anonymous · ‎01-18-2011

@dlm1113 wrote:
You could possibly refinance to pay off the bankruptcy early if given permission by the Trustee. Ch13 is very tight with the repayment plan, and if you miss any payments, the trustee will definitely DISMISS the BK, not discharge it. It is discharged by the court when you complete the requirements.

Thanks

Yes - I will go up and edit my post. That's a very important difference and exactly the point I was trying to make - thank you!

I hate it when I get the "d" words mixed up.

Thanks again, dlm!

Anonymous · ‎01-19-2011

Until the plan is complete, and the debt is discharged, it is accurate for the creditor to report a balance due. Once the debt is discharged, then they cannot report a balance, because it is now a discharged debt. Most creditors just report the zero after the BK filing, since they don't really care what chapter it is under, it will all work out the same in the end for them...but since a Ch7 discharge happens a LOT more rapidly than a 13, they just zero the account. Just a thought...but once you are indeed discharged, then make sure all of the remainimg reporting for those items included in the bankruptch go to a zero balance.

John