Bankruptcy

[Anonymous]

In 2009 after my husband was laid off and we had stayed afloat as long as we possibly could we attempted to file Chap 13 Bankruptcy. We showed up in court and were told that the repayment plan was not feasible on one income and told to go home, consider filing Chapter 7 or come back when he was called back to work. So, that filing did us absolutley no good. We didn't pursue Chapter 7 and we didn't go back.

Thing is, it is on both of our credit reports as having been filed and "dismissed". It seems crazy to me that we didn't receive any of the benefits of bankruptcy protection but that stays on our credit for 10 years.

I have disputed, stating exactly what happened, have only received a response from Experian saying it stays and the status of "dismissed" suffices. Correct me if I am wrong, but if we had actually entered into bankruptcy and failed to make the payments wouldn't the status also read "dismissed"?

Does anybody have any suggestions on how I could proceed here? We have been through a lot and are trying to clean up now and evetually qualify for a mortgage.

Thanks for any help.

[TRC_WA]

A discharged 13 stays on your report 7 years from filing date... A dismissed 13 stays for 10 years.

It's still a dismissed BK whether you filed and changed your mind or filed and later on started missing payments.

Unfortunately there isn't anything you can do because it is reporting accurately as a dismissed 13.

[Anonymous]

I am anticipating filing bankruptcy in the next few weeks. Can I keep or reaffirm my Discover card and continue to pay it? Why would I want to do that? I only owe a balance of only  $800. So, I was hoping that it would help my credit score to already have or keep a major credit card. Thanks in advance!  

[gdale6]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am anticipating filing bankruptcy in the next few weeks. Can I keep or reaffirm my Discover card and continue to pay it? Why would I want to do that? I only owe a balance of only  $800. So, I was hoping that it would help my credit score to already have or keep a major credit card. Thanks in advance!  

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Possibly you need to check with you BK lawyer on this one.

[Anonymous]

Kind of a thread jack...but no, I would not re-affirm your Discover card. If you are going to file BK, then file BK and include all of your debts. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for more damage later. 

To the original poster's question, I don't think there is much you can do about it, other than try to get the court records and see what they show as far as filing, dates, dismissal, etc. Otherwise you may be stuck with it, as assinine as that is. And I am not sure the info given is correct about the credit reporting period for a chapter 13. I also filed a chapter 13 back in 05 that was dismiised, and it came off my reports in 2012 (7 years). Here is the listing from an old Experian credit report:

US BKPT CT MO KANSAS CIT

Status: Chapter 13 bankruptcy dismissed.         Status Details: This item is scheduled to continue on record until Jul 2012.

Date Filed: 07/05/2005

So...unless the law has changed, you are only stuck with it for 7 years from date of filing.

[gdale6]

OP, a dismissed BK can stay on file for 10 years, EX will most likely let it go at 7 years, TU will do the same as long as you dismissed it voluntarily. EQ can be a bear and it may stick for the full 10 year run.

[Anonymous]

I guess I got lucky...it came off all 3 of my reports at the 7 year mark. In any event, I wish you well in dealing with your disputes of it.