Expansion on Credit Reporting after BK:
After you receive your discharge paperwork, and before you apply for any credit product after BK, you need to make sure that your credit reports are accurate.
Follow these steps to ensure your CRs are accurate:
1. About 14-21 days after you get your discharge paperwork, do to annualcreditreport.com* and obtain a copy of your credit reports from Equifax (EQ), Experian (EX), and TransUnion (TU).
2. Run through your reports with a red pen and mark any accounts that are not listed as "Included in Bankruptcy" and have a $0 balance.
2a. For collection accounts associated with debts discharged in bankruptcy, the collection entry should be listed as "Closed" and "Included in Bankruptcy". if it is listed as open and/or with a balance and is not listed as IIB, mark this account too.
3. Write a letter to each of the credit bureaus (send these letters via Certified Mail, Return Reciept Requested -- see below) stating that the accounts are being reported inaccurately, as they are IIB. You can do one account per letter, or you can make a table and list all of the accounts (have a column for account name, and account number) in one letter. You can attach your BK D/C paperwork if you want.
4. Wait for the response from each of the credit bureaus. It is possible that some tradelines and/or collections are completely removed. Others may stick, but all that matters is that they are reporting as IIB with a $0 balance. They should send you back your credit report and the results of your dispute. If the accounts are not listed they way they should be, then dispute only the incorrectly reporting accounts again.
4a. If an account was charged off before you filed for bankruptcy, that notation will stick. In this case, the account should show IIB and reflect a $0 balance in addition to the C/O status.
5. If you have to dispute a second time and the CBs don't update porperly, find a FCRA attorney in your area and work with them to get the information corrected.
*You are entitled to a free credit report from EQ, EX, and TU once every 365 days by federal law (specifically, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA). More info can be found here: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports. If you have pulled any of your CRs from annualcreditreport.com wihtin the last 365 days, you may need to pay a fee for each report. If you're unsure if you have pulled your CRs from this site, just follow the process on the site, and it will let you know if you have pulled them within the last 365 days, and the date on which you'll be eligible to obtain them for free again.
Here are the addresses to each of the CBs:
TransUnion:
TransUnion, LLC
Consumer Dispute Center
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
Note: When you go to the post office, you might be told that the zip code is Crum Lynne, PA. If they say that, then tell them that it's okay. The letter will get to them. :-)
Equifax:
Equifax
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian:
Experian
P.O. Box 4500
Allen, TX 75013
Certified Mail, Return Return Requested (CMRRR):
CMRRR can only be done at a Post Office of the USPS. When you go to the P/O, there will be an area with green cards, boxes, etc. For each letter you send, you will need to take a "Certified Mail" slip and put the addressee on it where it says to, and you also want a green card that says "Return Receipt" on it. The Return Reciept is a green card that you stick onto the letter you send that requires the recipient to sign when they receive the letter, and then that green card is sent back to you (i.e. proof that the letter was received). On the back of that green card, it will ask you to put your address on it so you can receive the card after it's signed for. Once you've filled the slip and card out, get in line, and the postal worker will attach them on the envelope for you.
