Hello everyone,
I’m excited to share that I finally received my Chapter 7 discharge today—yay! While this is a huge relief, my credit scores are still quite low, and I’m hoping they’ll improve over time. I have a few questions about credit reporting post-discharge and would really appreciate any advice.
Affirm Accounts: I have 4 accounts with Affirm that kept reporting while I was in active bankruptcy. I contacted both Affirm and Experian, disputed the reporting, but the disputes came back as "remain." Now, these accounts are being reported as "charge-offs," even though they were current before I filed bankruptcy. I’m not sure what to do next. Will these accounts eventually show a $0 balance after today’s discharge, or do I need to take further steps?
Student Loans: I have 10 closed and paid student loan accounts with Aidvantage, which were forgiven under the PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) program since I’m a school teacher. However, I was late 7 times for each loan in 2019. My credit report shows 70 late payments (7 lates multiplied by 10 accounts). Will these late payments eventually fall off my report? Are they still impacting my credit scores even though the loans are paid? Will the discharge affect the status of these loans?
Car Loan: I submitted a reaffirmation agreement for my car loan, but the judge did not approve it due to the high interest rate and the $18,000 balance. The judge expressed concern that if I couldn’t make future payments, I’d still be liable for the debt and didn’t want to set me up for failure. I have read that affirming the debt will help increase my credit score but only a minimal amount.
Credit Scores: I’ve noticed that my credit scores haven’t changed much since filing bankruptcy, even after the discharge today. I’m feeling a bit defeated and was hoping to see at least some improvement.
Any advice or guidance on how to handle these issues or improve my scores would mean so much. Thank you all!
