Chapter 13 Help

[Anonymous]

I filed chapter 13 Bankruptcy in July, 2009. I only included my unsecured accounts/credit cards in the filling. My FICO store at the time of filling was 749. My current score is roughly unchanged at 738. Should I expect my score to drop more after my bankruptcy is paid off?

[Anonymous]

Hi TShultz

Welcome!

First, I have two questions:

What accounts/credit cards do/did you have that were not included in the filing?  For other folks reading this post, my experience was that all accounts were required to be included in my CH 13 - so folks will find your answer to that very helpful.

Where are you purchasing your scores?  If you purchase them here at myfico.com, what are the reasons given under "What's Helping Your Score? and "What's Hurting Your Score?"

Now, for some answers:

Chapter 13 BK's continue to report for seven years after filing, if they are properly discharged.  When they age off your Credit Reports, they will no longer impact your scores.  The score impact you see at that time will vary depending on your efforts to rebuild your credit - in other words it will vary depending on what other items are on your credit report. 

I'm a big fan of checking out the FICO Reason Codes to learn what types of activities FICO looks at in determining scores.  It's helped me know what I need to do to rebuild credit and what to avoid.  And, of course, you'll get lots of helpful insights here.  The more info you can provide, the more insights we can share.

Hope that's somewhat helpful - and looking forward to hearing more from you!

[Anonymous]

I included all my personal cc accounts. My wife did not file and non of our joint accounts were included. I filed on amex, chase, and bank of America cc and personal unsecured loan. We still have active discover and credit union cc. My plan is a five year payment plan but, I should have it paid off in three. My score is from credit report.com . I still have my ongoing first and second mortgage with all on time payments. I have not really seen a significant change in my score and am wanting to know if myscore will automatically go down when my case is discharged?

[Anonymous]

Hi TShultz,

Because credit report.com does not report FICO scores, the first thing you'll need to do is find out your FICO's.  You can pull them here at myfico.com for EQ and TU.

Your FICO scores will not change when your BK is discharged, but may change after they stop reporting.  Chapter 13 BK's continue to report for seven years after filing, if they are properly discharged.  When they age off your Credit Reports, they will no longer impact your scores.  The score impact you see at that time will vary depending on your efforts to rebuild your credit - in other words it will vary depending on what other items are on your credit report.

I have no idea if your "FAKO" scores on credit report.com wlll change after a discharge.  FAKO scores use different criteria than FICO's and these boards are designed to give information on FICO's.

"The truth is, only Fair Isaac knows how FICO scores are calculated, and their formula is kept very secret. Other credit scores can sometimes come close to the mark, but they can be off by as much as 100 points either way. This is important because lenders don't use FAKO scores; they almost always use FICO. So it does you no good to know a score that a) isn't correct, b) won't be considered by lenders."

Most FAKO scores are products designed to sell to consumers. Because a FAKO is not designed to mirror FICO - but is designed as a consumer tool, it has differing criteria.

Hope that's helpful!