• You’ve just gone through a bankruptcy

• Your bankruptcy has discharged

• You’re ready to clean up your credit report

We’ve already given you some of the bad news about your credit report in the article “Bankruptcy – What Just Happened.” At this point, we want to give you some further insights and the means to really do something about your credit report.

Bankruptcy usually will destroy even the best of credit ratings. Your score will take a major hit and all those debts that were put into the bankruptcy are still on your credit report.

Each month that passes usually causes those old debts to show even more delinquent than the previous.

First of all, you must realize that it’s not the credit bureau’s fault. Nor is it your lawyer’s fault. No – the fault lies squarely with your creditors.

Since they are not under any obligation to update your credit file in a timely fashion, a lot of them will drag their heels in taking care of this. Does the term “vindictive” come to mind?

The good news is: you can do something about it.

It really isn’t terribly complicated, but there is a process you need to follow to accomplish your objective.

Will all those old debts “magically” disappear? Nope. So, what’s the point?

The point is this: by simply updating that really ugly credit report and showing that those debts were included in your bankruptcy, you may realize a truly significant rise in your credit score.

How does that reflect in my score?

It’s simple. Instead of having a creditor report your account as “delinquent” with a terrible rating, it now will report as “included in bankruptcy” with no rating attached.

Take, for example, the case of a car loan where a car was surrendered in the bankruptcy. It doesn’t matter if it was voluntary or not – it’s a repossession.

And just what do you think your chances are of getting another car loan now? Remember, you now have a “Repo” in your credit file.

If you guessed “not so hot,” you’re right on the money.

Now, if that same car loan gets reported as “included in bankruptcy” instead of “REPO,” you just increased your chance of getting financing by about 100%.

So, let’s get on with what you need to do in order to get that “fresh start” that the bankruptcy was supposed to give you.

First of all, you will need your bankruptcy papers. That big stack that your lawyer gave you when you filed your bankruptcy.

Find the “Schedule of Creditors.”

You will need 3 copies of this schedule for each person named in your bankruptcy filing.

Now, find your “Letter of Discharge.” Once again, you’ll need 3 copies of this letter for each person named in your bankruptcy filing.

Place a copy of the Discharge on each of the copies of your Schedule of Creditors. You’re going to mail this stack of papers to each of the 3 credit bureaus, along with a cover letter.

The cover letter can be short and sweet. Here’s what we recommend:

Gentlemen:

Please use the enclosed Federal Court Documents to update my credit file.

Sincerely,

That’s it. No excess verbage. No threats. None of that helps, anyway.

Now, here’s the really good news. The credit bureaus are fanatic about accurately reporting your credit file. Not that they’re on your side – they are forced to do this, by law. And they don’t want the Federal Government crawling up their backsides.

As a result, the credit bureaus will do the work for you. They recognize the court documents and will use them to update your file for you.

Doing this on your own would involve your contacting each and every creditor and then forcing them to update your credit files. Let the credit bureaus do it for you.

After you’ve gotten all these papers together, send each of them to the 3 credit bureaus.

Send it by certified mail with a return receipt.

You want to know that they got there. And you want to know when they got there.

The credit bureaus have 30 days to update your file, so don’t get anxious. Our experience has shown that they usually will send you an updated report, showing all the changes, within 2 to 3 weeks.

Now that you’re armed with what you need, there’s no need for you to endure an ugly credit report any longer.

Credit Bureaus and Their Addresses:

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

www.equifax.com

Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-2104

www.experian.com

TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022

www.transunion.com

Bankruptcy can be bad for your health.

All too often we encounter people that have filed for bankruptcy that have a really lousy outlook – both on themselves and their situation.

All too often, they’re depressed. Disgusted. Feel like they’ve lost control. Feel like failures.

Any of those fit you?

Well, they shouldn’t. Bad things happen. Whether we like it or not. The reality of the situation is not so much what’s happened – it’s all in how we react to the situation. How we let it affect us.

Sure, it’s more than a little intimidating sometimes. After all, you now have to deal with lawyers, trustees and more. For many, it may represent their first-ever trip into a courtroom. So how should you handle all this?

Relax.

That’s right – relax. It will be over soon. And then you can get on with your life. Put it behind you. Learn whatever lessons you need to from the experience and move on. It really isn’t the end of the world, you know. There are far worse things that could happen to all of us.

Economic downturns, corporate downsizing, the mortgage mess – all of these and countless other factors have resulted in unprecedented numbers of people being forced to file bankruptcy.

And it doesn’t appear that things will improve very much in the near future.

There is an old saying – “You’re known by the company you keep.”

Try these names on for size: John Connelly (former Governor of Texas), Burt Reynolds, Kim Bassinger, the Hunt Brothers (the ones that used to control the silver market) and how about Delta Air Lines.

What do they all have in common?

They all, at one time or another, filed for bankruptcy. There are some pretty big names in that list. So, don’t feel too bad if you’re in that list too.

You can recover. You’ve come to the right place. We have real resources that get real results.

Over the years, we’ve seen an awful lot of people with false expectations and some outright misconceptions about their bankruptcy. The best way to clear the air is to describe what exactly happens when you go through a bankruptcy.

Most people have the false expectation that the debts that were put into the bankruptcy just “disappear.”

I really don’t like being the messenger of bad news, but folks, that just ain’t so.

A quick look at your credit report may just startle you. The debts are still there. And most of the time, these debts are still being reported as past due, delinquent, derogatory – you name it.

The usual reaction for most people is to launch into an angry tirade against the lawyer they used for their bankruptcy. And, they’re wrong in this assumption. Dead wrong.

First of all, unless you hired your lawyer to help in rehabilitating your credit, you got exactly what you paid for. The lawyer did their part. Those debts are now no longer your problem (as far as repaying them, that is).

The debts have been “discharged.” That’s what the court labels them. Once the debts are discharged, you are no longer legally liable for them.

So what about that ugly credit report?

That’s another matter altogether. You must understand this: the credit bureaus merely report the information supplied by your creditors.

Technically, these creditors are supposed to now report those old debts as “included in bankruptcy.”

But there’s a rub. Or, if you prefer, a loophole.

They are under no time limits for updating your credit file. And, unfortunately, there are an awfully lot of them that just never seem to “get around” to updating your file.

That’s the bad news.

Now, for some good news.

You can get that mess cleaned up.

That’s right. You have the ability to actually get your credit report changed. We’re not going to go into the details here – you can follow the easy step by step process in Cleaning Up Your Credit After Bankruptcy.

That’s not the purpose of this article. We just wanted to let you know the bad news. And to let you know, you can do something about it.

So what are you waiting for? Get started now cleaning up your credit after bankruptcy.