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Discharged Debts Still On Your Credit Report

For most people, filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may be the most difficult decision they ever have to make. At the end of that process, the bankruptcy court’s discharge should mean an end to the debt that caused the bankruptcy. However, many credit card companies, collectors, and credit reporting agencies refuse to correctly reflect either the bankruptcy filing or the final discharge order. Instead of reporting accounts with a zero balance and a discharged status, they continue to report the balance due along with the charged-off status. This kind of false payment history not only denies consumers the fresh start promised by the bankruptcy code but also results in inaccuracies on their credit reports regarding discharged debts, leaving it looking like repayment is still due.

This usually happens when the credit issuer stops updating the credit history of accounts discharged in bankruptcy. The result for most consumers is that the post-bankruptcy reporting will appear the same as before the bankruptcy case was filed, denying them a fresh start. These common credit reporting errors can happen with credit card accounts, student loans, or mortgage accounts.

False bankruptcy reporting can happen in all types of bankruptcy, including Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. These inaccuracies hurt consumers and it is illegal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Bankruptcy Code. If your discharged debts haven’t been corrected to show a zero balance on your credit report, contact us today.

Get the Fresh Start that You Were Promised

As of the filing date of your Chapter 7, your old debts can no longer be enforced under the bankruptcy stay and your FICO score should begin to improve. Even though the bankruptcy code promises this fresh start, the continued reporting of discharged debt after the discharge order can keep you from the benefits of that new beginning and new credit. After a bankruptcy case, undischarged debt reflects bad credit and can depress your credit score. Your bankruptcy attorney may not be able to provide legal advice on credit repair, and may not even be aware of how your credit report should look after you have finished in bankruptcy court. Our attorneys understand the impact of bankruptcy on your consumer credit report and personal finance. We can help you remove the inaccurate information about your prebankruptcy debts and recover compensation for any harm.

If you need discharged accounts from your bankruptcy removed from your credit reports, contact us now for a free consultation.

Your Attorney’s Fees Paid by Your Creditors and the Credit Bureaus

State and federal law provide victims of false credit reports with the right to attorney’s fees for restoring their credit. If your creditor or the credit bureaus have refused to correct your credit reports after your discharge, any attorney fees you are paid by the other side, and we charge nothing unless we can get a recover for you. There is no charge to you for your initial consultation. Email us for a free review of your Michigan bankruptcy discharge problem.

Follow Up and Monitoring Discharged Debts on Your Credit Report

After your case is done and your report has been corrected, our law firm will help you to regularly check and monitor your credit report to make sure you get a fresh start and no new problems appear with a free annual review of your bureau reports. If you don’t know how to get your reports, we can help you get them. And if you just need a little help reading the information, our attorneys are ready to walk you through your reports to ensure that you stay free of debt that you discharged in your bankruptcy.

Other Resources

White v Experian Injunction — In 2008, the major credit reporting agencies entered into an injunction to correct systemic errors in their reporting of accounts that had been included and discharged in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The bureaus agreed to that they would remove any discharged balances and report the status of these accounts consistent with the discharge order.

If you are looking for additional resources, you can get a free copy of your free credit report from the Annual Credit Report website.

You can also get more information on false death reports directly from the credit bureaus.

You can make a complaint about your experience with the credit bureaus or see other consumer complaints by visiting:

Who are the credit bureaus that have information about me?

There are four major credit bureaus that get information from lenders, debt collectors, and public record collectors. They are each required to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit file every year.

If you are looking for additional resources, you can get a free copy of your credit file from the Annual Credit Report website.

For a more complete list of the companies that operate as consumer reporting agencies, you can see the list prepared by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on their website.

Where do you practice?

Our law firm is located in Metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. We practice throughout the entire state, and we have been admitted to practice and made appearances in several other states where we are not licensed: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia. If we are unable to practice in the state where your case needs to be filed, we can make a referral to another qualified credit report attorney near you.

If you are looking for an attorney to help in one of our service areas, contact us for free today.

Contact Our Michigan Credit Report Lawyers Today

Our law firm helps consumers with all types of FCRA credit reporting inaccuracies including identity theft, mixed files, discharged debts still appearing on your credit report, and wrongful reports of deceased status. If you would like to find out if we can help you, contact us for a free initial consultation.

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