Credit Rebuild Program
Once Discharge is entered, Doan Law can enroll you into the Credit Rebuild Program offered by 720creditscore.com so that your credit score will naturally increase to 720 in about 18 months. Your credit score impacts your interest rates on credit cards, car loans, home loans, business loans, etc. Ultimately, you want to achieve a credit score above 700 and that is precisely what the Credit Rebuild Program does. Remember, payments on vehicles and real estate DO NOT GET reported after discharge, making the Credit Rebuild Program even more necessary to rebuild your credit!
This program is FREE for Doan Law Clients because of our specially negotiated rate with 720creditscore.com. We also offer the same program to Non-Clients for $250.00. For those desiring to enter this program outside Doan Law, 720creditscore.com charges $1000.00 per client.
CREDIT REPORTING AFTER DISCHARGE:
The law requires that Credit reporting must be truthful. That means once you receive your discharge, the trade lines on your credit reports should reflect a $0.00 balance and “discharged in bankruptcy” notation. THIS APPLIES TO REAL ESTATE AND VEHICLES TOO. Remaining current on your Mortgage or Car Loan will not be reported since those debts were personally discharged. Instead, use the redit Rebuild Program to rebuild your credit. Finally, it is possible some trade lines may disappear altogether without continued reporting.
Accordingly, reporting anything false is simply unlawful. For instance, reporting any of the following after a Bankruptcy Discharge would be both untruthful and unlawful:
1) Any balance greater than $0.00 (even cars or real estate your are keeping)
2) Any past due amounts later than the bankruptcy filing date
3) Any Charge Off dates later than the bankruptcy filing date
4) Any past due dates later than the bankruptcy filing date
5) Any Foreclosure dates later than the bankruptcy filing date
6) Any Repossession dates later than the bankruptcy filing date
7) Any Collection dates later than the bankruptcy filing date
It is unlawful for a creditor to upload such false information after discharge or fail to update and correct such previous fale information. Unlike other bankruptcy attorneys, we make sure all the credit bureaus are notified of your Bankruptcy Filing to trigger accurate reporting. Likewise, we make sure all the credit bureaus are aware of the Bankruptcy Discharge. The notifications to the credit bureaus trigger laws under the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) which then require communications to take place between the credit bureaus and your creditors to make sure all accounts are reporting a $0.00 balance and “included in bankruptcy.”
Unlawful credit reporting allows you to take legal action against offending creditors. Ca Civ Code 1785.25(a) prohibits creditors from reporting “incomplete or inaccurate” information subjecting them to actual damages, punitive damages up to $5,000 per violation, pain and suffering, attorney fees and costs, and injunctive relief per Ca Civ Code 1785.31. Depending upon the circumstances, such lawsuits could be substantial. For example, in September 2007, over a million dollars was awarded against Wells Fargo for false reporting!
So why do creditors continue to report false or untruthful information? Its simple. False or untruthful reporting generates income. Many creditors will leave false information on credit reports in the hopes that the debt might be paid in order to repair credit, refinance a home, take advantage of an unsophisticated debtor, etc. And despite all the lawsuits we bring against creditors for such unlawful conduct, their business models continue since the profits from unlawful reporting still exceeds the claims and lawsuits for the same.
So continue to monitor your credit after Bankruptcy. We strongly recommend that you get a copy of your credit report 45 to 60 days after discharge to confirm only truthful information is being reported. Also remember reporting is done monthly, so its advisable to check your credit every few months. You can do so for free at annualcreditreport.com or contactinug us to pull your credit for a nominal fee. If your credit report is reporting anything other than a $0.00 balance and “included in bankruptcy,” please let us know.
At Doan Law our Bankruptcy Attorneys will answer all your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy questions. Call now at (760) 450-3333 to immediately speak one on one with a Bankruptcy Attorney. Or CLICK HERE. Hablamos Espanol.
Doan Law Firm is California’s Largest Family of Attorneys, Specializing in Bankruptcy and Non-Bankruptcy Alternatives.