How To Remove Bankruptcy From Credit Report

How Long Does Information Stay On My Equifax Credit Report

Reading time: 3 minutes

Highlights:

• Most negative information generally stays on credit reports for 7 years
• Bankruptcy stays on your Equifax credit report for 7 to 10 years, depending on the bankruptcy type
• Closed accounts paid as agreed stay on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years

When it comes to credit reports, one of the most frequently asked questions is: How long does information stay on my Equifax ? The answer is that it depends on the type of information and whether its considered positive or negative.

Generally speaking, negative information such as late or missed payments, accounts that have been sent to collection agencies, accounts not being paid as agreed, or bankruptcies stays on credit reports for approximately seven years. Here is a breakdown of some the different types of negative information and how long you can expect the information to be on your Equifax credit report:

Here are some examples of “positive” information and how long it stays on your Equifax credit report :

• Active accounts paid as agreed. Active credit accounts that are paid as agreed remain on your Equifax credit report as long as the account is open and the lender is reporting it.
• Closed accounts paid as agreed. If the last status of the account is reported by the lender as paid as agreed, the account can stay on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years from the date it was reported by the lender to Equifax.

File A Dispute Directly With The Reporting Business

Reporting businesses include credit card issuers and banks. Upon receiving a dispute, they are required by law to investigate and respond. If the reporting business corrects the issue, you saved yourself the step of contacting the credit reporting agency. It is vital to make sure the items are cleaned up for all three credit bureaus mentioned above.

However, trying to work out your debt directly with the lender will not necessarily change the amount of time said negative item would remain on your credit report. It will only change if the dispute is resolved with the lender and deleted from your credit report.

Is It Possible To Remove Bankruptcy From Your Credit Report

Filing for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy will impede the process of obtaining any significant credit lines at favorable terms in the years immediately following. Meanwhile, potential landlords and employers wont likely be pleased when they see a bankruptcy after pulling your credit report. But, there is a way out. It is possible to remove a bankruptcy from your credit report, but it isnt always a walk in the park.

Read Also: How Many Times Has Trump Declared Bankruptcy

Building Credit After Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Most can rebuild their credit rating and have a better score than ever within 1 – 2 years after they file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. But, you canât take this for granted. To get the full benefit of your bankruptcy filing, youâll have to make an effort to improve your credit score.

Getting new credit after filing bankruptcy – itâs easier than you might think!

One of the biggest surprises for many bankruptcy filers is the amount of car loan and credit card offers they receive – often within a couple of weeks of filing their case. Itâs a lot! Why?

Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy makes you a low credit risk

The Bankruptcy Code limits how often someone can file a bankruptcy. Once you get a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge, youâre not able to get another one for 8 years. Banks, credit card issuers and other lenders know this.

They also know that, with the possible exception of your student loans, you have no unsecured debts and no monthly debt payment obligations. This tells them that you can use all of your disposable income to make monthly payments.

Beware of high interest rates

Pay close attention to the interest rates in the new credit offers you receive. Credit card companies and car loan lenders have the upper hand here. They know you want to build your credit rating back to an excellent FICO score. And they know that youâll be willing to pay a higher interest rate than someone with perfect credit and no bankruptcy on their record.

Shop around

To Remove A Bankruptcy From Your Credit Report Youll Need To Find Evidence That The Bankruptcy Was Reported Incorrectly Otherwise It Will Only Come Off After Seven Or 10 Years Depending On The Type Of Bankruptcy

Beyond the stress and inconvenience that comes with filing for bankruptcy, it can have a long-standing impact on your credit report and score.

Fortunately, that negative impact can be mitigated with the right help.

Recommended Reading: How Long Does It Take To Finalize Bankruptcy

Hire A Credit Repair Company

These steps I am going to walk you through are how to remove bankruptcy from your credit report yourself. But there are professional companies that can help below

You can also ask them about removing dismissed bankruptcies credit report.

• or Call For Free Consultation Now:

All you have to do is give them a call for a free consultation to see what they can do for you.

Working with a professional is an excellent option for people who are busy, looking for a stress-free solution, or want to make sure an expert is handling the situation.

Become An Authorized User On A Credit Card

If you dont want to take out a secured credit card, you can ask a family member or friend who has good credit to add you as an on one of their credit cards. You may see an increase in your credit score if the issuer reports the cards positive payment history to the three main credit bureaus. However, your score could take a dip if the primary cardholder makes a late payment or maxes out their credit limit.

Recommended Reading: How Many Times Has Donald Trump Declared Bankruptcy

The Credit Repair Organizations Act

The makes it illegal for credit repair companies to lie about what they can do for you, and to charge you before they’ve performed their services. The CROA is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and requires credit repair companies to explain:

• your legal rights in a written contract that also details the services they’ll perform
• your three day right to cancel without any charge
• how long it will take to get results
• the total cost you will pay
• any guarantees

What if a credit repair company you hired doesn’t live up to its promises? You have some options. You can:

• sue them in federal court for your actual losses or for what you paid them, whichever is more
• seek punitive damages money to punish the company for violating the law
• join other people in a class action lawsuit against the company, and if you win, the company has to pay your attorney’s fees

How Does Bankruptcy Affect Credit Scores

If youve incurred this nasty line item, you might be wonderinghow does bankruptcy affect your credit? Wellit depends. No entity is 100% transparent about how it calculates your magic number. They collect your data and use unique algorithms to determine your trust based on what the lender values. However, in general, you should anticipate the average credit score after chapter 7 to be underwhelming. Even if you have incurred a 13, your score will still take a hit.

If you are currently well in the green, then you may well see a plummet of nearly 200 points. If youre already in the yellow, mathematically, it follows that a negative mark wont drag down your average as much. No matter what though, your drop will be around 120-160 points unless your score was horrendous, to begin with. When bankruptcy does come off your credit report though, it will be as though it had never happeneda clean slate. This is true whether you are able to pull it off yourself, or if you just let it fall off naturally.

Don’t Miss: Bankruptcy Petition Preparer

Review Your Credit Report On The Regular

Everything weve discussed so far applies to people with legitimate bankruptcies on their credit reports.

In those situations, you cant erase a bankruptcy, just take steps to minimize its impact.

Im willing to bet there are people walking among us with a bankruptcy on their credit report that doesnt belong to them.

Talk about a kick in the face!

There are also people still being plagued by old bankruptcies that should have fallen off their reports already.

Protect your credit score by regularly reviewing your report for inaccuracies.

If you find something sketchy that you dont think should be there, youll need to file a dispute letter to remove bankruptcy. We recommend working with a pro.

Check Your Credit For Inaccuracies

You need to look for any inaccuracies that may be part of the bankruptcy entry. You will want to look very carefully for any mistake.

• Identity information
• Accounts that may belong to another person with the same or similar name
• Incorrect accounts that occurred from identity theft
• Closed accounts reported as open
• You are reported as an owner of an account but are only an authorized user
• Accounts incorrectly reported as late or delinquent
• Incorrect date opened, date of last payment, date of delinquency
• Same debt listed more than once
• Accounts that appear multiple time with different creditors listed
• Incorrect current balance
• Incorrect credit limit

Related: Does a Car Insurance Quote Affect My Credit Score

There may be other inaccuracies you find as well the important part is to look closely and pay attention to detail.

If there are any inaccuracies, you simply dispute the bankruptcy entry with the credit bureaus, saying the information is incorrect and therefore should be removed.

Dispute via letter with the mistakes explained and make sure to send to each bureau. If there are no inaccuracies, move on to the next step.

Recommended Reading: Bankruptcy Petition Preparer Fee

How To Remove Bankruptcy From Your Credit Report: Final Thoughts

You cant snap your fingers and erase a bankruptcy.

But a secured credit card, authorized user tradeline, and credit builder loan can help boost your credit score and minimize the impact.

If youre ready to get serious about rebuilding your credit post-bankruptcy, check out our #1 recommended credit repair company, The Credit Pros.

Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided or commissioned by any financial institution. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, statements or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors alone, and may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities prior to publication.

Removing A Bankruptcy From A Credit Report On Your Own

Only the credit bureaus have the ability to remove an item from your credit report, including bankruptcies. If you dispute an item on your credit report and a credit bureau cant verify that its accurate, it must delete the account from your report.

However, disputed items can also be verified and remain on your report. It may help to have a professional guide you through your options if this happens to you.

Also Check: How To Buy A New Car After Bankruptcy

How Does Filing For Bankruptcy Impact Your Credit Score

Bankruptcies are one of the most detrimental items that can appear on your credit report. Like judgments and tax liens, they report as a public record and tank your credit score.

If your credit profile was stellar and you had a high FICO score prior to filing for bankruptcy, you should expect a huge drop in score, according to myFICO. But if your credit was already in the trenches due to the presence of negative items on your report, you would probably only see a modest drop in score, the article adds.

The more accounts included in the bankruptcy filing, the greater the impact on your score. Why so? These accounts will report for seven years from the original date of delinquency. And the impact is the same even if they get discharged through bankruptcy.

Your credit score will start to bounce back over time, and it may not take as long as you think. This is due to the fact that discharged debts are no longer owed. This means your credit utilization ratio will now be much lower. And since amounts owed account for 30 percent of your credit score, you will start to see small increases as creditors update the balances.

But if can get the bankruptcy removed from your credit report, that means good news for your credit score much sooner than later. More on that shortly.

Send A Request For Goodwill Deletion

Like pay-for-delete, writing a goodwill letter seems like a long shot, but its an option for borrowers who want to exhaust every possible alternative. Write to the creditor and ask for a Goodwill Deletion. If you have taken appropriate steps to pay down your debts and have become a more responsible borrower, you might be able to convince the creditor to remove your mistake.

There is no guarantee that your plea will get a response, but it does get results for some. This strategy is most successful for one-off problems, such as a single missing payment, but it may be futile for borrowers with a history of missed payments and credit mismanagement.

When writing the letter:

• Assume responsibility for the issue that caused the account to be reported to begin with
• Explain why the account was not paid
• If you can, point out good payment history before the incident

Also Check: Toygaroo Net Worth

Get Your Bankruptcy Removed Professionally

In some cases, we recommend speaking with a Credit Repair professional to analyze your credit report. It’s so much less stress, hassle, and time to let professionals identify the reasons for your score drop.If you’re looking for a reputable company to increase your credit score, we recommend Credit Glory. Call them on orsetup a consultation with them. They also happen to have incredible customer service.Credit Glory is a credit repair company that helps everyday Americans remove inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable, unauthorized, or fraudulent negative items from their credit report. Their primary goal is empowering consumers with the opportunity and knowledge to reach their financial dreams in 2020 and beyond.

Clean Up Your Financial Act

There are a number of reasons why you may have been forced to file for bankruptcy. But whats most important when rebuilding your credit is not the culprit, per se, but making sure that history doesnt repeat itself. In other words, you want to establish a solid plan for your finances to make your money work for you. In your list of objectives should be creating a realistic budget that keeps your spending in check, safety net, and plans to eradicate debt that wasnt included in the filing.

Recommended Reading: Can I Buy A Car After Filing Chapter 13

Send The Courts Response To The Credit Bureaus

Send the statement from the court to the credit bureaus with a letter asking to have the bankruptcy removed. Mention that the bureau knowingly provided false information and has violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If all goes well, removal of bankruptcy should occur.

• Top 11: Consolidation Loan Companies

How To Reestablish Your Credit

After declaring bankruptcy, you’ll want to look at ways you can earn a score in a range that will qualify you for better financing options and that begins with rebuilding your credit.

You may not be able to immediately qualify for the best credit cards, but there are others that apply to people with less-than-stellar credit.

Secured credit cards require a deposit that acts as your credit limit. If you make your credit card payments on time and in full on this new secured card, you then have a greater chance at qualifying for an unsecured credit card in the near future.

The Capital One® Secured has no annual fee and minimum security deposits of $49, $99 or $200, based on your creditworthiness. Those who qualify for the low $49 or $99 deposits will receive a $200 credit limit. Cardholders can obtain a higher credit limit if they make their first five monthly payments on time.

The Citi® Secured Mastercard® is another option with no annual fee. There is a $200 security deposit required, which would mirror your credit limit. Cardholders can also take advantage of Citi’s special entertainment access, which provides early access to presales and premium seating for concerts and games.

Once you add this new credit car, make sure you pay your monthly bills on time and in full to quickly work your way toward better credit.

Editorial Note:

Also Check: What Is Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions Llc

How Can I Rebuild My Credit After Bankruptcy

The most important thing you can do to improve your credit score after a bankruptcy is remove the bankruptcy from your credit report.

Equally important is learning and changing your personal finance habits so that it doesnt happen again. This might involve reviewing your income and expenses or building your emergency fund to prevent future financial hardships.

The most important ongoing habit you can begin is to pay all of your bills on time because your payment history accounts for the largest portion of your credit score. Even a single 30-day late payment can cause a significant dip, so imagine how bad it could be if you regularly miss a payment.

Your other best bet for rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy is to avoid accruing new debt.

Depending on the type of bankruptcy filing, you probably had much of your debt discharged. So even though the bankruptcy itself is a major negative item on your credit report, consider the rest a blank slate.

Avoid racking up additional debt because that also has a significant impact on your credit score.

You may also want to get a secured credit card. Its a credit card designed for people who want to rebuild their credit. The credit card issuer will give you a credit limit based on the security deposit you pay upfront. By making monthly payments on time, you can start to rebuild your credit immediately.