Creditors Confused by Chapter 13 and Consumers Suffer

Creditors have a difficult time properly reporting a chapter 7 bankruptcy to the credit bureaus. Whether it’s anger or resentment over having to write off the debt, ignorance or incompetence is anybody’s guess. The proper reporting of a discharged debt is to report the account as “closed,” the balance at “zero” and some mention of the bankruptcy. Sometimes it is shown as “included in bankruptcy” or “chapter 7 bankruptcy.” Rarely do creditors state that the debt has been “discharged in bankruptcy” even though that would be the most accurate way to report it. The fact is creditors are vindictive and if there is anyway to legally hurt a consumer coming out of bankruptcy, they’ll do it. So, it is important for consumers to review their credit reports three or four months after discharge to be sure the chapter 7 debt has been properly reported.

It is even worse with a Chapter 13. A lot of creditors don’t understand how a chapter 13 works and they tend to either treat it like a Chapter 7 or they just freeze the account and quit reporting it because they know they will eventually be paid all or a portion of their debt. The proper way to report the debt is to show the account as “Open,”state that it is included in a “Chapter 13 bankruptcy and report any changes that occur if payments are made by the Chapter 13 Trustee. But, rarely do creditors properly report a chapter 13 bankruptcy to a credit bureau and when the discharge order is finally signed three to five years later, its often ignored.

There is a lot of chapter 13 debt that is sold to debt buyers and by the time the debt is discharged it may have changed hands several times and the odds of the holder of the debt getting notice of the discharge is slim. So, long after the bankruptcy was filed it is common for consumers to suddenly get phone calls and letters trying to collect a discharged debt. Or, the consumer will have credit denied and discover it was because debts that were discharged in bankruptcy have suddenly appeared on his credit report.

Our firm offers a free discharge compliance review including an examination of your credit reports. For more information check out our website at http://mancheelawfirm.com/. You have nothing to lose but your bad credit.