How will bankruptcy impact my credit? This is usually the first question asked by potential clients when meeting with them. Most often since these individuals have made an appointment to discuss their options and are thinking about bankruptcy, their credit is already pretty damaged. A bankruptcy filing is reflected on your credit report almost immediately because the credit bureaus are regularly monitoring the bankruptcy court filings. The credit bureau then shows the bankruptcy filing under the public records section of your report for 7 – 10 years from the filing date, depending on whether you filed a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. While this bankruptcy notation does reflect negatively on your credit report, your credit is likely to improve when the bankruptcy is properly shown on your report after the debts have been discharged.
Unfortunately, there is no link between the bankruptcy courts and the 3 major credit reporting bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax). The credit bureaus do not monitor each bankruptcy case beyond the initial filing, and the bankruptcy court does not provide information to the credit bureaus. As a result, your credit report may not show that you received a discharge and account information on your report is likely to contain errors that can cause you to continue to have credit problems. Therefore, the only way for the credit bureaus to have the correct information is for either YOU to notify them or have a professional do this for you.
Jeff Field & Associates has recently teamed with RD Reports to fill that void. RD Reports is a company created and owned by bankruptcy attorneys (NOT Jeff Field & Associates) who know and understand the credit process. RD Reports will send you a packet with everything you need to clean up your credit. Please contact our office immediately to learn more about bankruptcy and how it may impact your credit and what you can do to repair your credit in the event of a bankruptcy filing.