I see a bunch of stuff wrong on my credit report after my BK was discharged. I am just looking at Equifax right now so I have not checked the other two. Can I just send one letter to them and address all these problems?
This is what I found:
2 hard inquires from accounts I had during BK, that I did not authorize
One of my previous addresses is a PO box I never used.
Three accounts showing charge offs, that don’t say “Included in Bankruptcy”
A Voluntary surrendered vehicle that shows Repossession, and does not say included in bankruptcy.
Should I also send a letter to the creditors? The biggest offender is my former credit union that has 2 accounts showing charge off and the repo.
You definitely need to send a letter to the creditors. Let them know that they are reporting incorrect info the credit bureaus and demand that they correct it.
It wouldn’t hurt to also send a letter to Equifax indicating that you are disputing these entries, but your creditors are the primary line of correction.
TransUnion once had my file merged with my father’s (similar name), grandmothers (similar initials, i’d moved into her old place) and someone else’s (a BK that happened when I was 14, that first appeared on my grandmother’s report, then somehow on my dads, then moved to mine). They also had as a previous address the payment address for my student loan.
I sent one letter will all 30 or so errors enumerated, and it was cleared up without hassle.
FWIW, I seem to remember it being discussed here recently that voluntary surrender is still a repossession – the bank collected on your collateral when you didn’t pay the loan, and the fact that they didn’t need to take it forcefully isn’t relevant.
The PO box, I’d dispute with Equifax.
The others, I’d take up directly with the original creditors involved.
I make a point of never TRYING to get Included In Bankruptcy put on my file; that makes disputing the bankruptcy off harder, because that provides Equifax with evidence FROM ME that they’ve got the right person and the right bankruptcy.
I think you missed the fact that it was included in a bankruptcy.
The difference is, instead of being a lender and seeing a Rumpleforeskin who owes other people on bad debts, now you see a Rumpleforeskin who previously had bad debts, but CURRENTLY has no liabilities… his deficiency on the auto loan, if any, was cured by the BK.
It appeared he was disputing not only the omission from the bankruptcy, but also the designation as a repo instead of as a voluntary surrender. It was the latter I was addressing.
Some people have successfully disputed it off before the end of the seven years.
I don’t know much about the mechanics of how or why that works.
Not being an attorney, I have no clue as to whether or not it’s legal, although one of the guys who got his BK off his file actually used Lexington Law Firm to get it off.
PS- My wife laughed when I related your username to her.
PPS- I am NOT endorsing Lexington Law Firm as a credit repair agency.