Navy Fed does the Right Thing; Wells Fargo Makes More Excuses

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

After Bankruptcy Mistakes: Navy Fed does the Right Thing; Wells Fargo Makes More Excuses.

Everybody makes mistakes. Banks do, too. When you file bankruptcy, the banks you owe money to don’t always do what they are supposed to do. This is a true story of Navy Fed admitting their mistake and fixing it. Wells Fargo making excuses and more excuses

After Bankruptcy, Navy Federal Hit Rob’s Credit So He couldn’t Buy a House.

Rob, not his real name, and his wife Daisy, filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy with me in summer of 2011. One of the debts that was partially paid and mostly discharged—wiped clean—was a third mortgage to Navy Federal for $39,157. The chapter 13 was paid off in July 2014. 

By the fall of 2016, Rob and Daisy are back to good credit. They sold their house to buy a new one. In fact they signed a contract to have a house built.

That’s when they find out Navy Fed is still hitting Rob’s credit. Rob’s Experian credit report shows that years three years past due on now $39,000 to Navy Fed. Rob called and complained to the credit reporting department. He was told the credit report was right. Rob called Jeremy in the Navy Fed bankrutpcy department. Jeremy said he agreed with Rob (!) but he couldn’t change credit reporting. Rob went to the branch. That did nothing.

Finally, someone at Navy Fed whispered to Rob that he should talk to his bankruptcy lawyer.

We Ask Navy Fed to Tell It to the Judge

January 6, 2017 I filed papers with the bankruptcy court. We asked the Navy Fed to come to court on February 2, and explain to the judge why they were still trying to collect a discharged debt. 

It didn’t get that far. I heard first from Jeremy, in the bankruptcy department, and then from Emily, their lawyer. Most importantly, they sent a correction over the Experian, and the other credit bureaus, too.

(Rob wondered why this problem showed up only with Experian. Each credit bureau’s computer programs are slightly different, so a small mistake might show up with one, but not the others. But, I don’t think that’s the problem here. Under the Terri White class action settlement, the credit bureaus are supposed to show your debts are discharged in bankruptcy—even if the creditor keeps reporting them as late. My best guess is that Navy made the mistake with all three credit bureaus, but only Experian let is slip past.)

February 1, 2017, we were able to confirm with each of the three credit bureaus that the Navy Fed loan was now showing “discharged in bankruptcy.” That fixed his Experian credit score, his loan was approved, and Rob and Daisey will be moving into their new house in a few weeks.

As a tangible apology, Navy Fed also agreed to make a small payment—we agreed to keep the amount secret—for Rob and Daisy’s sleepless nights and for my legal work. Although they had given Rob the run around, Navy Fed was all over it when they heard from me. So we did not squeeze them to make a big settlement.

Wells Fargo Won’t Let Veronique Renew the Tags on Her Car

Veronique, not her real name, filed Chapter 13 with me in April 2016. We needed to prevent the repossession sale of her car. (Veronique traveled to two or three different job locations every day. She had to have a car.)

Wells Fargo stopped the repo sale, and gave Veronique her car back, exactly like they were supposed to. But, when she went to renew her tags in June 2016, Veronique was in for a shock. Wells Fargo had taken her name of her title, so she couldn’t renew her tags.

This was no ordinary screw up

I thought this screw up could be easily fixed. After all, Wells Fargo has four million car finance customers. They know how to fix a car title. Wrong.

She updated me on June 20. Still not fixed. July my office started calling. No luck. August, Wells Fargo insisted that the title was right. Not true. September they asked for a power of attorney for us. Then they told us it had expired. How could this be? they just needed to correct her car title.

Finally, September 30 we drew up paper to take this problem in front of the bankruptcy judge. Called them again on October 3. “Can’t you get this fixed; we’re suing you because you can’t fix this lady’s car title.” Transferred all over the place. Four hours! on the phone. No results.

Wells Fargo Tell the Judge They Fixed it: Two months Before They Really Do

October 17 2016, Wells Fargo files a copy of what they claim is Veronique’s title with the bankruptcy court. I tell Veronique to take it to the DMV and see if that works. It doesn’t. “Wells Fargo invalidated this title back in April,” we’re told.

On November 8 Wells Fargo’s lawyer went in front of the Judge and told the court that Wells Fargo had done everything possible to fix Veronique’s title. The Judge believed them. (I didn’t.) 

Finally, January 18 2017, Veronique’s title as fixed. She was able to renew her tags.

It took Wells Fargo, the world’s second largest bank, with four million car loan customers, nine months to correct their mistake on Veronique’s car title. 

Wells Fargo Promises a $10,000 Settlement Payment—So Far, No Check

Wells Fargo also offered in January, to pay Veronique $10,000 for her trouble—hours on the phone, multiple pointless trips to the DMV, and driving eight months on expired tags!

We agreed to accept the $10,000. They said they’d send it as soon as we submitted her W-9. That’s been three weeks ago. Still no check. 

 

Holly Gets Hired after Bankruptcy and Gets a New Credit Card

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

Holly Gets Hired After Bankruptcy and Gets a New Company Credit Card

Holly was at the end of her rope. She’d been out of work for two years; she kept getting interviews but no offers; and she was feeding partial payments to her creditors, to try to keep them off her back. She believed she was losing job offers because of the late payments on her credit. She was doing everything possible, borrowing from family and friends, to stay close to current.

Finally, she gave up

She came to see me about bankruptcy when she finally got court papers; she assumed she’d never be able to get hired after bankruptcy in the tech field. I told her she would be fine.

After bankruptcy, the opposite of what she expected

We filed Holly’s bankruptcy case September 1; it was discharged—approved and done—December 12. On January 22, she got a job offer. She was offered Chief Technology Officer of the small business. She was excited to get hired after bankruptcy.

But still had a big concern. What would happen when she applied for a corporate Amex Card for business travel. She would be so embarrassed—might even lose her job offer—if Amex turned her down.

Check your credit score, I told her. “It’s 688,” she said, amazed. Of course she got the company card.

Everybody’s case is different.

Everybody’s case is different. Employers look for different things; and your credit score is based on very complicated and secret formulas. But I can say this. For many people, once you’ve started struggling with late payments, bankruptcy can be the quickest (and easiest) way to get your credit score back up.

Many employers are hesitant to hire someone who is struggling financially. They don’t want employees who

don’t sleep at night because of bills. They don’t want the sheriff bringing garnishments to the payroll office. (And maybe they don’t want people who are too dumb to take advantage of the laws in their favor.)

That’s why some people find it’s easier to get hired after bankruptcy. 

 

For most people, bankruptcy works.

Every month I see people who have put off bankruptcy for years in order to “protect their credit.” They aren’t protecting anything. Like Holly, they think they are “protecting their credit” but actually just making things worse.  

 

 

Keep the Car In Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

Keep the Car In Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: What Are your Choices?

When you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you are “in the drivers seat” with some choices on how to keep the car.

One choice is to give it back.

One choice is to give it back.  Especially if you have a terrible interest rate on the car—and if you can put your hands on a junker—give them the car back. You are supposed to give the car back six weeks after you file your bankruptcy case. That gives you time to figure out another way to get around.

(Finding another way to get around is NOT going out and financing a car right after the bankruptcy. You’ll find car dealers eager to put you in a car at 24%—that gets you right back into financial trouble. But if you have a friend or family member who can give or lend you a car for a year or longer, you can then find some good financing deals. You can read about Alice, who got a 4.76% a year after bankruptcy. People who have a friend or family member who knows a lot about cars, also have good luck buying a car for cash, through a site like EBay.)

You can keep up the payments and keep it

Except for the special problems with Ford and Credit Unions, you can keep up the payments and keep your car. For most people, this is the best choice. No paperwork is required, you just need to be sure to make the payments on time. If you get late, they won’t call and yell at you. (That would violate the bankruptcy discharge.) They will just come and get the car.

Since they don’t want to violate the bankruptcy law, most car finance companies will stop billing you. You need to pay them on your own. Honda Financial Services has a good set of instructions. And here are sample instructions from USAA. Making the car payment will be like paying the rent—you gotta remember.

You can redeem your car.

If you owe more than your car is worth, but really like your car, you can redeem it. You can keep the car by just paying the book value. (Book value under the 2005 law is what you’d have to pay to buy it.) There are some honest lenders who will finance that straight out of bankruptcy.  One we use is called 722 Redemption. If you know your car is in good shape, this can be the way to go.

But you now have an after bankruptcy car loan. If you pay it, you are building up good credit. If you don’t, you are building up after-bankruptcy bad credit. You really don’t want after-bankruptcy bad credit.    

You can keep up the payments and change your mind later.

The good thing about keeping up the payments is, down the line you can change your mind. Suppose a year later, the car has mechanical trouble. You can give it back without owing anything and without damage to your credit.

Suppose a year from now, your uncle offers you his car. You can give the old one back, without owing anything and without damage to your credit.

Suppose two years from now, your credit union will offer you a car loan at 3.9%. You can give the old one back, without owing anything and without damage to your credit.

People often ask me, how long do I have the option to give the car back? My answer: Until it’s paid for. Once it’s paid for, you can’t give it back.

Is there any paperwork? None. Just call and tell them to come and get it. Or, stop paying and they will come soon enough.

Can I keep the car without making the payments?

The short answer is, No, you can’t keep the car without making the payments.  

At least, you can’t keep the car–unless the car finance company never bothers to come any get it.  Sometimes they never bother. If the car will bring good money at a car auction, they are going to come and pick it up.  But recently, a couple of people have told me nobody ever came and got their cars. Those were cars with about a hundred thousand miles on them–not junkers. But the credit union, in both cases it was a credit union, never picked them up.

So, you might get lucky. 

Can I reaffirm the car loan?

There are reasons why some people need to reaffirm car loans with Ford or with Credit Unions. Except for them, reaffirming a car loan is not a good idea.

The car loan people want you to reaffirm—because it benefits them, not you. When you call, they will tell you your lawyer should have reaffirmed—because it benefits them, not you.

Under the law, the judge will not approve a reaffirmation, unless I sign off that it’s a good idea. 

I don’t think it’s a good idea. So I’m not signing off. So the judge is not approving it. (The judge can, and often does, turn it down even if a lawyer signs off. Which I don’t.) 

I explain more on that, here. 

Alice Gets After Bankruptcy Car Loan at 4.76%

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

Alice Gets After Bankruptcy Car Loan at 4.76%

Alice came to see me in March 2015.

She’d just gotten back to work after being out for over a year.  Her financial situation was so bad, she’d been living in a women’s crisis center, at very low rent.

We filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Even working again, she could not afford her credit cards.  I told her filing bankruptcy is the fastest way back to good credit.  Much better than continuing to send in late and partial payments.

Good news in April 2016.  Alice just emailed me to tell me about her after bankruptcy car loan.

Here’s the rest of the story in her own words.

Hi Bob,

So as you may recall, after my bankruptcy discharge in June, three months later at the end of August I had to turn in my leased Honda.

You told me that every month I could wait for a car I would save. So I have lived without a car for seven and a half long months.

I have walked and taken the bus and the metro through the winter. And it looks like it’s paying off!

On Saturday I went to a Nissan dealer, and they were able to get me financing at 4.76% for a shiny new black 2015 Versa Note SV! Today I went back there tonight to make sure the bank had actually given final approval for the financing at that rate – I told them on Saturday that even though it was in the range I was pre-approved for, I thought it was too good to be true.

But apparently it IS true! They showed me the screen today that tells them they have received final approval, and they assured me that they have it.

Less than a year after Chapter 7 discharge, I have a new car at 4.76% – 259 a month for 72 months! (I know that’s long but this is a new Nissan with some options that should help the resale value and I plan to refinance in 6 months or a year for a lower interest rate and shorter term.)

It’s been a slog for 10 months but maybe I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

Thank you again, SO much, for everything! The world needs more of you.

Grace and peace to you,

–Alice

 

Narrow Escape: After-Bankruptcy Mortgage Approved

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

Terrance was standing outside my door when I unlocked, Friday last week.

Terrance filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy with me, January 2013.  I tell people you can get approved for a mortgage as soon as two years after your bankruptcy discharge.  Terrance got his mortgage approved two years and four months after his bankruptcy. Or he thought he did.  They told him in December, everything was fine. Last Thursday, they turned him down.  He was scheduled to close on his new house, Tuesday. He freaked.

There was a problem on Terrance’s After-Bankruptcy Credit Report

When he first applied for the loan, the mortgage company told him there was a problem.  One of the debts discharged in his 2013 bankruptcy looked like it was still there.  Terrance made an appointment to see me last December; but then he cancelled.  

The mortgage company told him they would take care of it.  Turned out they didn’t.

Here’s the happy ending.

I’m one of maybe fifty bankruptcy lawyers around the country who fights all the time for my clients to fix their after-bankruptcy credit report.  Because of my experience, I knew the compliance officer at the outfit that was causing the problem. I had his phone number and email, and he was in his office that Friday morning. I got him.

By noon, we got the paper the mortgage underwriter needed, showing that debt was taken care of in the bankruptcy.  The mortgage got approved Monday.  Terrance bought his house on schedule, Tuesday.

Two Lessons

I think every bankruptcy lawyer needs to know at least a little about Fair Credit Reporting. You don’t really get your “fresh start” in bankruptcy, if your after-bankruptcy credit report is wrong.  

You should really check your credit report, with your lawyer, a couple months after your bankruptcy is over.  (And keep checking it.)  Don’t wait until you are turned down for your after-bankruptcy mortgage.

My Promise

I promise to fight for you to make your after-bankruptcy credit report right, for as long as five years.  You can read more about that, here. 

Most bankruptcy lawyers will have nothing to do with after-bankruptcy credit reports; and sometimes it makes a enormous difference.​             

 

     

                             

 

Keeping Your Car Financed with Ford Motor Credit

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy /

Ford Credit Has the Right to Pick Up You Car When you File Bankruptcy, Even If You Are Current.

Actually, under the 2005 bankruptcy reform, any car finance company can pick up your car when you file bankruptcy.  But Ford Motor Credit is the only national lender that does that.  (A few states have laws that protect you. Virginia, where I am, isn’t one of them.) Most lenders would rather get payments than get the car.  

Ford wants to you to reaffirm your debt with them. When you reaffirm, you take the debt complete out of the bankruptcy. After a short waiting period, you can’t change your mind.  

As your lawyer, I don’t like reaffirming debts. If you reaffirm and can’t make the payment, you get an after-bankruptcy repossession on your credit.  An after bankruptcy repossession pretty much guarantees seven years with bad credit. An after bankruptcy repossession (on a reaffirmed car) probably means an after bankruptcy judgment and an after bankruptcy garnishment.  A real mess.

On the other hand, you probably don’t want to walk to work.  

So before you reaffirm with Ford Motor Credit, I’m going to ask you some questions.

Are you really happy with this car?  Has it shown any signs of mechanical trouble?

Do you have some other way to get around?  Do you have a junker that will be good for a year or two, until you get good credit?

Could you in fact get around on bus or Metro for a while?

Did Ford give you a really good deal when you bought this car.

After we talk about all that, maybe you’ll decide to let Ford take the car. If you insist, you and I will sign the reaffirmation and Ford will let you keep the car.  (As long as you keep up the payments.) 

Because reaffirmations are so dangerous, the law requires your lawyer–that’s me–to sign off that I think it’s a good idea. (Usually, I don’t think it’s a good idea. “Let them eat steel,” is what bankruptcy lawyers like to say.) And many people also have to explain it in person to the judge.  Because of the long and annoying paperwork, here, and possible court appearance, I charge another $200 to handle car reaffirmations with Ford.

If you give the car back to Ford, it won’t take that long to buy a new one at a good price.

I tell people to wait three years, if possible, after the bankruptcy, in order to get the best deal on new car financing.  (And whatever you do, do NOT go out and finance a car at 21% the week your bankruptcy is final.) But even a year and a half after bankruptcy, you can rebuild your credit and get a car loan at a good rate.  Alice got a Nissan, from the dealer, at 4.76% barely a year after.

Usually, unless the dealer is having trouble selling cars, you’ll get your best rate on a car from a credit union.

 

 

After Bankruptcy Violations by Debt Collectors

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy /

More often than they should, debt collectors contact people after the bankruptcy is over.

I’m Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Lawyer Robert Weed, and I hate it when people do illegal stuff to my customers. When debt collectors pester my clients after bankruptcy, I sue them.  That’s why I was glad to see what the Second Circuit decided yesterday in the case of Garfield v Ocwen.

Here’s what they said.  If a debt collector bothers you after bankruptcy and a debt discharged by the bankruptcy,  you can sue them under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  Why is that important?  Because the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act gives you the right to sue them for $1000.00 in statutory damages.

That right, to sue under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, is on top of your right to complain to the bankruptcy judge.  

If there’s a violation while the bankruptcy is going on, the bankruptcy court is probably where you want to be.  Because the bankruptcy code provides for “punitive damages” for continuation of collection acts while the bankruptcy is still on.  (That’s 11 USC 362(k).) That means the judge can slap them as hard as he wants.

(You can read a good example of a judge slapping them hard, in the case of Parker v. Credit Central.  Credit Central kept going in court against Marion Parker, even after her bankruptcy was filed.  The bankruptcy court awarded Parker $10,000 in punitive damages and $30,000 in legal fees.  In December 2015, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said the bankrutpcy court was OK to do that.  “Because Credit Central committed the type of conduct that the automatic stay was created to prevent, punitive damages were appropriate to serve the dual purposes of punishing Credit Central for its indifference to the law and Parker’s rights and to deter it from committing future similar misconduct.” )

Once the bankruptcy is over, all you can get from the bankruptcy court are actual damages.  (For example, if you got garnished, you could get the garnished money back; and if the garnishment caused bounced check fees, you could get those too.) But nothing for your trouble.  Nothing to slap their hand, to remind them to respect the law.

Debt collectors understandably don’t like to get $1000.00 slaps on the wrist, under the FDCPA.  So they argue that the Bankruptcy Code should be the only law that applies.  The Ninth Circuit bought that argument in a decision called Walls v Wells Fargo, back in 2002.  Most other courts have ignored it, but this past summer a Federal Judge in Roanoke agreed.  Lovegrove v Ocwen.  

We’re fighting this issue right now, in the US District Court in Alexandria, VA.  We are going after McCabe, Weisberg & Conway for this after bankruptcy letter.  On the second page, it says “if you have obtained a bankruptcy discharge, this is not an attempt to collect a debt from you.” But it also says, “THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT.”  And on the first page it says, “The amount of the debt is $325,547.42.”  

We think that violates the FDCPA in two ways.  First, it’s a false statement of the “amount or legal status of any debt.”    Second, saying that it “not an attempt to collect a debt” and that “THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT”–that’s “misleading.”  Both of those violate the FDCPA at 15 USC 1692e.

The Judge here will let us know what she’s decided, on January 29, 2016.  I’ll keep you posted.

 PS 

Well, we lost.  Judge Brinkema told them that their letter was confusing–it confused her, she said.  But she told us that our only complaint was with the Bankruptcy Court.  She wasn’t about to bother with it, under the FDCPA.

This issue went to appeal at the Fourth Circuit in a case called DuBois v Atlas 15-1945. (But the Fourth Circuit ducked it. They ruled against the consumer in a different way, and said they’d take up the issue we’re concerned about another day.)   So for now, we are out of luck on this.  We have three or four cases, even clearer violations, that are on hold right now.

PPS

In a new decision called Owens v. LVNV, the 7th Circuit said that applying to be paid in a bankruptcy on a debt that’s too old, is NOT an FDCPA violation: because it’s not misleading. (The consumer has a chance to figure it out if they look, apparently.) But any false statement during (and presumably after) the bankruptcy would be an FDCPA violation.  Judge Brinkema is clearly out of step when she said that the consumer can only complain to the bankruptcy court. We hope the 4th Circuit will tell her that, soon.    

   

Tonya is homeowner just two years after bankruptcy

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Virginia Bankruptcy /

Two years after bankruptcy, Tonya is as home owner.

Tonya M, of Stafford VA, came to see me in late 2012.  Her marriage had broken up, and she was working in a clothing store.  

Tonya was desperate.  She had just sold her engagement ring to keep herself afloat.  Her biggest problem was a $30,000 loan from Navy Federal Credit Union. She was also cosigner on a $7,000 card with USAA.  So far, her ex was paying that, but she was afraid he’d stop, then then then they’d come after her.  

She had never been a homeowner and never expected to be; she just wanted Navy Fed to leave her alone; and not still be worried about her ex paying the cosigned USAA card.

I told her bankruptcy would do that and more.  In three years, I told her, you can be back to good credit. 

“In three years you can be back to good credit–good
enough credit to get a car loan at 6.9% or maybe
lower–good enough credit, if the income is there, to
qualify for a mortgage and buy a place.”

Turns out, it didn’t take Tonya even three years to by a house after bankruptcy.

We filed Tonya’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in January 2013, and it was discharged April 25, 2013. 

In May, 2015, just two years after bankruptcy, Tonya was approved for a mortgage and bought a house.

So many people put off talking to a bankruptcy lawyer.  They are afraid if they file bankruptcy, they can never get anything.  For most people, that’s exactly backwards.  Tonya M would never had been able to buy that house, unless she filed bankruptcy.  Filing bankruptcy was what she needed to do, to fix her credit score and get her off the ex’s USAA card.  

If you are wondering if you should file bankruptcy, make an appointment with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer.   Don’t put it off.  Start toward your better future today.

Tonya still asked for my help.

That big Navy Fed debt, the one that got her to come see me, was still sitting on her TransUnion report.  Since both Experian and Equifax had it right, she had been able to get her mortgage.  But her TU score was lower than the others, and she wanted that fixed.

We got to work right away.

As part of my exclusive Five Year After Bankruptcy Warranty, I’ll fight for you, if discharged debts pop back up on your credit report.  No charge to you.  If they don’t fix it right away, I sue the creditor and credit bureau–and I send them the bill.  We get a couple thousand dollars for our clients, and a couple thousand as legal fees, doing that each month.  

And, of course, we get those after-bankruptcy credit reports fixed.          

 

 

 

 

In January, Harold and Linda were ten days from foreclosure

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

When they came to see me in January, Harold and Linda were ten days from foreclosure.  Today their mortgage is current and their bad debts are all gone.

Harold had a career change due to medical reasons, lost income, got into credit card debt, had a car repossessed and got behind on the mortgage.  He had tried to get a HARP loan mod and had been turned down.  (Probably because their debt to income ratio was too high.)  This was January 23 and his foreclosure sale was set for February 3.

We filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on January 29.  We stopped the foreclosure and discharged $57,000 in debts.  ($30,000 in credit cards and $27,000 repossession.)

Harold and Linda dropped in to see me last Friday, November 15.  With their debt to income ratio better–since the debts were gone–and three more months of paystubs on Harold’s new job, they had been able to get a loan mod.  Their interest rate had gone from 7% to 4.25.  Their monthly payment is $450 less–and they are current.

This is why I love being a bankruptcy lawyer.  I help people be happy and debt free.  

 

 

 

 

 

Fred’s after bankruptcy credit score is 707

Posted by Robert Weed / in After Bankruptcy, Weekly Posts /

Fred’s after bankruptcy credit score is 707

Fred M was a small business owner.  Because his business was dragged down by the recession, he has $50,000 in credit cards that had gone bad. Last fall Bank of America sent him a warrant-in-debt in a $17,000 credit card. So, Fred filed bankruptcy with me in October 2014.  It was discharged in March 2015.

Credit Karma shows his credit score is 707!  That’s six months after bankruptcy discharge. The median credit score in Virginia is 694.   Six months after bankruptcy, Fred has a better score that half the people in Virginia! Not everybody recovers as fast as Fred.  He’s obviously been working hard at it.  But this tells you for sure, bankruptcy does NOT mean ten years of bad credit. 

In fact, most people who file bankruptcy have a “sharp boost” in their credit score.  (That’s not me, saying that.  That’s a study of after bankruptcy credit scores by the New York Federal Reserve.)  

 Fred Wasn’t Bragging When He Sent Me His Credit Report

Fred sent me his credit report because he wanted to make sure it was right.  

Ten years ago most people’s after bankruptcy credit reports had three or four creditors still reporting them as late.  About fifty lawyers around the country, I’m one, have sued them for ten years.  And they have gotten a lot better.  I’m thinking now that only about one third of people still have one or two “charge off” or “collection” instead of “bankruptcy discharge” on their after bankruptcy credit report.

It turns out Fred is one of those.  Capital One left “collection/charge off” on page 9 of his report.  I’m just guessing that’s costing him ten points on his after bankruptcy credit score.

This afternoon, I’m showing Fred how to dispute that.  (Fred has to do a dispute because you do NOT have the right to have your credit report right. You only have the right to an investigation.)

If they investigate, Fred’s dispute will fix it.  If they don’t, we’ll sue.  (This promise to protect your after bankruptcy credit score is part of my exclusive five year bankruptcy warranty.)