Restoring Your Credit After Bankruptcy

After having your debts discharged under a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may be concerned about restoring your credit rating. Your credit score tells lenders whether or not you are a good risk for credit. A poor credit score leads to much higher interest rates, and paying thousands of dollars more on a loan than those with good credit scores. At Price Law group, we can help you check your credit reports for accuracy, fix any errors on your credit reports, and begin the process of restoring your credit.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to view your credit reports from the three credit bureaus and dispute any misinformation that has been reported. If the credit bureau is unable to verify the validity of a negative entry on your credit score, by law they will have to remove it. However, this process can be complex and confusing for many individuals. Having an attorney help you through this procedure can make it go smoother and quicker and can help you have any misinformation deleted from your credit report.

Credit Repair: Where to Begin

After bankruptcy, you may feel defeated. Don't give up – you can begin repairing your credit and establishing financial consistency today. How? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gives recovering debtors one solution: patients. Time is the only way that accurate, negative information can be removed from you credit rating. A consumer reporting company is allowed to record negative financial information for seven years – bankruptcy will appear in your official financial history for ten years.

If your credit rating has suffered because of bankruptcy, remember this: creditors set their own credit standards. Just because your credit has suffered because of bankruptcy or other financial hardship doesn't mean you can't get credit. Some creditors only take your recent credit history into consideration; others may take you into consideration if your bill-paying has recently improved. The best way to find out more about individual creditor standards is to call them and ask.

Avoiding Scams

You've probably seen advertisements like this: "Let us eliminate your bad credit!" or, "Bad credit? No problem!" According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), these are probably scams. In fact, the FTC claims that no lawyer from the nation's consumer protection agency has ever seen a legitimate credit repair operation making these types of promise. Why? Because eliminating accurate, negative information from your credit report is illegal. In some cases, scammers will encourage you to take risky, illegal steps to eliminate your bad credit. Remember:

• Companies cannot charge you for services before they give you the product you are buying. If a company attempts to take your money before executing the product they promise, they may be trying to scam you.
• If a company doesn't tell you about your rights as a consumer, or encourage you to take steps towards credit repair one your own, be suspicious of their motives.
• If a company tells you they can eliminate the adverse effects of a bankruptcy petition from your credit report, they may be operating illegally.
• Companies cannot help you create a "new" credit identity. This usually involves a variety of illegal actions such as lying about your social security number.
• Scammers my try to convince you to dispute all information –regardless of its accuracy – on your credit report. In reality, accurate information on your credit report cannot be changed.

Never take legal advice from a company that may be trying to scam you. If a company makes promise that it cannot uphold legally, they are probably trying to rip you off. According to the FTC, the best way to repair your credit is to wait. Scammers know that bankruptcy affects your report negatively. They also know that you want to improve your score and will take advantage of this by offering you services that they cannot plausibly give. The best way to improve your credit is to make wise financial decisions and wait for your bankruptcy petition to be eliminated from your report legally.

Why Choose Use?

Our firm has over 20 years of experience in bankruptcy law, and the firm have helped over 100,000 clients repair their credit scores. It generally takes about 9 months to a year to repair your credit. If you think you have incorrect entries on your credit score, or if you are trying to repair your credit after a bankruptcy discharge, retaining the services of an experienced attorney will help you understand what you need to do to fix your credit, which can ultimately save you thousands of dollars in interest charges over the years. If you ever want to take out a loan in order to purchase a home, car, or any other large purchase, you need to repair your credit. Doing so will have long-term benefits on your financial well-being.