Life after Bankruptcy

REBUILDING YOUR CREDIT SCORE

After your discharge has been approved, the rebuilding effort begins.  You MUST be proactive in rebuilding your credit score.  Your bankruptcy will have an initial negative effect on your credit score.  If you follow our CRS Report you will quickly improve your credit score and access to new credit lines.  Unfortunately, we reserve our CRS Report for our bankruptcy clients.  However, here are a few steps that you can take on your own to improve your credit score:

1.       Get your credit report – Approximately 2 months after you receive your discharge, you should order your credit report.  Review the information contained within the report, note every error and omission.  There are often miscues contained within your credit report that need to be corrected.  Corrections can be made by sending a dispute letter to the reporting agencies.  You can get a free copy of your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com.

2.       Discharged Debt is actually discharged – Why else did you file for bankruptcy?  Make sure that the debts discharged by your bankruptcy petition were actually reported as discharged to the credit reporting agencies.  If you receive calls from debt collectors regarding a discharged debt, simply give them your bankruptcy petition number and the date of discharge.

3.       Don’t close remaining credit accounts – This may seem counter-intuitive, but trust us it works!  Your credit score is actually improved by having available credit.  By closing every credit account and going “cold turkey” by living a cash only existence, you actually harm your credit score.  Keep your accounts open, but remain DISCIPLINED in your use of that available credit.  Don’t run up your credit cards again and put yourself right back where you were prior to the bankruptcy.

4.       Pay your utilities on time – Utilities companies report your payment history to the credit reporting agencies.  By paying your electric, gas, water, cable, cell phone (and other bills) on time, you improve your credit score month by month.  Small steps done consistently travel great distances.  Stay the course and your score will improve!