After Bankruptcy: You And Your Credit Report
By Carmen Dellutri, Attorney at Law on Oct 8, 2007 in Benefits of Bankruptcy, Florida, General Bankruptcy Information
As a consumer bankruptcy attorney, one of the most often asked questions from my clients is: What will bankruptcy due to my credit report? Although there are a multitude of answers to this question which you can find on this site, I wanted to focus on another fear that individuals have about inquiries on the credit report, and the pros and cons of multiple inquiries on credit reports. If you review the Fair Credit Reporting Act, only a select few individuals or organizations have access to your credit files.
For example, if you give someone written authority to pull your credit report, they may do so. If you apply for a job, your future employer may pull your credit report. Insurance companies are allowed to pull credit reports on individuals, and obviously, anyone to whom you are applying for credit, may pull your credit report. The big question is what do all of these inquiries do to your credit score and report.
The first information that I look at when I pull my own credit reports is the inquiry page. I want to know who has been looking at my information. An inquiry will appear each and every time a request for a copy of your credit report is made. So, if I know to look at that information, what do you think that a creditor does with that information. Lenders view this page to determine whether a candidate for credit may be getting in over his or her head. Additionally, too many inquiries may give the lender the feeling that this person may be in financial trouble because of all the credit being applied for.
The question is: What can be done about the inquiries? Inquiries normally stay on a person’s credit report for approximately two years, and although they can be disputed, there is usually nothing you can do to have them removed. The Credit Reporting Agencies do not have an obligation to remove this information from your credit file. However, all Credit Reporting Agencies have to explain the information contained in your credit reports, and they also have to explain when they sell your information on a mailing list or lead list. So start asking questions in the form of disputes and make sure they are all in writing, send certified mail, return receipt requested. Your credit report is extremely important, and will be even more so, if you plan on getting credit after filing for bankruptcy.
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