Credit Report - In general, the Bankruptcy Court does not control the actions of credit reporting agencies. Debtors must directly contact credit reporting agencies to discuss how long a bankruptcy case remains on a credit report. If debtors have questions about this or have problems gaining cooperation from credit agencies, a debtor may contact the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center (CRC-240), Washington, D.C. 20580. The telephone number is (202) 326-2222. Here are general rules:
Improper Involuntary Bankruptcy Case- If a party has improperly filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against a debtor, the bankruptcy court may enter an order prohibiting credit reporting agencies from reporting the bankruptcy on the debtor's credit report.
Voluntary Bankruptcy Case - The Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq., is the law that controls credit reporting agencies. The law states that credit reporting agencies may not report a bankruptcy case on a person's credit report after ten (10) years from the date the bankruptcy case is filed. Generally, bad credit information is removed after seven (7) years. The larger credit reporting agencies belong to an organization called the Associated Credit Bureaus. We are informed that the policy of the Associated Credit Bureaus is to remove successfully completed Chapter 13 cases from the credit report after seven (7) years to encourage debtors to file under this chapter.
