It is never easy to deal with the stress of filing a bankruptcy in a nation that is driven by credit scores for almost any financial contract obligation. The constant threat of filing a bankruptcy is the risk of decreased credit scores. The fact remains that it is possible to redeem the credit score after bankruptcy. The first step toward credit repair is to create a rational case for filing bankruptcy and then patiently awaiting a certificate of discharge of debt by the court. This certificate of discharge of debt is a valuable document that needs to be kept for up to 15 years after its issuance. The step-by-step journey towards credit score redemption is listed below.
Step 1- Know your credit report and scores
Check your credit scores from all bureaus. The scores would have taken a hit and that should be accepted. Order a free credit score and also purchase your credit report from the companies. This helps in credit repair.
Step 2- Check for valid and updated information
As the owner of the score you should be able to identify with every bit of information that the reports carry. Ensure that financial contracts like rentals and employment history details are captured correctly and there is no missing information on your personal and professional details.
Step 3- Ensure Discharge of Delinquency on all accounts
It must be ensured that all accounts owned and held have been recorded as discharged of delinquency and obligations. Any unidentified accounts must be challenged and sought to be removed.
Step 4- Analyze Credit Report enquiries
Another measure of credit repair is to check and satisfy yourself that all legitimate credit report enquiries have come only from your creditors. There maybe one or two from collection agencies who will manage your accounts after discharge and those are legitimate enquiries.
Step 5- Check if all accounts need to stay on your report
As per law accounts can stay on your credit history only for 7 years after the last transaction date and then be removed. It is important to ensure that any such account if still reflected in your report be removed.
Step 6- Check if new accounts’ filing dates are accurate
The bad credit accounts may have gone to a collection agency and they may reflect as new accounts in your report. These new accounts should show the date of the original loan and not the date of the discharge. This will ensure that the account gets off your record sooner.
Step 7- Be confident and start a new life
Give some time to redeem your financial affairs and then approach new creditors with confidence as you embark a new life stage after credit repair. Credit scores may not have come back to old levels but they would start showing a positive upswing.
