People who file for bankruptcy often have inaccurate information damaging their credit report.

After reviewing literally thousands of credit reports over the years, here are some of the most glaring illegal items that plague consumer credit reports for those have filed for bankruptcy:

1. Mortgage lenders like Bank of America and Wells Fargo zero out the balance due on tradelines after someone files for bankruptcy. You may think that that’s a good thing, but here is why its not.  A whopping 35% of your credit score is made up of timely made payments.  If you want to keep your house after you file for bankruptcy, you must continue to make payments to your mortgage lender.  By wiping out the current balance due, there is no way to report the consumer’s timely made payments.  Instead of the consumer’s credit score increasing with each timely made payment, the credit score is unaffected.  This is cheating the consumer.
2. Creditors continuing to report a late status on accounts. Once you file for bankruptcy, the account’s current status should be reported as “included in bankruptcy” and ultimately “discharged in bankruptcy.”  Reporting anything else such as 30, 60 or 90+ days late conveys a false impression that the consumer still owes the debt.  Worse yet, these late reportings drag the credit score down horribly.
3. Debt collectors and Debt Buyers continuing to report collection items without flagging them as “included in bankruptcy.” Again, these convey a false impression that a debt is still owed by the consumer and is not affected by the bankruptcy.  Worse yet is when the debt collector or debt buyer flags the account as “charged off” or “written off” because that is very damaging to a credit score.

We now file bankruptcies for consumers because we are one of the few attorneys that truly provide a true Financial Fresh Start

We have seen far more inaccurate information reported by lenders and creditors than one would expect.  Sadly, we have also seen a great deal of inaction by Bankruptcy attorneys to this issue.  What good is a discharge of your debts if you still cannot get a car, an apartment or credit?  Unfortunately, this is what many bankruptcy attorneys call a Financial Fresh Start.  We think differently.  Let us review your situation with you for free.  We are happy to have a free, no obligation consultation with you to see if you should file for bankruptcy, settle your debts or do nothing for the time being.  We truly want what’s best for you.

Get a true Financial Fresh start

If you do hire us to file a bankruptcy for you, you can be sure that we will give you a true financial fresh start.  We will review your credit reports at no additional charge, to make sure that they are accurate and complete.  We also have a free Auto Pilot program where we can obtain your credit reports every few months and make sure that they stay clean and accurate.

Call us today to see whether you should file for bankruptcy or not.

Call us today for a free, no obligation consultation at Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C. at (216) 358-0591.  You can also email us at Gary@crlam.com.  We are happy to review your situation with you and see what makes the most sense for you.  Call or email us today.

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A good piece of your credit score, 35% of it, is made up of timely made payments.  This means that every time you make an on time payment to a lender, your credit score goes up.  A lot of timely made payments can raise your credit score greatly.  Unfortunately, when someone files for bankruptcy, the mortgage lenders especially Wells Fargo and Bank of America, just don’t seem to know how to report payments made after bankruptcy, so they sometimes, they stop reporting payments.

We have seen cases against these mortgage lenders and others for failing to report timely made payments.  In fact, on the tradelines that they report to the credit bureaus, many of the banks will report the loans as closed which is improper, if not illegal.  People who desire to keep their homes during and after bankruptcy will continue to make their monthly mortgage payments as usual, but the banks will refuse to credit the payments to the balance owed and refuse to report the timely made payments.  This results in the tradeline balance being over stated and your credit score being illegally depressed.

How your unreported payments to the mortgage companies are hurting your credit…and you.

Under the law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, all lenders reporting information to the credit bureaus, must report accurate information.  If they are informed that something is not reporting properly, they are required to investigate your dispute and then update the reporting so that its accurate.  Bankruptcy does not change that requirement at all.

Every payment you make on your mortgage loan, either before or after you file for bankruptcy, must be reported to the credit bureau.  By failing to report timely made payments, your lender is reporting that you owe a much higher balance on your mortgage than you do and is denying you the benefit of timely made payments to FICO, the company that creates credit scores.  This can only hurt your ability to get jobs, cars, housing and other credit that you may need to live life.

What you need to know if you have ever filed bankruptcy while having a mortgage.

          Get a copy of your credit reports.  You can even get free copies from CreditKarma.com.  See if your lender reported all of your payments both before and after you filed for bankruptcy.  If your lender failed to report the payments after you have filed for bankruptcy, you need to send the credit bureau (not the lender directly), a letter explaining that you made payments on your mortgage loan even after you filed for bankruptcy.  Demand that the credit bureau inform the lender to update your tradeline by reporting all of the post bankruptcy payments and to reduce the outstanding balance accordingly.  Chances are…. they will not.

What you need to do next.

          Call us at Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C. at (216) 358-0591 or email us your credit reports at Gary@crlam.com.  Let us send the right letters to the credit bureaus for free.  If we can get them to post your payments, we are happy to do so for free.  If we have to file a lawsuit against your mortgage lender and the credit bureaus (we have filed and settled a lot of these kinds of lawsuits), it will still cost you nothing out of pocket.  Under the law, we can and do collect our fees and costs from the defendants in any successful action or settlement.

Lets get your credit score increased as soon as possible.  Call or email us today.

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Last year and 2020 were not great years for Webbank for its customers who had filed for bankruptcy.  Numerous lawsuits had been filed against Webbank for improperly reporting a discharged debt or a settled debt as open and late.

So who or what is “Webbank”

Webbank is the bank that finances companies like Fingerhut, Dell Computer,  Klarna, Lending Club, Onemain Financial, Paypal and other retailers and consumer lenders.  When you buy something on credit from one of these companies, its Webbank that is actually financing you.  They report to the credit bureaus and don’t exactly do a great job of it either.

Bankruptcy is the promise of a fresh start…usually

Bankruptcy is the promise of a fresh financial start to people who have been burdened with debts that they cannot satisfy.  As soon as someone files for bankruptcy, all that person’s creditors have to stop attempts to collect the debt.  Moreover, the creditors have to report the debt as included in bankruptcy.  Once that person receives a discharge of their debts in bankruptcy, they no longer owe money to the creditors that were listed in the bankruptcy case.  This is how one gets a fresh start.

Webbank has a different idea about bankruptcy…it clearly wants its money no matter what.

In 2021, Judi Keating filed a lawsuit against Webbank in the United States District Court for New Jersey for reporting a debt that she had discharged in her bankruptcy, as a charge off.  Webbank knew about the bankruptcy and discharge, but still reported her account as charge off instead of discharged in bankruptcy.  Charge offs are the kiss of death to credit scores.

Similarly, Andy Fraser filed a lawsuit against Webbank in the Norther District of Georgia in 2021, complaining of the same thing as Ms. Keating.  Namely that Webbank continued to report a debt as a charge off that was discharged in his bankruptcy.

Just to be sure that these are not “one offs” Melody Hamilton also filed a lawsuit against Webbank in 2021  in the Northern District of GA, complaining that it was reporting a debt as charged off that was included in her Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan.  Webbank was still getting paid under this plan so the debt was not charged off.

Webbank had notice of all three of these victims’ bankruptcies.  Webbank was also notified by all of these people that it was not reporting its tradeline correctly.  Even when notified of the bankruptcy and incorrect reporting, Webbank continued to improperly report these people with open debts that were late instead of reporting them as included or discharged in bankruptcy.

How this prevents people who have received bankruptcy discharges from getting their fresh financial start.

An account that is reported as late damages a credit score, greatly.  If the debt has been included and discharged in bankruptcy, it has a lesser effect on the credit score.  Moreover, the overall impression of a late account is far different to a potential lender than the impression of a debt that has been discharged in bankruptcy.  A late debt shows irresponsibility.  A discharged debt shows that the consumer addressed the debt and others, even if through bankruptcy.

What you should do if you have ever filed for bankruptcy and Webbank was a creditor of yours.

Very simply, call us.  We are happy to look at your credit reports for free and advise of what can be done with them to clean them up from errors and mistakes such as those that seem to be perpetuated by Webbank.  You don’t have to suffer in silence and hoping the account will correct itself is not strategy that will fix your credit report or get you monetary damages.  Call us at Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C. today for a free no obligation consultation at (216) 358-0591.  Or email us at Gary@crlam.com.

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According to a recent report, bankruptcies in Ohio are on the rise. This is notable because, in the past seven years, the number of bankruptcy cases filed in Ohio has declined. Experts blame long term, high-interest rate auto loans and medical debt for the higher bankruptcy rates. Whatever the case may be, with so many filings going on in Ohio, consumers should understand how bankruptcy affects their credit reports. Of course, bankruptcy almost always causes credit scores to drop. Also, bankruptcies stay on credit reports for seven (Chapter 13) or ten (Chapter 7) years. However, even though credit report damage due to bankruptcy is heavy and long-lasting, there are limits. For example, when it comes to discharged debt, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) contains strict rules.

FCRA Rules Concerning Debt Discharged by Bankruptcy in Ohio

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal statute that entitles Ohio consumers to accurate credit reports. In order for credit reports to be accurate after a bankruptcy discharge, creditors and credit reporting agencies (CRAs) must take care in how they report discharged debt. Credit report items related to discharged debt may remain on credit reports, but accounts must have zero balances. Creditors and CRAs must also report these accounts as “discharged” or “included in bankruptcy.”   To report otherwise causes further and unwarranted damage to one’s credit report.

Credit Reporting Agencies and creditors that report discharged debt in any other way violate the FCRA. For example, they may not report a bankruptcy discharged debt as:

• Charged Off
• Having a Balance Greater than Zero
• Late, Delinquent or Outstanding
• Currently Owed or Active
• Converted to a New Type of Debt

Sometimes, creditors try to make a debtor pay by willfully refusing to report debt as discharged on credit reports. Of course, this is unlawful under the FCRA, and lenders are often sued for engaging in this underhanded tactic.

How Misreported Discharged Debt Hurts Ohio Bankruptcy Filers

Yes, bankruptcies damage credit scores, but they also bring fresh starts to a lot of struggling Ohio consumers. Through bankruptcy, debts are either made more manageable or get wiped away. After discharge, bankruptcy filers can rebuild their credit scores over time. However, if discharged debts are misreported, recovering from bankruptcy is more difficult.

Bankruptcy filers with misreported discharged debt endure lower credit scores for longer periods of time. They may be unnecessarily denied credit or forced into paying off a debt they no longer owe as a condition for loan approval. This is why, if you have recently been discharged from bankruptcy, you must check your credit reports. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com, and request copies of your credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. After you have online access or physical copies of your reports, look them over carefully to verify that all bankruptcy discharged debt is reported properly.

The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit after Bankruptcy

The experienced attorneys at the Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C. can help you fix misreported discharged debt on your credit reports for FREE. We file lawsuits against the creditors and credit reporting bureaus responsible for violating the FCRA at your expense. In successful actions, these defendants are required to cover our costs and fees. This is how we are able to offer cost-free services to Ohio residents.

Don’t let errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At the Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C., we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? The law allows us to collect our fees and costs from the defendants in any successful action.  This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.

Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (216)358-0591 or sending him a message through our contact page.

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