Credit Monitoring after Bankruptcy

Reviewing your credit after filing bankruptcy is an important step toward improving your credit rating. Here's why periodic credit monitoring can help with rebuilding your credit:

Verify the Accuracy of Account Information How creditors report the disposition of accounts liquidated or otherwise handled under jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court can affect your credit score. Check to see that accounts with balances liquidated through bankruptcy have been closed. If such accounts are shown as active, they'll appear as delinquent. This leaves unresolved information on your credit reports and the derogatory history won't drop off as soon as it should.

Establish a Starting Point for Credit Repair Credit reports typically contain information for the most recent ten years of credit activity. Although filing bankruptcy can dramatically lower your credit score, it also resolves unmanageable debt. If you have accounts that aren't part of your bankruptcy, you'll want to verify that account activity is accurately reported as well.

Credit Monitoring Documents Your Progress Repairing credit takes time and patience. Your credit report should eventually show proof of your hard work and determination. Although the first few years after filing bankruptcy can pose serious challenges, you'll notice that as you maintain a good payment record, it will become easier to qualify for credit.

Avoid identity theft and fraud: Although it may not seem likely that your identity would be stolen after filing bankruptcy, it remains possible. Guarding against events that can further compromise your credit is important for repairing your credit; check your free annual credit report to make sure no one has opened up accounts in your name.

If you have reason to suspect identity theft or fraud, immediately advise financial institutions and credit card companies. You can also place fraud alerts on your accounts that prohibit opening or increasing credit in your name. Restoring credit after fraud or identity theft occurs can take a long time; it's worthwhile to protect your credit while you work to restore it.

The aftermath of filing bankruptcy can be stressful and challenging, but it's important to remember that bankruptcy can be a tool for getting back on track to financial security. Credit monitoring can help you achieve your goal of rebuilding your credit.

Sources :

• Annual Credit Report
• My FICO: How Can I Minimize the Negative Effects of a Bankruptcy?

About the Author:
Karen Lawson started writing stories about birds and surfing at an early age. For more than ten years, she enjoyed a productive corporate career in mortgage banking before moving to Reno, Nevada in 1997. Karen earned BA and MA degrees in English (specializing in writing) at the University of Nevada. Significant areas of research and writing include truth and ethics in creative nonfiction, medical humanities, and the symbolism and lore of birds in American literature and culture. Karen has taught English at a community college, is writing a collection of poetry, and enjoys birdwatching and walking her basset hounds.