California attorney Jeff D. Hoffman can show you how filing a petition under the bankruptcy code can be the first step in re-establishing your credit.
It is true that a bankruptcy stays on your credit report for seven to ten years. But other negative information, such as missed or late payments, stays on your credit report for seven years, and if you don't do something to change your situation, your credit report just keeps getting worse. A Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy provides a cut-off point for a fresh start.
Your first priority is to get your finances under control. The Law Office of Jeff D. Hoffman can help you work out the best strategy for you and your family. You don't have to be controlled by what creditors demand, or what you think will look good on you credit report.
Once your finances are stabilized, under the terms of your bankruptcy plan, you can re-establish credit! We will show you how you can begin to rebuild your credit shortly after fling your petition. Many people find that, after acquiring a secured credit card and only charging amounts that they are able to pay off in full each month, they start receiving offers from other credit card companies with better terms within three to six months.
Within one or two years after a bankruptcy, many people have good credit again. You can learn to control your finances and avoid using credit improperly.
You also have certain legal rights to know what's in your credit report. Under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and related laws, you have the right to:
- Obtain a free credit report once per year from a credit bureau of what's in your credit file.
- Know who has inquired into your credit file – stores, banks, employers, others.
- Request re-verification by the credit bureau if information is incorrect.
- Get missing data added to your file.
- Have detrimental credit information removed from your file after seven years and have the record of the bankruptcy removed after 10 years.
- Put your side of the story in you credit file. You are allowed up to 100 words telling your side of what happened to cause your financial hardship.
- Obtain for free the credit report that was used for the basis of denying you credit.
