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Credit Advice
Topics addressed on August 15, 2012:
Discharged bankruptcy will still affect credit scores
Dear Experian,
Once a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is discharged, will it still affect my credit score?
- ADZ
Dear ADZ,
Yes. A chapter 7 bankruptcy filing appears on your report for 10 years from the date filed. As long as the bankruptcy appears on your credit report it will have an impact on your credit scores.
Once discharged, the public record item showing you filed will be updated to show discharged, and any accounts that were included in the bankruptcy are updated to show they were discharged and the balance owed is now zero.
Although you will no longer be responsible for paying those balances, the history of the accounts will remain, including any late payments made on the account. If paid on time prior to the bankruptcy, the accounts themselves will remain on file for seven years from the filing date of your bankruptcy.
The good news is that as time goes by and you begin to reestablish your credit, the bankruptcy notations will begin to affect you less and less until they are purged automatically from the report.
Thanks for asking.
- The "Ask Experian" team