Expert: Terry Leeders - 12/31/2007

Question
Hi,
I’ve asked a question similar to this, but was told my credit score should not be too negativly affected by a reaffirmed debt.

Here’s my problem:
I have a car loan that was reaffirmed through my bankrupcy. But it is being reported differently in each of the credit reporting agencies. I have never been late on a payment with this loan. There is actually a 130 point difference between my highest and lowest scores. For some reason, in the lowest score reporting agency, every time I check it it says there is a recent deragatory for that  month, it looks like each month it is re-reporting a bankrucy that should only show up once (if that’s how it works?) it is being reported as included in bankrupcy but also having a balance. In my highest score report just shows payment history with no mention of the bankrupcy, and in the other one which is about 20 points less says included in bankrupcy with 0 balance.

So I’m just not sure how this should actually be showing on my credit report. I contacted my car loan company and they said they will continue to report it as included in bankrupcy and also having a balance, they say they don’t have to report anything about my payment history. (By the way, they were not very nice about it either) So I’m not sure why this loan is continually making my credit score go down while I’m making on time payments, when other items that were in the bankrupcy are not.

Anyway, any help would be appreciated. I’m planning on buying a house in about 5 months but I’m worried about how this is showing on my credit. Should I just get rid of this car and get another car loan, or keep the car and get a new loan through another company?

Thank you for your time

Answer
Bankruptcy will stay on your credit for 10 years.  If something is being mis-reported on the credit report, you can contact the credit bureau directly to correct any inaccuracies.  As to how it will affect your ability to buy a home, you should talk to a mortgage broker to get the details.