Expert: David - 2/21/2009

Question
I filed bankruptcy in 2003 in the state of Washington and  was discharged the same year. One of the creditors was Capital One with two cards. They offered to let me keep one of the cards and reduce the debt in half.  I took the offer because I knew I was facing a hardship since the bankruptcy was due to my husband's long term bout with cancer.  Last week I tried to open another bank account and was denied because my credit report showed unpaid bankruptcy. I checked my report and Capital One has been reporting the "unpaid bankruptcy" every month with a note of "account closed". I called them and they said they have the right to report this for 7-10 years.  I can understand this happening first time around but every month for 6 years? And even after it's been discharged?  Two days ago I received a letter saying they're raising my interest rate 10
percent due to economic conditions.  Bad news so paid off the credit card balance but what about their reporting tactics?
Can they still do that after a discharged bankruptcy?

Answer
LaVeta,

It is true that the account will appear showing the BK for 10 years.  Your best bet is to try to have the negative info removed from your report altogether.  Visit www.financialscoringsolutions.com or give me a call and I'll explain the process.

P.S. A tip I give all my clients...Don't do business with Capital One if you can avoid it.  They hold your credit score down and use devious reporting and billing practices.

David McArthur
219-718-8566