well got my bankruptcy discharge through....

apples24

edited edited

Mike_St_Helens

apples24 wrote:

got a letter this morning saying im discharged as of 5th january, so what do i do now to try and rebuild the mess i created for a credit file?

will it already be on my credit file that im discharged?

someone told me to try apply for a vanquis credit card?

although that sounds daft i suppose the only way to rebuild is to actually obtain credit, but how do i do it?

Congrats !! How long has it taken to come through ?

Here is a great forum for post bankruptcy people and has some really good practical advice on what to do now...

http://www.debtquestions.co.uk/debt_forum/viewforum.php?f=15

apples24

i
edited edited

Toto

Congratulations, now you can look forward and move on. I really don't know much about credit files after BR so can't help there, but if it were me I would avoid applying for any credit card, but then I am still in the anti credit at any cost phase.

I guess I would ask what it is you want to do with a better credit file and would getting a card now help towards that? is it to get a mortgage? Because to be honest I think that you will get a mortgage but you will pay a much higher % interest rate for it. I think time is the best healer, the longer ago the BR happened the better it is for you, also giving yourself a 5 or 6 year goal to restructure your finances, try to save some money for a decent deposit (I am assuming this is why you want to repair the file, it's usually the reason, apologies if I am talking nonsense).

I actually couldn't care less what my file says about me, it's a bunch of letters and numbers and has no actual bearing on my day to day life anymore. Yes it is pretty scary reading but in a strange way I kind of like it like that, when I do look at my file it reminds me of how easy it was for me to get into a mess and how I never want to go back there again, it's my battle scar.

My advice would be to just wait a while before you leap into applying for anything. But, congratulations again it feels great to be free doesn't it.

less2303

As soon as you are discharged from bankruptcy it is wise to make sure that your Credit Reference Files are showing the correct data.

First step is to get copies of all three CRFs from the CRAs, which are:

Experian Ltd
https://www.experian.co.uk

Equifax Plc
https://www.equifax.co.uk

Callcredit plc
https://www.callcredit.plc.uk

You should send the request for your file, enclosing £2.00 and your address(es) for the last six years.

Once you have your files, you may find that your discharge from bankruptcy is not showing. The first thing then, is to inform the CRA that you were discharged from bankruptcy on such and such date and you will need to send proof of your discharge.

On looking through your file, you will or should see, defaults against your former debts. These defaults should be no later than the date of your Bankruptcy Order. This is important! Your BO will fall off automatically on the 6th anniversary.

Where there are defaults registered after the date of your BO, they will stay on later than your BO, which of course is wrong. You will then need to ask the lenders to update their data. Not only that but they must also mark their entries as either "Settled" or "Satisfied".

If there is wrong data on your CRF, you should inform the CRA. They will probably tell you that it is your responsibility to contact the former creditor. You should do that anyway but it is also the responsibility of the CRA to make sure the data they hold is accurate. You could demand that the CRA asks the former lender to update their data and if the lender does not respond in 28 days then the CRA should remove the erroneous data.

Mike_St_Helens

This was the thread that was hijacked last week.. but with mANY a deleted post.

Lets hope this one progresses to the positive nature of our threads.