Bankruptcy Filers Are About to Get a Second Chance at a Fresh Start

Relief could be coming to a credit report near you. That’s right. Credit-reporting agencies have been ordered to deal with discharged debt appropriately. The agencies have until tomorrow to get compliant. From the Wall Street Journal: Dealing With Debt That Refuses to DieA recent court order requires the three major credit-reporting bureaus — Experian Group Ltd., Equifax Inc. and TransUnion LLC — to clean up the credit files of millions of consumers who have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The problem: Old debts, which are typically forgiven by the courts in a bankruptcy filing, are still being reported as active on many consumers’ credit reports.The judge for the case, David O. Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, has given the bureaus until Oct. 1 to revamp their systems. Experian and TransUnion say they have already updated their credit files to be compliant with the court order, while Equifax declined to comment. TransUnion also sent notices to some customers saying they “may experience a slight change” to their credit scores if any of their accounts are updated because of a bankruptcy.Related Articles: What Happens to Your Benefits After Bankruptcy?One Man’s Struggle to Overcome Bankruptcy — and Reach FICO 800