Revamped Bankruptcy Reporting by Credit Bureaus

My article on a recent federal court ruling requiring the credit bureaus to change the way they handle bankruptcy reporting was published in the February 2009 MSBA Bar Bulletin Newspaper.    The court order requires the credit bureaus to report bankruptcy accounts as discharged in bankruptcy with a zero balance.   Incorrectly reported accounts can negatively affect a person’s credit score.  If the negative account is not label as discharged, it appears as if the consumer still owes the debt, in addition to having a bankruptcy case showing up on the credit report.   The combination of the negative account and the bankruptcy case is a double hit to the consumer’s credit score.  You can read my article here:  http://tinyurl.com/cv4gwj.