My chapter 13 was discharged 08/02. Included in the BK were past due
mortgage payments prior to my filing, and these arrearages were paid at 100%
through the BK. All subsequent mortgage payments from the date of filing
were all paid on time. The lender (Bank of America) is reporting the loan as
being paid late every month since before the filing through the date of
discharge. There reasoning is that the arrearages were not paid in full
until the last BK payment was made and that my subsequent payments made on
time since the filing is of no concern to them. IOW, they will not remove
the record of late payments that they claim were late during the 5 years of
the BK plan. Are they in their legal right to do this? I ask the attorney
who handled the BK, but he didn't seem to know. Fact is, I am having a
difficult time finding anyone who does know the legalities of credit
reporting practices. Can anyone here address this issue or refer me to an
appropraite site?


bc

"Elliott Frank" <esfrank@nospam.hwy9.com> wrote in message
news:fgr4hv0661a9t7auu6sn3cqab0h9mqeuo2@4ax.com... On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 15:06:28 -0400, "bc" <bc@nospam.com> elucidated:My chapter 13 was discharged 08/02. Included in the BK were past duemortgage payments prior to my filing, and these arrearages were paid at
100%through the BK. All subsequent mortgage payments from the date of filingwere all paid on time. The lender (Bank of America) is reporting the loan
asbeing paid late every month since before the filing through the date ofdischarge. There reasoning is that the arrearages were not paid in fulluntil the last BK payment was made and that my subsequent payments made
ontime since the filing is of no concern to them. IOW, they will not removethe record of late payments that they claim were late during the 5 years
ofthe BK plan. Are they in their legal right to do this? I ask the attorneywho handled the BK, but he didn't seem to know. Fact is, I am having adifficult time finding anyone who does know the legalities of creditreporting practices. Can anyone here address this issue or refer me to anappropraite site? <disclaimer> IANAL </disclaimer> We went through a similar set of shenanigans. Your lender is probably violating the law, and they're operating on the basis that it would be too expensive for you to contest the matter if this is the only mischief in which they've engaged (there are no *actual* damages, only the tort that *some* future creditor *may* charge you more due to bad FICO, or turn you down....) Your attorney needs to refer you to someone who *does* know the answers. Lawyers who specialize in corporate reorganizations know stuff like this. You'll have to pay $$hourly to the genuine expert, and he may tell you that he would have to reopen the BK to address this matter. As our 'afterthefact' attorney ($$$$$) explained it, the Ch. 13 filing is the equivalent of a TRO, and the discharge is the equivalent of a permanent injunction. Elliott




Thanks for the reply. The BK has already been discharged, so the
"re-opening" may not be an option. That said, I am willing to spend whatever
it takes IF Bank Of America is indeed acting illegally with their reporting
practices. I make note that they are the only creditor out of many to report
in the manner I stated, so I would "assume" that they are acting illegally.
Not sure what you mean by "TRO".

Thanks again.

bc

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 10:00:51 -0400, "bc" <bc@nospam.com> elucidated:
"Elliott Frank" <esfrank@nospam.hwy9.com> wrote in messagenews:fgr4hv0661a9t7auu6sn3cqab0h9mqeuo2@4ax .com... Your lender is probably violating the law, and they're operating on the basis that it would be too expensive for you to contest the matter if this is the only mischief in which they've engaged (there are no *actual* damages, only the tort that *some* future creditor *may* charge you more due to bad FICO, or turn you down....) Your attorney needs to refer you to someone who *does* know the answers. Lawyers who specialize in corporate reorganizations know stuff like this. You'll have to pay $$hourly to the genuine expert, and he may tell you that he would have to reopen the BK to address this matter. As our 'afterthefact' attorney ($$$$$) explained it, the Ch. 13 filing is the equivalent of a TRO, and the discharge is the equivalent of a permanent injunction.Thanks for the reply. The BK has already been discharged, so the"re-opening" may not be an option. That said, I am willing to spend whateverit takes IF Bank Of America is indeed acting illegally with their reportingpractices. I make note that they are the only creditor out of many to reportin the manner I stated, so I would "assume" that they are acting illegally.Not sure what you mean by "TRO".
IANAL -- I learned the hard way.

"TRO" == Temporary Restraining Order. Your creditors are (temporarily)
restrained by the court from doing any collecting while the bk is
being handled by the court. When the bk is discharged, the creditors
named in the bk are PERMANENTLY enjoined from attempting to collect
beyond the amount awarded to them by the court. Attempting to collect
after the bk is final is a violation of the court order == contempt of
court (if you've got a savvy lawyer and there's enough at stake).

When BofA agreed to the bk, they accepted that all funds due to them
under the mortgage that were not collected prior to the petition date
would be satisfied before discharge -- they agreed that they would
have no claim for pre-petition debts beyond what the court awarded
them. If they wanted something other than what the court awarded them
when your petition was accepted, they needed to ask for their
preferred amount AT THAT TIME. If they charged late fees during the bk
because the loan was not current at the time of filing (i.e., they
considered that you were x months behind for the entire duration of
the bk, because x was the amount that you were behind when you filed),
that is a big no-no. Asking for money after your discharge date, where
the debt was incurred prior to your discharge date is a violation of
the discharge order.

Lots of lawyers who do bk are not as savvy as Brett, and don't
understand all of the nuances of bk law, much less the intersection of
bk and Fair Lending Practices and FRB regluations and banking "law"
-- we learned that the hard way. If your lawyer can't/won't/prefers
not to understand the problem, ask for a referral to someone who does.
And be prepared to pay for a few $$hours of their time so they can
review the facts and determine if you've got a case.