Restoring your credit scores after filing for bankruptcy

Restoring your credit scores after filing for bankruptcy,0,4706879.column?track=rss&

Restoring your credit scores after filing for bankruptcy

The right steps to improve scores include a mix of credit and paying bills on time. But there's no way to quickly restore FICO scores to their old levels after a bankruptcy.

  • By Liz Weston

It's not clear that the scores you're seeing are FICO scores, however. A bankruptcy would have dropped your FICOs into the 500s, and it's unlikely they would return to the high 600s in less than a year. What you may be seeing are VantageScores, which have a different score range: 500 to 990, compared with FICO's 300 to 850.

If you want to see your FICO scores, which are the ones most lenders use, you can buy them for about $20 each Scores offered at other sites typically aren't FICO scores but may be VantageScores or "consumer education scores" that aren't widely used by lenders.
You're doing the right things by using a mix of credit (credit cards and an installment loan) and paying your bills on time. You should know, though, that there's no way to quickly restore your scores to their old levels. It typically takes seven to 10 years for FICOs to recover from a bankruptcy.
But let's back up a minute. You almost certainly made a mistake by charging your medical care to a credit card. You may have been able to qualify for a discount on your care if you hadn't. Many medical providers offer charity programs that cut or eliminate the bill for people making up to 400% of the federal poverty line. A single person could make up to $44,680 and still qualify for a break under many providers' programs.
If you make too much to qualify for financial aid, you could still have negotiated a discount by asking the provider to charge you the same rate that its largest insurer pays. The uninsured are often charged a much higher "sticker price" for medical care than what insurers pay, but if asked, many providers are willing to provide the same discounts.

Questions may be sent to 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604 or via Distributed by No More Red Inc.,0,4706879.column?track=rss&

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