10. If I declare bankruptcy, will my credit data held by a CRA be deleted from its database? What if I do not declare bankruptcy but have entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA, a debt repayment scheme recognized by the court) with my creditors?
Your declaration of bankruptcy is made available in official public records (you may go to the topic of bankruptcy and winding-up for more information). A CRA may collect this type of information from public sources for credit reporting purposes. The Code provides that public record data relating to a declaration of bankruptcy may be retained for a period of 8 years from the relevant declaration of bankruptcy.
Concerning an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (in which the debtor does not declare bankruptcy), the CRA may collect such public record data and retain the data for a period of 7 years from the date of the IVA. If you strictly comply with the repayment proposal as agreed in the IVA, the relevant account repayment data will be deleted from the CRA's record upon the expiry of a period of 5 years from the date of the final settlement of the debt.
You should note that, despite the fact that your credit provider might have written off your defaulted accounts pursuant to your bankruptcy, the CRA could continue to retain the account repayment data relating to your defaulted accounts so long as you have not settled the amount in default. It is incumbent upon you to provide evidence of your discharge from bankruptcy (either a certificate of discharge issued by the Court of First Instance of the High Court, or a written notice from the Official Receiver) to the CRA. If you can provide such evidence, the CRA will delete such account repayment data upon the expiry of a period of 5 years from the date of your discharge.
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