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| Reporting Periods For Credit Information |
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It is important to know that there are established cycling-off periods for all credit
notations (negative and positive) because a credit report is considered to be a complete
history of a person's handling of credit. As a history, a credit report retains
accurate information about every account an individual has with credit grantors who
report to the bureau maintaining the file. (Not all credit grantors report to all,
or even any, credit bureaus.) That information includes current status (e.g., paid,
charged-off, etc.) and the history of payments made to the account (whether on-time
or delinquent).
Here's a list of the most common types of negative information that appear on credit
reports, how long each remains on a credit report, and from what point the time is measured.
Delinquencies (payments made 30 to 180 days late): seven years from the date of the
missed payment.
Collection accounts (turned over to a collection agency by the credit grantor):
seven years from the date of the initial missed payment that led to the collection.
If you later pay the account in full, it will be marked "paid collection" on your
credit report.
Note: Recent amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act require credit grantors
to report the date of original delinquency to the credit bureaus, and the date
appears with the account and with any associated collection accounts. Thus, that
original delinquency date sticks with the account even if it is reassigned to new
collectors, and the information ages off your credit report after seven years no
matter how many collectors handle it. In addition, once the account information
has aged off your report, it should not be reported again, even if a new collection
agency takes it up
Charge-offs (accounts written off as a loss by the credit grantor): seven years from
the date of the initial missed payment that led to the charge-off.
Closed accounts (no longer available for further use, whether closed by you or the lender):
-- with a zero balance: seven years from the date they are reported closed.
-- with a balance: seven years after you make your final payment.
Lost credit cards (accounts closed by the credit grantor in response to a lost card, which are
usually replaced by a new account):
-- with no history of delinquencies: two years from the date the card was reported lost.
-- with a history of delinquencies: seven years from the delinquency.
Bankruptcies:
-- Chapters 7, 11 and 12: ten years from the filing date.
-- Chapter 13: seven years from the filing date.
Accounts included in a bankruptcy remain on your report seven years from the date
they were reported as included in the bankruptcy, even if the bankruptcy is dismissed or satisfied.
Monetary Judgments (child support judgments, civil and small claim judgments): seven years
from the date the judgment is filed.
Tax Liens (city, county, state and federal): seven years from the filing date of the lien.
All of these items are automatically removed from your credit file when the reporting
period ends. You don't have to do anything or contact anyone--it simply "ages off" the
report. You might want to check your credit report a few months after a particular item
was to be removed just to be sure it really has been (sometimes with older accounts the
original date of delinquency has not been reported to the bureau). If you find that it
is still there, you can dispute it as outdated information through the credit bureau.
Click here obtain instructions for disputing
inaccuracies on your credit report.
Copyright © 2000, CreditMatters.com
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