I've searched the threads but can find nothing regarding about how delinquent an account needs to be before it can legally be reported to the credit bureau as a Collection. I read somewhere that the account has to be delinquent more than 180 Days. Is this correct?
Collection Could you or anyone else expand on your answer. When is an account eligible to be reported to the credit bureau. Is it 10, 30, 60, 90 days ? Is this addressed in the FCRA? The article I read came from: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/creditreports/collections.shtml "A collection may only go on your credit report 180 days after the debt is owed, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act." If you have information to the contrary please share it. Thanks
I don't think that's the case at all. I've had an account (still open, mind you) go to a CA after 10 days.
The only requirement is that information must be accurate. I would have to say they mistakenly inserted "collection" on that page instead of "chargeoff". I will gladly admit to being wrong if someone can point out where it says that in the FCRA. An account not in default couldn't be reported as a collection, but if you are one day late, technically you are in default unless the contract specifies otherwise.
Most credit card companies report CC account status monthly. That generally includes credit limit, account balance, and most recent payment. If you are 30 days late, that would usually show up on the next month's tape, to be included in the payment history on your reports. The "180 days" mentioned in the FCRA is with respect to determining the period that a negative item can be reported. It can be reported for at most 7 years after 180 days after the first date of delinquency. It is common to "charge off" delinquent accounts at 180 days, recognizing for accounting purposes that the creditor is unlikely to be paid, and that the amount in question is not an asset, but should be considered a loss deductable from other income in determining profit. Although there may be some exceptions in fields such as banking, the decision to charge off an account could be made earlier, or possibly later, depending on the experience and judgement of the creditor. The limit appears to have been put in the law because some creditors were not officially "charging off" unpaid accounts, even after 180 days, in order to extend the 7 year reporting period. Congress placed a firm limit on reporting, tied to the original date of delinquency, to prevent this manipulation. They also required that the original date of delinquency be reported to the CRAs so that the CRAs could meet their legal requirement to remove old accounts from reports.
The problem here is the page the OP referenced specifically says "collection" with no mention of charge offs. As I said, I can only suspect the author of the misinformation meant one thing and typed another.
