Theorhetically they should, but they don't. When Bank One (FirstUSA) took over the Chevy Chase Accounts, my account morphed from one Chevy Chase tradeline into 4 separate tradelines. They changed the account number so I have a Chevy Chase tradeline with the old account number and one with the new one, and FirstUSA tradelines with both the old and new numbers. Dispute it with the CRA as a duplicate and ask that the old account be shown as closed with the notation "Account Transferred or Sold."