I am confused as to how long negative information can stay on your report. I have no charge offs or collections, only late payments from a period of time when I was having some problems financially. Do late pyaments stay on the report from the time of the original delinquency or does this only apply to charge offs? Or does each individual late payment stay on for seven ears from the date it occurred? For example, if I was late in 1993 and in 1996, would both late payments fall off in 2000 or would the 1993 late fall off in 2000 and the 1995 fall off in 2003? Another suggesntion that I have seen on some of these sites is to call an individual creditor and simply ask them to help you by removing the information. This information suggests that you can sometimes convince somebody to take negative information off of your report if you have good reason for being late (or whatever) and have otherwise been a good customer. Has anybody tried this and with what creidtors? I have tried this, and it simply hasn't worked...the response I get is "that would be illegal" or I would lose my job" or "we just can't remove it unless its incorrect, that is our policy."
Kinda long but informative, hope this helps. You know the FTC has great opinion letters from people just like you who want to know how the rule works. Heres a bit from our site: Reporting time for items on your credit reports. When a debt becomes seriously delinquent it is important to consider the time limitations for that period. The FCRA has been around since the 1970's but the provisions were amended in September 1997. Therefore it is important to take into to consideration if your debt was charged off before 1996 or after. This page is very important because so many people are confused on how long an item can remain. Even the Credit bureaus have different ideas as to what can stay and for how long. Here is how it works. Good credit stays for 10 years and then it is aged off but can stay longer. Collection accounts and charge offs remain for 7 years from first serious delinquency or charge off date NOT the last date of activity. Paying an old debt does NOT reset the clock for another 7 years. Judgments are to remain for 7 years from filing or until the governing statute expires, which ever is longer. So if your statute in California is 12 years, it can sit on your credit for 12 years and it is renewable. Tax liens: Those remain for 7 years from date satisfied not filed and can remain forever if they go unpaid, however they become legally uncollectable after 10 years if no payments, offer and compromises or the like have been made. Even though it expires for collection, it can still remain on your report. Here is an opinion from the FTC on this exact issue and should really clear up any concerns about re-aging debts or a payment extending the reporting time. TIME LIMITS 1. What reporting limits does the FCRA provide with respect to chargeoffs, and how long have they been in effect? Section 605(a)(4), which has been in effect since the FCRA became effective in April 1971, has always prohibited CRAs from reporting chargeoffs that are more than seven years old.(1) Section 623(a)(5), which became law in September 1997, requires a creditor that reports a chargeoff to a CRA to notify the agency (within 90 days of reporting the account) of "the month and year of the commencement of the delinquency that immediately preceded" the chargeoff. Section 605(c)(1) provides that the seven year period begins 180 days from that date. Both provisions were part of the major revision to the FCRA that were enacted in 1996.(2) 2. Is the reporting period extended if (A) the original creditor sells or transfers the account to another creditor, (B) the consumer responds to post-chargeoff collection efforts by making a payment on the debt, or (C) the consumer disputes the account with a CRA? Does it matter whether the 7-year period has expired when any of these events occurs? No. In enacting the new provisions discussed above, Congress intended to establish a date certain -- 180 days after the start of the delinquency that led to the chargeoff -- to begin the obsolescence period. It did so to correct the often lengthy extension of the period that resulted from later events under the original FCRA. Enclosed are two staff opinion letters (Kosmerl, 06/04/99; Johnson, 08/31/98) that discuss the impact of these provisions, and the legislative history relating to their enactment, in more detail. Because the commencement of the seven year period is now described with some precision by the statute, it is our opinion that none of the subsequent events you listed -- sale of the charged off account by the creditor, or a payment on or dispute about the account by the consumer -- changes the allowable period for a CRA to report a chargeoff. 3. Since Sections 623(a)(5) and 605(c)(1) provide new rules for calculating the 7-year period that became effective in 1997, do chargeoff accounts now have different obsolescence periods depending on when the chargeoff occurred? Yes. Section 605(c)(2) states that the section "shall apply only to items of information added to the (CRA) file of a consumer on or after" 455 days after enactment, or December 29, 1997. Therefore, a chargeoff reported to a CRA on or after that date is subject to the new commencement-of-the-delinquency method of calculating the obsolescence period set forth in Sections 623(a)(5) and 605(c)(1). On the other hand, a chargeoff reported to a CRA before December 29, 1997, is not covered by the new provisions, as discussed in one of the enclosed letters (Kosmerl, 06/04/99). If a credit account was reported as a chargeoff before that date, the Commission's view has been that it can be reported for seven years from the date the creditor actually charged it off.(3) Another example This responds to your request for our views concerning the calculation of the period for which a consumer reporting agency ("CRA") is permitted to report accounts that have been charged off or placed for collection, under the amended Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"). Section 623(a)(5) requires a party that "furnishes information to a (CRA) regarding a delinquent account being placed for collection, charged to profit or loss, or subject to any similar action" to notify the agency (within 90 days of reporting the account) of "the month and year of the commencement of the delinquency that immediately preceded" the creditor's action. Section 605(a)(4) provides that the CRA may report the information for seven years, in most cases.(1) Section 605(c)(1) provides that the seven year period begins 180 days from the "commencement of the delinquency" date. Section 605(c)(2) provides that the section applies "only to items of information added to the file of a consumer on or after the date that is 455 days after the date of enactment of the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act ." Specifically, you ask (1) how the date is determined if there are multiple obsolescence dates where "you have several delinquencies preceding a collection or charge off (8/91 60+, 9/91 60+, 10/91 30+, 11/91 account closed by creditor)" and (2) if "adverse information listed on a report prior to 9/30/97 is exempt from" the procedure set forth in Section 605(c)(1) . 1. As explained in the enclosed letter (Johnson, 8/31/98), it was Congress' intent in enacting Sections 605(c)(1) and 623(a)(5) to establish a single date -- the start of the delinquency -- to begin the obsolescence period on these accounts. This avoids the "multiple date" problem that arguably existed prior to the 1996 amendments. In the case you described, the date of the "commencement of the delinquency" that led to the creditor's chargeoff or collection action would be July 1991 or earlier (depending on how long the account was continuously delinquent before that). The seven year period would start no later than January 1992 (180 days later), with the result that the chargeoff or collection could no longer be reported in most cases beyond January 1999. 2. Section 605(c)(2) states that the section "shall apply only to items of information added to the (CRA) file of a consumer on or after" 455 days after the enactment of those amendments, or December 29, 1997.(2) We read this language to mean that a CRA is not required to use the commencement-of-delinquency date mandated by Section 605(c)(1) on an account where the chargeoff or collection ("item of information") was first reported to the CRA ("added to the ... file") prior to that date. Thus, adverse information such as collections or chargeoffs reported before December 29, 1997, are not subject to the new "commencement of the delinquency" provision M.C.C.L. wrote: ------------------------------- I am confused as to how long negative information can stay on your report. I have no charge offs or collections, only late payments from a period of time when I was having some problems financially. Do late pyaments stay on the report from the time of the original delinquency or does this only apply to charge offs? Or does each individual late payment stay on for seven ears from the date it occurred? For example, if I was late in 1993 and in 1996, would both late payments fall off in 2000 or would the 1993 late fall off in 2000 and the 1995 fall off in 2003? Another suggesntion that I have seen on some of these sites is to call an individual creditor and simply ask them to help you by removing the information. This information suggests that you can sometimes convince somebody to take negative information off of your report if you have good reason for being late (or whatever) and have otherwise been a good customer. Has anybody tried this and with what creidtors? I have tried th....
