Why are closed accounts still on my credit report?

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by ugalien, Sep 9, 2010.

  1. ugalien

    ugalien Member

    I have several (22) closed accounts on my credit report, but noticed that they most of them are still be reported on. Unfortunately, I don't remember the dates that I closed the accounts, but wanted to know Why the CC companies are still reporting on closed accounts and does this start the 7 years over each time they report?
     
  2. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    Just because an account is closed doesn't mean the creditor will stop reporting and it will immediately fall off your credit reports. Do the closed accounts have remaining balances? Are some of the closed accounts positive, with no late pays or other negatives?

    Also, the 7-year expiration date for negative marks on your credit report won't change just because a creditor is still reporting and perhaps charging additional interest and fees on remaining balances.
     
  3. ugalien

    ugalien Member

    No, the closed accounts do not have remaining balances. I paid them off first, then requested they be closed to force myself to stop relying on credit so much. So, there are no additional fees or interest to charge on these accounts.

    Some of the accounts are positive, but most have 1 - 5, 30 day late and some 60 day lates from when the accounts were active. The accounts were closed many years ago but I'm unsure if has been at least 7 because I didn't keep up with records back then, so I don't have any proof. Any thing I can do to verify the closing date? Only the date opened shows up on my credit report.

    I understand that closing an account will not automatically make it fall off your credit report, but I'm trying to find out the point that it does disappear and what purpose the credit card company is serving by continuing to report on accounts that are closed with no remaining balance.
     
  4. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    The lates should fall off on their own 7 years from the date of each occurrence. The closed negative accounts should fall off too after 7 years, but hopefully your closed positive accounts will stick around longer since they're technically still helping your credit scores. Also, you could probably verify when your accounts were closed by simply contacting the credit issuers.
     

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