Is it true that after seven years a debt will come off your credit report?

Question

I have a collector calling me on a debt from 2000. If I just wait until 2008 will they have to let the debt go?

Answer 1

You would think so, but let me tell you how it normally works.

Lets say you owe me money from back in 2000. Right before the 7 years is up I will sell it to another collector, and guess what....the 7 years starts all over again. Then once that 7 years is almost up they will either sell it back or to someone else.

Have you ever disputed the charge? If yes then once they found that you still owed that money the 7 years starts all over again as well. The best thing to do is to pay it, even if it is 50 dollars a month. At least they will report it to the credit bureaus that you are paying it.

Answer 2

It is true that credit bureau can only report items that are under 7 years old. They will have to remove any derogatory credit lines after 7 years, however, you will still owe that money. But as most lenders look to the bureaus to determine if you are a good candidate to lend money to, if it doesn't show, then future lenders will not know that you owe it. The 7 years starts from the date that it was first delinquent, so make sure it will drop off, if you paid anything to the collector at any point, then it will bring that 7 years date to current and start the count all over again from that date that you paid. So having a conscience may hurt you, be careful what you pay to collectors, you might be better off letting it just fall off!! Good luck.

Answer 3

To answer your original question yes, the maximum it can be reported is seven years from the date of last activity. Your second question is no. Your credit report is just that, a report. It is not a statutue of limitations. You shoudl check with your attorney general's office or state's dept of consumer affairs to what the statute is and if they can legally collect on a seven year old debt.

Answer 4

Yes it does come off your credit report. But it doesnt mean that creditors have to back off from collecting the amount owed.

Statutes are different in each state.

But...if it is a judgment than it is for 10 years because the creditor will file and "abstract". In some states the abstract can be renewed twice so that makes it 20 years and in other states like in CA it can be renewed over and over again.

Good Luck.

Answer 5

FRESH MEAT!!!!!

smile4cobra, both Echo and I have tried to keep this issue clarified here on Yahoo Answers......when discussing the credit reporting period and the Statute of Limitations, this is two completely different things. So you need to please be clear which you are referring to.

In your case, referring to Judgments is an SOL issue, and it does vary from state to state. Here in Michigan, for example, the SOL on judgments is 10 years, but can be renewed as many times as you like. Therefore a judgment can be indefinate. Other states limits the number of renewals, while some don't allow them at all. But this Questioner is not asking about SOL's, he is asking about credit reporting time period.

A topic slim69shady2002 obviously does not have a clue about.

OK, one more reminder to you Yahoo members.....you need to be careful believing any answer here. If you don't see a source for their information, consider it suspect.

Many times, advice given here can do more harm then good! This is just one example. Coming from someone who claims to be a professional collection agent it's amazing!

The very first thing they teach you in collector school is the Fair Debt Collections Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

So, Slim....kindly open your textbook to Section 605. Since you probably didn't get this book I posted page in question below......

Seems quite clear to me, doesn't it? Seven years, beginning from "the date of the commencement of the delinquency".

Let me look again....nope! Nothing about when it's sold to another collection agent.

Trust me, I am a professional collection agent killer. I have helped countless people go after creditors for this very thing. I just haven't reached you yet, I guess. This is one of the easiest lawsuits to prove, and for $1000 per violation it makes it quite profitable for the consumer.

But hey! I'm not a lawyer so I could be wrong......so how about doing what Echo suggested? Please post a source of your information. If you are right I will be more then happy to apologize, and will give your future answers here the utmost respect you deserve.

Otherwise, please quit posting harmful answers here. I only have a certain amount of time available, and I hate wasting it correcting dumb answers.

EDITED:

Slim....ok....let me see if I have this right. You see the law....you agree what the law says....but you still insist Echo is wrong? We "hide behind the book"? We don't live in the real world?

In the world I live in, I know the law. If a debt is on my report more then 7 years, I file a simple lawsuit and collect my $1000. It's like winning the lottery!

But in your world, people do not understand the law. They don't know their rights. They let collection agents walk all over them. They don't know where to go for answers.

Come into the light, Slim! Join my world. Instead of feeding nonsense to the people on Yahoo searching answers, tell them the truth and offer help. Your answer does neither, and is a waste of bandwidth.

Like I have stated many times in previous answers....the reason collection agents get away with what they are doing is because consumers are ignorant of the law! Once they understand their rights, and know how to correctly deal with CA's, it will change. But answers like yours are an absolute joke! It just makes it worse when you claim to be an expert.

I speak from experience. I've filed my own lawsuits againsts CA's (won $1200) and have helped a lot of people do it. I know the law. If you have any questions email me.

Answer 6

Hmmm, I wonder how often the "so called expert" has to shell out $1000.00 from the violations he claims he commits.

An account cannot legally be re-aged, as he states. If it is, you would have a legal right to sue the collection agency for up to $1000.

By law, if the phone call is the first communication from the collection agency, the collection agency MUST send you something concerning the debt in writing within 5 days after the "first" telephone contact.

As another poster stated, just because it will be falling off your reports soon does not mean that it has passed the collecting SOL for your state.

You might click on my profile and go to the link I have listed to check the collecting SOL for your state.
I don't know what kind of account you have, credit cards are open accounts, bank loans are written, auto repo's fall under the UCC with a 4 year SOL and utilities generally fall under the UCC.

If you are past the collecting SOL for your state, you are not legally responsible to pay. You would also have a legal right to send the collector a SOL letter telling them the account has passed the collecting SOL for your state.and no longer legally collectible.

You might also check out some of the other links I have listed in my profile - to the FDCPA, FCRA, etc.



Hey slim - show me where in the FCRA it says that the reporting period for a debt can be re-aged simply by one collection agency selling it to another

Are you up to the challange????

But wait - you can't show me where it is in the FCRA, since it isn't !!!!!!!!

As far as funny - it does seem funny (or is it just sad) that someone who isn't in the collecting business knows more about the FCRA than someone who is in the collecting business

Yes, an underwriter may be able to see an account that had fallen off - if they pull a full factual. Which in most cases, they don't.

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slim - why don't you ask NCO about it, since they had to pay $1.5 million to settle the FTC charges for violating Section 623(a)(5) of the FCRA

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Even though your last edit was for Studly -

Nobody is saying that there aren't collectors illegally reporting 20 year old money debts on peoples reports - those violations, YES violations, happen quite often.

Yes, I live in the "real" world and know it happens - I also realize, unlike you, that it is a violation to reage an account and continue to report it or report it as new.

Some people aren't even aware that the account had been illegally reaged and placed back on their reports since they don't check their reports.

Some people are aware the accounts are there but don't know it's a violation or their rights concerning that violation.

Then there are the people who are aware of the violations and do know their rights - those kind of people are growing in numbers on a daily basis no matter how hard people like you try to keep them in the dark.
These people don't "hide" behind the FCRA - they use it.

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You say:
[quote]
I see it happen everyday and you are reading it from the book.
[/quote]

Sure I read the FCRA, the FDCPA, other FTC material, states statutes, etc., etc., etc.
Those who are involved in credit (or who answer a question about credit) should, in the very least, read the FTC material.

But don't think for a second that I am "hiding" behind the FCRA, or just "reading" from it, without seeing reaging or other violations happen in "real life".
I also see it happen every day to many, many people.

That's one major reason why I spend my time not only posting on here trying to help others, but also in my constant and seemingly never ending quest for learning. A person can read laws, statutes, case law, etc. every day of their life and still barely seem to scratch the surface.

Do I consider myself an expert in credit laws - no. Very few people are (in my opinion).
But I am, by no means, a newbie in knowing and understanding credit laws.
If it is pointed out "and proven" that I am wrong in something I say, I make every attempt to learn from that - as it should be for all.

As for the OP paying, I don't agree that the OP should blindly pay.
If the OP is past the collecting SOL in her/his state, the OP has no legal obligation to pay.

The account is old enough that she/he may very well be out of the legal collecting SOL.
The account is old enough that it is probably not even with a collection agency but with a junk debt buyer who purchased it for literally pennies and stands to make an "extremely" tidy profit if the debtor pays half, or even a quarter or less, of the total amount.

While the collection agency/JDB can continue to harrass the OP, being past the collecting SOL legally bars them from suing.

As for the continual harrassment, that can be solved by sending a SOL letter notifying the collection agency/JDB that the debt had passed the legal time limit to collect in that state. A well written SOL letter could effectively bind their hands in ever trying to collect on the debt - or suffer the consequences if they continue.

If the collection agency/JDB violates, that's where the FCRA and FDCPA come in - when the OP sues the collection agency/JDB for any violations they may commit. (and that includes violations in reporting)

With that being said - no, I'm not an advocate of someone charging up accounts and then claim they have no intention of actually paying. In my book, those people are on their own.

Anyway, I probably wouldn't have even said anything if you had included 5 little words in with your "reaging happens"
Those 5 words would be - "even though it is illegal".

Answer 7

Depends what it is. Tax liens and student loans stay on your credit forever or until they are satisfied. Bankrupcies - 10 years. Judgements - 8 years. everything else - 7 years.
Good luck!

Answer 8

TransUnion, at least, gives the exact month and year when each item will come off.

Answer 9

its suppose too fall off after 7 years but the creditor can reattach it

Answer 10

This question is almost impossible to answer due to laws in various places.

Once you owe a legitimate debt, you owe it. It never gets "unowed" unless it is paid or recused.