Does something on your credit report "go away" after 7 years?

Question

A friend is telling me that debt will "go away" on your credit report after 7 years of not being paid. I can't see debt just disappearing. Is this true?

Answer 1

I agree with imjustasteph

I wanted to add:
Even though it falls off of your credit reports at 7 years from the obsolescence date it does not mean the collectors cannot continue to try and collect.
They cannot legally place it back on your reports after it has reached the obsolescence date.

If you (or your friend) are past the collecting SOL for your state, you have a legally right to not pay.
If you are past the collecting SOL you have a right to send them a SOL letter.
If you are past the collecting SOL and a collection agency sues, you have a right to claim affirmative defense of SOL and file a counter claim on them for filing on a time barred debt.

If you are past the collecting SOL or still within it and you want to pay, always request validation before paying. After it is properly validated request that they take a portion of the amount as payment in full. If they are reporting, request that they delete upon payment.

Never make a payment unless you have their signed agreement that it is considered payment in full and that they will delete.
Without that agreement, you may find another collector trying to collect on the remaining amount.

You might click on my profile and click on the link I have listed to learn the collecting SOL in your state.

Answer 2

No, your friend is completely wrong. First of all, your credit report is a history of payments on past loans, bills, etc that potential creditors can look at to determine if you're a good person to lend to. It isn't a place where debt is tracked, as your friend seems to think.

Lets say you make a late payment on a car loan (for instance). That late payment will show up on your credit history for 7 years. After 7 years, the record of that one late payment won't be on your credit report anymore.

Debt doesn't just disappear unless you declare bankruptcy.

She is either very poorly informed, or she has confused bankruptcy and credit reporting together somehow. I used to work in collections, so I had to know about tis stuff for work.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Unpaid debt NEVER disappears, not through time and not through a bankruptcy. Paying it is the only way that it will go away.

That said, an unpaid account with no activity at all on it will disappear after 7 years.

And to the bankruptcy comment I made, bankruptcy simply is a protection against collection efforts of any kind on the debt. It's still there, it is still on record with the bank, they just can't do anything about it.

Answer 4

Yes it does. You can check out clarkhoward.com for information on debt, etc.

It is illegal to put something on your credit report more than once; thus they cannot put it back after seven years, or six or three, BUT it does stay for seven.

PLEASE check out clarkhoward before believing that bull the other answerers are foisting on you. They must be debt collectors...

Answer 5

Just Try:

http://www.proloanz.com/

Answer 6

it quite is unlawful for credit reporting companies to maintain reporting maximum forms of adverse advice for over 7 years (financial ruin is authorized to be stated for as much as ten years) according to FCR Act § 605(c). So, the adverse advice could desire to be deleted, that's not the credit bureaus' determination and that's not as much as their own standards. in the event that they fail to get rid of such advice you are able to take them to courtroom and seek for harm in quantity of $one thousand according to each account that they did not get rid of.

Answer 7

the debt never goes away untill he pays it.

they could put a bad mark on his report today, and 6 years from today... that is say 12 years.... then they could put another....

it never goes away... settle the debt, pay your bills !

Answer 8

ECHO is correct once again.