How do I get items removed from my credit report if they are more than seven years old?

Answer 1

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the 7 year reporting period is no myth, it's a fact!
And reselling the account to another collection agency does not restart the 7 yr. reporting period; that's illegal!
If your accounts are more than 7 years old, just dispute it with each credit bureau; you can do this online for free. Just let them know the reporting period has expired.
The bureaus will investigate and make any corrections, if needed. They should also send you an updated report in the mail.
You need to read up on the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Answer 2

The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that any debt can be removed upon request of the consumer after seven years of total inactivity, whether good or bad credit. The fact that a debt, (bad), is sold to a collection agency and then to another and so on does not extend the seven years. In fact, in my State, if the creditor fails to sue you on the debt within four years all ability to collect the debt goes away. In this case it will still remain on your report for a total of seven years and longer, but upon you requesting that it be deleted, due to the fact that the statue of limitations has expired, per the State or Federal Law, the item must be removed from your report. Predatory collection agents can get into a lot of trouble if they report a debt after it has existed past the legal limits of collection, and all you have to do is write them a notice and send a copy of it to the appropriate Federal and State Agencies. Also, send a copy of these letters to the appropriate credit reporting agencies. You can also request that they delete any old accounts, even if they are positive, as they should not be used when scoring your credit score.

Answer 3

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've answered this question....and two dollars for every wrong answer on this question! I would be rich.

Come on, SCH! I know you have seem my answer to this, and you still have the guts to say "it's only a myth"??!!??

OK, once again...lets all open our books to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (see below)....where it clearly says negative items must be removed from your credit report after 7 years, beginning from the date of the delinquency. Failure to do so, or knowingly reporting the incorrect date, will result in a civil damages of $1000 (very easy to get through small claims court).

The trick is that you MUST know how the law works and you MUST follow a procedure involving writing some dispute letters, and demands for validation. If you do everything correctly, and the item is not removed from your report, you can easily file a lawsuit and collect $1000.

See the links below.

Answer 4

You can only ask to have them removed if there has been a time period of seven years from the last activity, and NOT from when the debt was incurred. You're not clear what you mean by 'more than seven years old'.

If a creditor sells your debt to a collection agency, your seven year love affair starts ALL over again.

Answer 5

After 7 years all items just fall off your credit report, you don't have to do anything.

Answer 6

Through credit repair. I had a similar situation and took care of it myself with a credit repair kit I learned of here on Yahoo Answers. I got it at www.creditrepair101site.com
It was less than $20 and helped to get my credit squared away.

Answer 7

Until the debt is settled it will haunt you because they will keep reporting it until you do...it is urban ledgend that it falls off after 7 years and then you no longer owe it...it just keeps getting assigned to different collections until you pay it. Your best bet is to settle the debt, but before you do I found this great website that gives good information about settling debts and negotiating with your creditors!

Good Luck

Answer 8

I had a friend with an identical situation. She had tried to get them removed unsuccessfully then I found a site with credit attorneys who did the job for her LEGALLY. It's worth a try: go to
http://www.1-800BadCredit.com and check what they say about credit. It worked for us - good luck!
The credit repair page is
http://www.1-800badcredit.com/bad-credit-repair.html

Answer 9

You need to get one of those long soft white erasors. They come in a little plastic thing that looks kind of like a pen, and you can move the erasor in and out. Those reddish/orange erasors they put on the back of pencils won't work. They just smudge. Get one of those soft white erasors, and it should do the trick.

Answer 10

You can edit your report online with equifax, transunion and experian. Go to their website and report the mis-information.