Do collection accounts age off your credit report after 7 years?
So I have debt from store lines of credit to a bank credit card. I haven't paid on them since at LATEST December 2007. Chase, citi financial (store line of credit) and Sears line of credit all have it showing closed but I am getting reporting from some debt collector companies.
I live in Arizona and just ordered my actual credit report today. I viewed the information online through a credit score tracking website. I read a lot of comments and researched online somethings. My questions are can any of them take me to court still because from what I read some debts are 3 years and some are 6 here in Arizona, I am not sure what they fall under, also at 7 years they have to stop reporting to my credit so I am told. Does this mean that it will show the old reports but they cant continue to report and since the original lenders have the accounts closed can the debt collector who purchased the debt also show up as a closed account or do they just disappear forever?
Any information to better understand when or if this will ever not be an issue for me would be helpful, as these debts were ran up by my ex and are thousands of dollars I cant and haven't been able to afford to even attempt to fix.
Do collection accounts get removed from my credit reports after 7 years?
—Jennifer
Original lenders and creditors show payment default on your credit reports for up to 7 years from when you stopped paying on the account.
When you first miss payments to a creditor or lender, you will see late pays show up in 30 day blocks of time on your credit report. If the accounts remain unpaid long enough, those 30 day incremental late pays turn into a charge off reporting on your credit. With credit cards, charge offs normally occur within 180 days of consecutively missed payments (they can happen sooner than 180 days).
The 7 years the negative item stays on your credit report starts from the first missed payment to your lender.
When your accounts get this far behind, it is standard to have the account placed with outside collection agencies, and often repeatedly. Many creditors have a practice of selling off debts that remain unpaid long enough to debt buyers. They are legally transferring the rights to the debt to someone else, as is often laid out in your original contract with them.
Collection Agencies and Debt Buyers Showing Up on Your Credit Report
When an additional entry from a collection agency shows up on your credit report it is important to look for some key items:
- Is the new entry showing a balance due? A debt buyer who reports a collection account to the credit bureaus with a balance owed should be matched with the original lenders negative credit reporting to be certain that the original lender no longer shows a balance is owed to them. You should not have more than one credit entry showing an unpaid and due amount on your report for the same bill.
- Does the collection account show a date of last activity on your report that is different than the date your original lender is showing? Collection accounts that are reporting separate from, but related to an existing negative item on your report, should not show a newer date. If a newer date is used by a collection agency reporting, it prolongs the credit damage and will take longer for you to improve your credit.
All negative trade lines related to the same collection account should age off of your credit report at the same 7 year mark you use to calculate your first missed payment to your original lender. The exception used to be when people got sued for collection and ended up with a judgment over one or more of the debts – which would show in the public records section of your credit report for 7 years from the date judgment was entered in the court.
Most judgments obtained in state courts were taken off our credit reports with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion as of July 2017
What to Do If You Need to Dispute a Collection Account on Your Report
I will have an upcoming article about disputing incorrect information on your credit report, but for now, it is important to consider the following:
If your debt is within the SOL (statute of limitations), to legitimately sue you for collection, you should carefully consider whether or not to send a dispute about a collection account on your credit report, even if it is showing incorrect information. When there is still room on the clock to sue you, sending a dispute may wake the collector to the fact that you are:
- Still an unpaid account.
- Care enough to start cleaning up your credit report (usually for some credit goals, which means you are more collectible).
If your debts are beyond the SOL to sue you legitimately, you should have less concern about waking a sleepy debt collector who may not have been bothering you, with disputes about getting your credit reports corrected.
Legislation was passed in 2011 that changed the SOL from 3 to 6 years in Arizona. Given the information you shared about 2007 being the earliest date of last payment, your debts may/may not be off of the current debt owner’s radar. You would need to be certain about the date each of account was last paid. Any of them you know were paid last in 2006 would be clear of the SOL.
Reviewing your credit reports for accuracy when you know you have old collection items is important. Staying on top of when and how to get your credit reports corrected will help you plan for future access to credit at fair prices.
If you have a particular issue or question you can post in the comments below for feedback.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
Hi Michael,
I am in such a mess and would love if you could offer me some advice. When I was 24 I went back to college to become a teacher. In addition to federal student loans, I took out private student loans to supplement my income. I also had some credit cards that I used to help pay for my living expenses. I didn’t realize at the time that my salary as a teacher would never cover my loans and additional bills. I did work a part-time job after my school day was over but became super overwhelmed, quit my part-time job and stopped paying my bills. I have not paid them in about 3 years. I recently went to a bankruptcy attorney who recommended I try to file for a chapter 7. I paid him $2000 and after a few months of waiting for his secretary to do the paperwork I am told that I make too much money to meet the “means’ to file. He is charging me $750 and refunding the rest. He told me that my student loan debt is $103K and my credit card debt (dischargeable) is $17K. I have recently started paying my federal student loans, but not the private ones. I know the private student loans are now with an attorney and they have sent me a few letters. I am not sure where to go from here, as I certainly cannot afford to pay all of this off with my salary and my current living expenses. I do not own a home or have a car loan. I live in Rhode Island. I am trying to make some positive changes in my life, however I do not want to make the mistake of contacting these creditors and screwing myself even more. Should I just sit and wait for them to take action and hope 7 years goes by before they do? I am now 38, do not have any credit cards and feel like I cannot do anything (such as purchase a home/car/or get my own lease). Please help…
Thank you,
Kimberlee
Give me a call at 800-939-8357 = and choose option 2. I have a healthy amount of questions to ask you in order to get to a place I can offer actionable feedback about where to go from here in your situation.
Dear Michael,
I have been in debt since started college. Well I was not very smart about spending and such. I stopped making payment since either 2006 or 2007. It’s been a really long time and I’m not too sure what’s going on anymore. I also moved from New York to California since (not because I was running away from making payments but due to moving and other personal reasons). I never used the credit report service or anything because I didn’t want to pay for it. Now I got a chance to look and I’m not really sure how it works. I recently looked and it said a legal item was filed for me to go to court in 2010. What kind of action should I take at this point?
I am going to need more details about that legal item if I am going to offer much feedback. Is it a judgment? If so, for how much, and who is the judgment creditor?
Here are some resources that relate to your issue:
How to settle judgment debts.
Judgments on credit reports.
I want to apply for law school.
My debt was from Louisiana.
I have about a year and 1/2 for the collection accounts to fall off.
They say they will use my Present credit report (if I apply now) three years fom now to be admitted to the bar in the future.
My question is … Is there anything I can do to get the collection accounts off now before they age off, so I can have a cleaner credit report to apply for law school. Or…
Do I need to wait til they age off then apply?
I’m 51, and wanted to apply as soon as possible. However, if the collections are on the report I use to apply and it is used then (3 years from now) to be admitted to the bar I know I need to wait. However, im so close to them aging off, I am wondering if I can get them removed this year so the cleaner report (without the collection accounts) will be possible.
Shalom,
Sam
Are these debts still unpaid?
Hi Michael,
Can you tell me what a debt collector is required to have as validation of a debt? Portfolio Recovery Associates mailed me documentation of their purchase, but that doesn’t show a breakdown of why I would be responsible for that debt. Is this required in order to have the alleged debt removed from my credit report?
General debt validation requirements are so low that debt collectors can trip over them. I really like the explanation given by Jared Strauss about this element of debt collection.
PRA does not generally owe an explanation for why a debt will remain on your credit reports (assuming the debt is legitimate, and showing accurate, complete, and current information).
Hello Michael,
question…. I just checked my reports I had one collections account and it was removed ( happy dance) from 2 agencies after the 7 year mark ( lost job couldn’t find employment for 6 months,yada yada I’m sure you have heard it all ) but the orignal account is still showing on Transunion .. Do I need to do anything? Thank you in advance.
If it has been more than 7 and one half years since you fell behind paying the account, send a written dispute to Trans Union and get it removed. If that amount have time has not lapsed yet, is it really close?
Thank you Michael, looks like I have another 4 months to reach the 7 1/2 year mark. 2016 will be a good year! If it doesn’t fall I will be taking your advice. Thank you for being available and answering my question! Take care!
Dear Michael,
Please remove my last comment as it has my last name printed and I don’t want the comment “searchable” by the internet. Thanks very much!!! I’m sorry I posted my last name.
I removed your last name. If you would still like the comment removed let me know and I will delete it.
Hello Michael,
I have a derogatory mark on my TU report for a $23,000 student loan with Nelnet, that I opened in 2001, in Florida. It shows the account was closed in 2013, which I guess is the time First Mark collection agency took over the loan. I never made a payment on this loan since 2003, but for some reason it remains on my TU report. Shouldn’t this have dropped off my CR by now? Please help???
I’m sorry, I made a payment to the debt collector in March 2014. This was done in order to attain a loan to purchase a home last year. However, I don’t think this should’ve affected the drop off date. What are your thoughts?
Nothing you shared suggest that the the account should remain on your credit reports, regardless of whether you made a payment last year or not.
I would file a dispute with the credit bureaus that are showing the account, and send a copy to the First Mark collection agency and/or Nelnet (whoever is providing the out of date negative credit reporting).
Send your disputes in writing certified mail. Keep copies of all that you send. Post an update with what develops and lets go from there.
Thank you for the advice, Michael. I will keep you posted.
Hello Michael,
I spoke with Transunion and Experian before filing a dispute. I was informed by both companies that this account was first reported delinquent and sent to collections in Sept 2009, therefore the drop off date will be May 2016 (a few months early due to some exception). As I stated before, this loan was opened and distributed in Florida, for a school I attended in Florida, and I have not made a payment on this account since 2003, which by Florida’s statue of limitations the drop off date would have been in 2010. I’ve resided in New York for the past 10 years, and it seems for some reason this account is being held under New York’s statue of limitations (which I believe is seven and one half years from the time the account is first reported to a collection agency, determines the drop off date). Do you think I should file the dispute or wait the nine months until it drops off? I don’t plan on making any major purchases until buying a car next summer and a home in three to five years, but I do want to get my credit as strong as possible by the time I’m ready to purchase the vehicle next year. Again, thank you very much for the advice!
And the loan(s) were 100% private student loans, and not federal? You never consolidated the loans?
Yes this loan is 100% private. I’ve consolidated other private loans from Nelnet and have since paid them off, but I never consolidated this one.
I would file a credit reporting complaint with the CFPB. Review that link in its entirety before you file.
The student loan should not be reporting for this long after no payments had been made on it.
Could this have a negative effect on my credit if the dispute isn’t settled in my favor? The folks at the credit bureaus suggested I wait the nine months. I also spoke with the folks at Nelnet, who couldn’t tell me anything besides the fact that I filed for and was denied forbearance on this loan and that there is no payment history shown. Just trying to get all of my ducks in a row before disputing, so I am not caught off guard. Thanks, Michael!
Credit reporting disputes do not necessarily result in additional damage. The impairment to your credit reports from a derogatory item are not able to go up or down in severity levels. I do see people have trouble with disputed accounts when they are going for a mortgage from time to time (pretty rare really). But any dispute is removed along with the entry itself when it is too old to remain. I cannot see any impact to you from your filing a dispute with the CFPB based on what you have shared.
I am in the process of filing the dispute with the credit bureaus and the CFPB. However, while waiting for the history of the account to be mailed to me, I began doing some more research. Now a major concern of mine is the possibility of being sued. I’ve read that the statute of limitations (depending on the State) restarts after certain instances, making it possible for creditors or collection agencies to pursue legal action. Do you have any knowledge/advice on this (given the information in my previous posts)?
There are some pretty rare instances where you would reset the SOL to sue by reaching out to a debt collector or creditor. Disputing inaccurate credit reporting is not one of them.
Are you still in Florida?
Im not worried that disputing will reset he SOL. I am wondering if making a payment on the loan last year or the fact that I now live in another state possibly reset the SOL, and am I at risk of being sued. I am currently living in New York. I made an uninformed decision to pay the collections agency last year. I have not signed any paperwork from them stating I agree to pay, I just had them collect a payment directly from my bank account.
Making a payment to a debt collector is often going to be construed to have reset the SOL to legitimately be sued for collection.
Moving to another state, and once residency established, can often result in the new state controlling the SOL that could be applied by the court.
You should consult with an experienced debt collection defense attorney in New York about these concerns.
The payment to the debt collector does not reset the SOL for credit reporting purposes.
The risk of being sued is real enough with a reset SOL. Have you considered settling the account for less than the full balance owed?
I have a question. I have an account that went into collection 10 years ago. I am in the state of Florida. Recently, beginning this year, I had a sudden new item for an old account pop up in my credit report, to which I started finally paying off. The original creditor is a bank, but the current creditor is a collection agency, the report claiming that the debt started as of 2015.
If my understanding is correct on this, this is unlawful re-aging of a collection account is it not?
Furthermore as I mentioned, I started paying the creditor directly, then just today I get a letter in the mail from another company that just does the collecting, are NOT the creditor, meaning they contracted someone else to collect on the money, however on this document claiming the new money taker, they claimed the current creditor is yet /another/ completely different creditor. The creditor’s in question are Jefferson Capitol Systems (the one I started paying), and the new one is RJM Acquisitions.
I understand creditors can hire collectors to take money for them, but why would they do such a thing if I was directly paying them? Is it just to bug the heck out of people intentionally?
It sounds like the account was already sold. Did you arbitrarily start making payments to Jefferson Capital or did you call and set that all up in advance?
Why did you decide to start making payments on a 10 year old debt?
Which debt collector is it that started showing on your credit reports?
Hi MIchael,
The SOL for debt collectors in PA is four years, right? The date that the original accounts were opened that I am trying to dispute were in 2010 and 2007. Does it matter when they were sold to the collection accounts?
The collection accounts in question are scheduled to remain on my credit report until November, 2017 and Dec, 2017. I don’t see anything listing the date they were from the original creditor.
Yes, the SOL for legitimate lawsuit on credit cards is 4 years in PA. The SOL appears to have passed given the information you shared. Sending in dispute and validation requests now that you cannot be sued is somewhat more advisable.
Who are the debt collectors you are dealing with?
Can you point to anything inaccurate on your credit reports from them?
It matters that the debts were sold to collectors in so much that the original creditor should then report a zero balance owed them (but still as a charge off), and also that the debt collector reporting should drop off at the same time the original creditor drops off.
Hi Michael,
Do you recommend asking for validation with the creditors or credit bureaus first, or contacting both simultaneously?
Is the SOL to legitimately be sued for collection passed in your state?
Are the debts showing at least some type of error on your credit reports?
Hi Michael.
What advice do you have if a dispute with the credit bureaus was updated, but not deleted? What is the best way to appeal? Should I try appealing again with the credit bureaus or is there a higher agency that I should appeal to?
Thank You!
Kim
Can you be more specific with the nature of your dispute, the outcome, and what your goals are?
Hi Michael,
The only outcome of the initial dispute was that it was “updated”. I disputed it online and wasn’t very specific at the time. I know more now and I have a better idea about the things that I need to focus on in the letter.
My goal is to buy a house within the next 1-2 years. Everything in collections will fall off of my report by 2018, but the sooner they come off, the better…
If you were not specific with your dispute, I would try that again. If there are items showing on your credit report that are incorrect or incomplete, but not getting addressed with your disputes, file a credit reporting complaint with the CFPB.
You can get a decent rate on a home loan with paid collections still on your credit reports.
Hi Michael,
I have a secured credit card with Capital One that I got for the sole purpose of increasing my credit score. I pay the card off completely every single month and it reflects a $0 balance. It’s being reported as a negative account on my credit report because it’s being listed as inactive, even though I make purchases with it every month. Am I wrong to pay it off completely every month? Should I keep $5 on it every month to show that it is being used?
I’m currently disputing this with Capital One, but I’d like to know the best approach for the future.
Every negative item on my credit report is scheduled to fall off by 2018, so I’m thinking that I will just wait those out. However, one of the things that is bringing my score down is the ratio of negative to positive accounts. Should I open another credit card or two to increase the ratio of “good” credit?
Thank you so much!
-Kim
The account should not report as a negative just because you pay it off. Let me know how the dispute works out.
I do often suggest having to open revolving accounts like credit cards. Perhaps you can wait to open one that is unsecured to add to the secured one you have with Capital One already.
Hello, According to my credit report, I owe approximately $4,000 to Apothaker. The account was sold to them by LVNV, and they claim that the original debt belonged to Spring Leaf Financial. I have been making $50 payments to Apothaker for a year. Unfortunately, I didn’t know at the time that this could reactivate the debt. The only information that they could provide me with when I called is that the original debt belongs to LVNV, who purchased it from Springleaf Fianancial. I live in PA. If it is close to 7 years, will all of the corresponding debt be removed from my acct.? Apothaker doesn’t show up on my credit report, but LVNV and SpringLeaf Financial do. If it’s been 7 years and the account with SpringLeaf is due to be removed, will the acct with LVNV also he removed from my credit report? I spoke with Apothaker today and stated that I wanted the automatic deductions to stop. Will this reactivate my account?
I disputed multiple items on my credit report online about 2 weeks ago. I have not received a response yet about this dispute. I’ve written a letter that I’ve prepared for the Credit Bureaus that contains more detailed information.. Should I submit the letter via certified postal mail, or should I wait the remaining two weeks?
Thank You!
The Spring leaf and LVNV entries should drop off your credit reports at the same time, and as much as 7 and one half years since you first missed a payment to Spring Leaf.
Be sure to watch that LVNV drops at the same time. There has been a tendency for the collection company to remain longer than the original creditor in the past.
You appear to still be on the hook for your states SOL to sue you in order to collect. That is because you have been paying, so be aware that the the account not appearing on your credit can still come back to bite.
I would not send any additional disputes to the credit bureaus until I know the outcome of the recent ones you submitted.
Michael, seems like every time I check on credit karma I find something else I need your help with! I don’t know how credit reporting works or the ins and outs of reading a report so I do apologize if my questions seem foolish!
I noticed there is a tab on credit karma that shows collections accounts that have been removed. On my TransUnion report an account was removed on 04/03/2015 with a balance of $249. The collection agency is listed as CR SYST INTR and the original creditor is Green Mountain Energy. The thing is this account is still listed on my Equifax report? With a balance of $229 and high balance of $249. I don’t even know what my question is here but does this seem strange at all? I’m not sure why a collector would remove it from one CRA but not the other(s)? Perhaps the strangest thing of all is that this account hadn’t reached the age of removal, I believe I last paid on this account in early 2011. I’m definitely not complaining about it no longer showing on my TU report! I’m just not sure why they bothered removing it from one and not the other? Is this a normal thing for a collection agency to do?
All three of the major credit bureaus tend to have mostly the same items on them. But there are times where some accounts appear on one, and not the others, or like what you have seen, an account deleted inexplicably.
I do see anomalies like what you describe all the time. I am not much for making anything of it when it can be viewed as favorable to you.
It likely was not the debt collection agency that caused the deletion. It sounds like TransUnion is the reason for the deletion.
Ok that was just a little confusing, thank you for clearing it up! Have a good day 🙂
Thank you for the advice (and the hand holding!). I don’t have any plans as far as buying a home or another vehicle for at least 3 yrs or so, but I am in the process of consolidating my student loans that are in default (only $761 thankfully) so I can then be eligible to apply for a new federal loan to go back to school and finish this time; I was a hot mess when I was younger and I kick myself for it daily!! The consolidation will be complete in about 10 days. I realize that the original loan will stay a negative, but paid in full, but will it still fall off after the 7.5 yrs like any other account or is there a different set of rules for fed. student loans? Also I will most likely have to apply for an additional private loan. I’m hoping to get my disputed accounts resolved by the time I need to apply for the private loans so that maybe I’ll have a shot at being approved for the amount I’m aiming for which would be about $5-6k. My score is low, embarrassingly low, so any improvement, however small the bump in score would be, is extremely needed!
There are some differences for some federal student loans when they remain unpaid. That will not be the case here, as yours will be paid.
I live in Texas. In May 2008 I was issued a credit card through Bank of America with a limit of 3200. I was 19 at the time; I had no business having a credit card to say the least! I ended up using that card to put a down payment on a vehicle and honestly once I did that I never thought about the card again. I never made any payments on this card. As far as I’m aware it was never placed in collections, or at least as of today it isn’t. The account however is still on my credit listed under Bank of America. It is listed as closed-derogatory with a balance of zero with no payment history reported. Status is collection/charge off. Remarks: charged off as bad debt. acct. closed by consumer. The problem I’m having is Bank of America has reported that the last payment date was Jan 15, 2010. This is false and as a result it will stay negative on my account for two years longer than expected.
Is this situation something I’m able to dispute? I was expecting to see this removed as of this year and now I see it will remain for two more years. Should I contact BOA to see what their records say first?
The 7 and one half year credit reporting time frame will not have run it’s course until sometime at the end of this year. You can dispute it now proactively in order to establish the correct drop off date. The account should get corrected, perhaps even removed early. Based on the May 2008 dates, it can stay up for a bit longer.
The zero balance reporting suggests to me that BofA sold the debt to an investor.
thanks for responding Michael! I did forget to mention that I found this info on credit karma and from I can see they do not have removal dates listed for any of my trade lines so I went ahead and ordered the free annual report from two companies, leaving the third available so I can check later if the issue has been resolved (if needed), but I think I will wait to see what the actual removal date is before I send the dispute. I have another couple of questions unrelated to that account.
1. If I have accounts placed with collection agencies shouldn’t I still see those accounts listed with the original creditors only with a balance of zero? If i don’t see the original creditors does it mean that the debt has fallen off already and they are reporting on old debt or is this totally normal and correct to not see them listed with the original creditors?
2. I also have an auto loan in collections with ACCL FIN SOL with a balance of 4840, status is open. The account is also listed with the original creditor (NMAC) status is closed, derogatory. They too show a current balance, but of 4740. I thought after the collections agency took over NMAC would have to zero out that balance? And why is the balance between the two slightly different? Is any of this normal? Also not sure if it’s important for your response, but the remarks from NMAC are: charged off as bad debt, profit and loss write off.
any info helps, thank you!
If you see an original creditor reporting with a balance still owed to them, that would generally mean they did not sell the account. But you will often find the creditor has your account placed with a third party for collection.
Not all unpaid debts are sold. Not even close. And some banks do not sell any debt. But if your original creditor is showing with a zero balance owed on your credit reports, they likely sold legal rights to collect the balance to a debt buyer.
If you do not see the original creditor on your credit reports it is not an automatic that the debt is passed the 7 and one half year limits for most derogatory credit reporting. It could be missing for a myriad of reasons (system bug, account anomaly, etc).
There should not be a balance being reported as owed for the same account twice. That would be erroneous because it incorrectly skews your DTI. It is not normal to see these days, but it does happen. You can dispute that as well.
The charge off remark is normal. It is an accounting function that has turned into a credit reporting notation. You can read more about that here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/settling-charged-off-credit-card-debts-with-collection-company/
Ok just so I’m 100% clear, for the auto loan, does paragraph one or four apply? I guess paragraph one confused me a little, does this mean that an original creditor can still own a debt while that debt is placed with a third party for collections? And how would I know if this is the case or if it is a legit error like stated in paragraph four? sorry I’m really new to all of this!
Yes, it does mean the original creditor can still own the loan and rights to collect, but have it out with a debt collector to see if that gets you to pay. The third party generally gets paid only when they get you to pay. This is common place.
What isn’t common place is to have the creditor and the debt collector reporting balances due at the same time. That means there is an error and it should be corrected. If it were me I would call the original creditor and ask them if they still own the account, and if not, who they sold it to.
Ok great I will do that now! I cannot begin to thank you enough for this information! I’m sure I will have many more questions for you in the future! thank you!!!!!
Hi Michael, I called NMAC and they have sold it to Credigy, however its being reported under ACCL FIN SOL. I assume this is bc Credigy also sold the acct? So I asked the representative why they’re still reporting a balance even after it’s been sold and she said it’s bc I didn’t zero out the balance with them?? I’m so incredibly confused at the moment! Does the comment you made about both the OC and CA carrying a balance at the same time apply to my situation and is something I now need to dispute?
Yes, you do need to dispute it. The person from NMAC either misspoke or did not know the correct response to give you. You could dispute that with the credit reporting agencies as inaccurate and perhaps even take a shot at disputing the entry from Accelerated Financial Solutions as not having a debt of yours.
Regardless, the entry from NMAC should show a zero balance, and both NMAC and Accelerated Financial should both fall off the credit reports at the same time.
Alright I will send the
dispute(s) then. I’ve never disputed anything before, for the NMAC dispute do I say, “they’ve sold this account and the balance they’re reporting is inaccurate”? Or simply, “this information is inaccurate” and the CRA’s will figure out which part is incorrect?
I would indicate what is wrong with the credit report entry on this one. There are times I would send a more ambiguous “this is incorrect, please remove the account” type of dispute. Doing so here with it so close to the account dropping off from it’s legitimate age may result it just being deleted.
I would argue either way. Do you have a specific credit goal you want to accomplish between now and December?
Michael, When we were denied credit a few months ago they told us that our FICO was 655. I couldnt understand this because I subscribe to Equifax and we had seen it recover over the past 2 years to recently 685, which is the magic number to open a lot of lending doors. But this 655 keeps coming up in denials. Well I found out that they were using Experian and I pulled our Experian to confirm it saying 655 FICO. All aspects of the credit report appear to be simialar EXCEPT AMERICAN EXPRESS.
Unlike the Equifax report that simply says CO and then ends in OCT 2011, With no further reporting ……the Experian Report has AMERICAN EXPRESS continually being reported as CO every 5 months since that date. The most recent entry says CO June of 2015. They are doing this on two small AM EX accounts. that were long charged off in 2010 for 1900$. and $1200 Back then I tried to negotiate a settlement but they were the only ones that would not. We had a third AM EX account with a larger balance which an attorney negotiated a settlement with them. For that account that was negotiated settlement it stopped reporting in 2011 and does NOT show this continual CO every 5 months as the other two do.
The accounts do say “Closed at grantors request” but keeps getting reported as a fresh CO every 5 months. I got alerted to this as an “account change” notification on my Equifax monitoring.
Is this continual reporting lowering my Experian score and would this explain why the dependency of the FICO score between Equifax and Experian? If so how can I stop this?
Thanks
Just to clarify the EXPERIAN REPORT looks like this:
2015 2014 2013
CO ND ND ND ND ND CO ND ND ND ND ND CO ND ND ND ND ND CO ND ND ND ND ND CO
2012 2011
ND ND ND ND ND CO ND ND ND ND ND ND CO ND ND ND ND ND ND CO ND ND ND CL
If it were me I would file a dispute with the credit bureau about any charge off being reported every 5 months. Charge off only happens once, and typically 180 days after payments stopped, so many years ago in this case.
I would send my dispute in writing via certified mail.
Depending on the outcome I may look to escalate this as a complaint to the CFPB. I may even skip the bureau complaint and file with the CFPB instead.
Thank you Michael, I just wanted to make sure this was not acceptable practice before I tool it any further. I found out they are also doing it on Trans Union. We have been turned down several times on loans because of the 650 FICO score. This appears to be where it is coming from. I will let you know the results.
If the loan you are seeking is mortgage related you will want to resolve any unpaid collection accounts too. There are not many resources for home loans today when you have unpaid collections. A 620 credit score or higher is only part of the equation.
Michael, I wrote to the CFPB but they have not been very helpful. Basically all they did was send my complaint on to the credit bureau and they responded that they updated the file. To my horror all Experian did was UPDATE the file to say CO again and saying that the account will be deleted in June of 2018.
So I am a bit confused still. It is looking like they are ALLOWED to keep reporting the balance owing and place the CODE “CO” in the current month for as long as the 7.5 years since the first delinquency. It seemed to me that you thought this was not allowed but I am not getting that feedback from CFPB nor the Credit Bureau.
Also now it is worse, my EQUIFAX has started reporting the same data. Our score went from a 685 to a 650 after American Express started to do the same thing on Equifax.
Just to be clear, even though the original CO was done in January 2012, they continue to update the Closed Account with a NEW “CO” code every few months, and they are listing the BALANCE OWING as the full amount that was charged off.
Would you mind giving me your opinion on this again? I am prepared to obtain an attorney if I have a case here.
Here is what appears on the file:
AMERICAN EXPRESS
Account Date Opened Balance Date Reported Past Due Status
XXXXXXXXXXXX 11/24/2000 $1,744 08/04/2015 $1,744 CHARGE-OFF
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2015 NR NR NR NR NR CO NR
2014 NR NR NR NR CO NR NR NR NR NR CO NR
2013 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR CO NR
2012 CO NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
2011 NR NR NR NR NR 120 NR NR CA NR NR
Account Number: -XXXXXXXXXXX Status: CHARGE-OFF
Account Owner: Individual Account. High Credit: $2344
Type of Account : Open Credit Limit:
Term Duration: Terms Frequency: Monthly (due every month)
Date Opened: 11/24/2000 Balance: $1,744
Date Reported: 08/04/2015 Amount Past Due: $1,744
Date of Last Payment: Actual Payment Amount:
Scheduled Payment Amount: Date of Last Activity: N/A
Date Major Delinquency First Reported: 01/2012 Months Reviewed: 44
Creditor Classification: Activity Designator: N/A
Charge Off Amount: Deferred Payment Start Date:
Balloon Payment Amount: Balloon Payment Date:
Date Closed: Type of Loan: Credit Card
Date of First Delinquency: 06/2011
Comments: Charged off account,
Account closed by credit grantor
This is so upsetting, we were just about to do a loan and now this on equifax has dropped the score to 653
I think there is a misunderstanding of what you have going on. If American Express is reporting you as a freshly charged off debt every month, or every few months, that would be inaccurate. If there is a charge off showing on your credit reports for the account once, that should be the only charge off that impacts your scores. Future charge off reporting of that already charged off account should not impact your scores further, but other elements of reporting combined with an unresolved charge off can.
I would definitely encourage you to speak with an experienced FCRA consumer law attorney. What is the name of a nearby larger city? I can help you locate someone with the experience you need.
What type of loan was it you were going to do? If you were looking to get a home loan approved with unpaid collections you should hold off and negotiate a settlement on the AMEX account before hand. Home loans are regularly denied with unresolved debts on your credit reports.
Hi Michael, We already have the loan approval for a HELOC. when they pulled the credit we had a FICO 685. Hopefully they will not pull it again before closing, or they will see the 653.
I too am a bit confused about the terminology. As you can see from what I posted, they are entering a “CO” code every few months for the current month. It seems that the entering of this CODE on the current month seems to have altered the credit report score. There is nothing else that would have impacted Equifax to lower the score to 653.
No other account gets updated with a new “CO” code in the current month…only the AM EX accounts.
I contacted an attorney today, and have a phone meeting setup for tomorrow. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the entire issue? Are they able to enter a CO code every couple of months? Does this lower the Credit Score when this happens? This is what I dont understand, but it appears that when they do this, our score goes down 30 points which is devastating!
I will be a little surprised if your HELOC goes through with an unpaid collection account on your credit reports.
A charge off continues to have a credit score impact. The freshness of a charge off does hurt more than an existing stale one. I cannot tell that is what is happening here. I can assemble a narrative that suggests it is not, and also one that suggests that is what is happening.
Post an update after the attorney consult. There may be something like this he/she has litigated before that could shed some light.
Hi, I just saw a collection on my credit report las month, june 2015, from tmobile for the amount of 57. I never recieved a letter from them and the debt was sent to a collection agency. I didnt know about that debt and never be late on anything, they just had a wrong address and send the mail there. The account shows the date 2009. The collection will stays on my report 7 years from 2009 or the posted date 2015? Can I sue them for the mistake they did? As soon I saw the debt I paid it but tmobile and the collection agency said they cant take it out from my credit report. Its frustrating that due a operator mistake now my credit is suffering. I live in Puerto Rico. Thanks
A paid collection account that is 6 years old will not harm your credit scores much it at all. What are your current credit scores? How recent was the payment you made to the collector (recency of the settlement can bring the credit score down temporarily)?
My Equifax score was753 before june, now is 707 after they post the collection. As soon I saw the collection posted I paid it. In the report said the last date of payment aug 01 2007 and but they reported on june 2015 the collection
That update of the paid collection being so new dropped your credit score. The account is old enough to be deleted so dispute it as too old to appear on your credit reports with the bureaus (send in writing using certified mail).
Hi, I’ve been repairing my credit for the past few years, started with a Equifax report and pretty much paying every collection off seen on it without knowing that stuff could just fall off which many of them were probably close to. I got 1 card, pay off in full at closing every month and watched my score rise using the free TU credit tracker that Capital One offers along with a auto CLI of a few thousand of responsible usage. I was sent a pre approval notice for a credit card from my bank and decided to go for it to get a larger available credit amount to help keep my utilization percentage down from already having another card. Once I got the card though I was shocked to see a low score from Equifax where my TU score was much higher. I looked into it using one of those free sites that pulled from Equifax (Quizzle) to see a 6+ year old collection of $484 that didn’t show on the complete credit report which was done only a year prior. Should I pay off this debt that is 1 month away from being 7 years old or should I just wait and see what happens? Will my score rise higher paying it off in full rather than letting it fall off? I’m in Florida since sometimes you seem to ask which state.
Are you looking to accomplish a specific credit goal in the next 1 to 6 months? If so, post what your credit goals are.
If it were me, and I were not going for a home loan between now and the collection account falling off, I would wait it out.
Hello,
I was in a car crash Dec of 2010 I didnt have insurance at the time and i have bills that add up to $46,000. In 2011 my lawyer told me he stopped them from getting any higher and from people trying to contact me about this. Ive never had a single person try to contact me about his and i only got 1 bill for each service done to me that night. Ive never paid anything to them. I guess im just confused on when and if they will ever be off my record?
We tried to fight it since i was still living at home, i was 18, but my parents were taking care of me. My dads insurance had passed that i was able to get back on his insurance a few months before the crash but wouldnt take on new dependents till the 1st of the year and this happened mid Dec so i got screwed.
What state are you in?
Hi Michael –
Just wanted to reach out to get some advice on improving my credit score and resolving accounts on my credit report. I am currently in school, and will eventually have to apply for student loans, so I want to be able to make sure that I am approved. I also want to be able to open a credit card so that I can work on building up my credit score. Right now it is 613. I have heard that secured credit cards are good for building credit when one has a bad score.
Some background information – I lived in Illinois during the time that all the accounts on my credit record were opened. I now live in Georgia, and have lived here for the past year and a half. So I’m not sure which SOL will apply to me.
I recently received my credit report from Equifax. On it there are several accounts that have been charged off. I’m not really sure what the best option for me is. Do I wait until these accounts “fall off” my record? Or do I pay these off? What are the pros and cons of each? I will list below the accounts, and or collection agencies, and dates. How long will each take to fall off?
Collection Agency Accounts
Harris & Harris LTD
Collection Reported: 07/2014
Assigned: 10/2013
Client: People’s Gas
Amount – $966
Date of 1st Delinquency: 09/2013
Balance as of 07/2014: $980
Status as of 07/2014 – Unpaid
Cavalry Portfolio Services
Collection Reported: 06/2015
Assigned: 06/2013
Client: FIA Card Services
Amount – $1891
Date of 1st Delinquency: 02/2011
Balance as of 06/215: $1891
Status as of 06/2015 – Unpaid
I.C. System, Inc.
Collection Reported: 03/2015
Assigned: 01/2014
Client: RCN
Amount: $765
Date of 1st Delinquency: 04/2010
Status as of 03/2015 – Unpaid
Credit Account Information
Midland Funding LLC ( I am not sure what this is for?)
Date Opened: 06/2011
Balance Amount: $467
Date of 1st Delinquency: 07/2009
Date Maj. Del. 1st Rptd: 08/2011
Status – Collection Account
Shell/CBNA
Date Opened: 06/2009
Balance Amount: $0
Date of 1st Delinquency: 08/2009
Date Maj. Del. 1st Rptd: 02/2010
Status – Charge Off
No Charge Off Amount Listed
Bank of America
Date Opened: 12/2007
Balance Amount: $0
Date of Last Payment: 12/2010
Date of 1st Delinquency: 02/2011
Date Maj. Del. 1st Rptd: 07/2011
Status – Charge Off
Charge off Amount: $1891
People’s Gas
Date Opened: 09/2012
Balance Amount: $0
Date of 1st Delinquency: 09/2012
Date Maj. Del. 1st Rptd: 04/2014
Status – Charge Off
Charge off Amount – $980
After seeing the accounts and details of such, what do you advise I do? I am also not sure if some of the accounts that are listed as charge off are the ones appearing under the collection agency accounts. Please advise. Thank you so much.
Were you sued on any of these accounts?
How much money would you be able to pull together in order to settle all of the debts? Can you raise half of the balances owed in a month or three?
Have you reached out to any of the debt collectors?
Have you applied for any credit, rental, or anything that requires a hard credit pull?
Have any of the collectors reached you at your current address or phone number?
Post your answers in reply, as your answers will impact my feedback.
Michael –
I replied last night but for some reason it’s not showing up, so I’ll reply again.
Thanks for your quick response.
To answer your questions-
No, I was never sued for any of these debts.
I am not currently working, so it would take me a big chunk of time to save up the money to pay half or in full. I was thinking maybe my best bet would be to consolidate the debt and do a payment plan?
I haven’t reached out to any of the debt collectors.
I did apply for a credit card about 2 months ago and was denied… Which caused me to request my credit report. And that’s when I saw all these debts on my report…. It had been years since the last time I checked.
No collector has attempted to contact me at my new address or at my current phone number (which I have had for the past 3 to 4 years)
I hope this helps and clarifies so that you can advise me on the best route to take. Thanks again.
If settling the collection accounts means waiting a long time to save up the money you will need, consider sitting back to wait out the statute of limitations on any account that is close to being 6 years old since your last payment. Once you do that, it is only another year to year and one half until those collections fall off your credit due to age.
I would not apply for credit again until the accounts have passed the SOL to sue you and perhaps wait until after the credit reports are clear.
I would in no way entertain debt consolidation where you send a small amount of money to these debts until paid.
1. You do not have a job.
2. You start the SOL to sue you all over again in most instances.
You need patience if you do not have the money to expedite the process for clearing up the debt.
Hi Michael-
I have an old debt reported on my credit report from Sept 2009 with Bonneville Collections. I never received any documentation on this debt but a few phone calls back in 2009. It was for a electric bill in a place I did not live. I tried to reason with them but figured it was such little money and I was stupid at the time so I just let it go. I am now just tired of seeing on there and started looking up how to dispute it. I live in Oregon and the SOL is 6 years. I am not sure if that is from the date reported or how that works. I am not even sure it matters since its for $150. Should I try to dispute it at this point and wake a sleepy creditor or just let it go? I did just try and refinance a student loan with a super selective loaner and it was denied because they have an auto filter to not loan to anyone with collections on their report.
Account #1
$154
Balance
10 PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC
Original Creditor
$130
High Balance
Sep 16, 2009
Opened Date
Oct 05, 2011
Last Reported
Individual
Responsibility
Thanks,
Matt
The 6 year SOL you are talking about in Oregon is for collecting in the courts, not for credit reporting. The credit reporting SOL limit is generally going to be 7 and one half years from the missed payment date (there are limited exceptions).
If it were me I would dispute the debt as not mine if it never was to begin with. Send your disputes in writing return receipt requested. If the erroneous collection items remain after your dispute is investigated, post an update in this comment thread and lets go from there.
During the infamous Wells Fargo Loan Mod program to make a LONG story short, after being told for 6 months that a modification should be approved “any day now” we were suddenly denied a modification via a FEDEX letter. The calls from the Wells Mod analyst suddenly went cold and we could no longer reach them and without giving us a chance to make payments to catch up they immediately charged off our HELOC which just went 120 days old. Despite us begging for the opportunity to catch it up, they demanded immediate payment in full, which was not possible. They did however accept LOW payoff and discharged the debt. This debt is reported on our Credit Report as “Account paid for less than full balance, Paid charge off ”
Since then we both found new jobs and have TOTALLY recovered. We have been trying to obtain financing since but despite the fact we have paid off all our debts except of a car lease and our mortgage, and have 24 months of PERFECT payment history….we keep getting denied conventional mortage financing. Our scores on Equifax is 685 but ends up being around 650 through the banks calculations.
While NO ONE would tell us WHY we continue to be turned down flat…I FINALLY believe that I have found out why through some research. From what I can deduce, the Fannie Mae rules are that we need to have 3 YEARS between the HELOC default and the application. Even though it does NOT SAY FORECLOSURE, a bank official told me that THEY consider it a FORECLOSURE action and therefore we must wait for 3 years to pass from that Charge Off.
QUESTION: What date do I use to start the clock ticking from that Charge Off?
Its amazing that NO ONE has been able to give me this information….the banks simply turn you down, but DO NOT tell you why. It has been terribly disheartening going to multiple lenders the last 6 months, with all of them telling us they should be able to do a new mortgage only to be turned down then IGNORED not giving us any further info as to why,.
If you can assist in this I would appreciate it. We really want to get on with our life but until we can obtain a conventional loan again we are basically stalemated in our home and cannot move.
Thanks!
What was the date that Wells Fargo shows the charge off? What was the date you paid the settlement amount?
The three years should be from the charge off entry, but I have seen some other scenarios play out.
The 3 year post short sale, foreclosure, less than full balance payoff guideline for Fannie and Freddie investing in loans is common knowledge. I am not surprised any of the loan officers did not tell you that. Many are just form fillers, not really debt and credit experts (but there are some awesome exceptions).
The credit report has “CO’ for the months of 2012 APR, MAY, JUNE, JULY. Date of LAST PAYMENT SAYS 06\2012. Date REPORTED says 06/30/2012 not sure what that means. Date of FIRST DELINQUENCY says 06/2011.
The check that I wrote them for settlement cleared our account July of 2012. They later discharged the lien.
We never would have gone this far behind if it were not for the Loan Mod Analyst saying it would “make our case better”. Despite my better judgement I did that, as at the time we were desperate having been out of work for nearly a year. Ironically all that we wanted from Wells was to refi our 1st and Heloc to the then current 3.5% interest rate, from our then 6.8% mortgage and 18% HELOC. Had they done ONLY that we would have been solvent, but instead they did what to me was just plain stupidity.
As far as where we finally got the info about Fanny, it was from a third party Mortgage company through Quicken loans. Non of the major banks would even bother responding to my inquiries to tell me exactly why we were turned down.
Thanks for all your help….you have been an immense help in the past, and if you can help with this final piece of the puzzle we can then plan for this instead of flying in the dark.
Also, would we in ADDITION to the 36 months from the HELOC Chargeoff and subsequent payment, would we also need to be a full 36 months of ON TIME mortgage payments? The reason I ask is because our main mortgage took an extra 5 months to get back on track. We were finally on time again beginning JANUARY 2013. So we are 29 months of perfect payment history on our First Mortgage right now. Not sure if that would affect the Loan App.
Thanks again
I doubt the 29 months of on time payments to your first mortgage will be the 36 months for Fannie and Freddie to purchase the loan issue you already are aware of. I will look into it though.
It sounds like the 3 years will be up next month, or August possibly.
Loan officers at banks are more likely to be form fillers and not all that knowledgeable about debt and credit issues, or perhaps less inclined to go the extra mile to help people understand where they are at with loan approval issues. Mortgage brokers or independents are likelier to be able to help people with out of the box strategies and offer more detailed feedback. That is my experience working in this space anyway.
Hi Michael-
I was a major screw up when I went off to college back in 2004 and racked up quite a bit of credit card debt. I paid off a few but most were charged off and have now fallen off my credit report (which is now full of student loans and medical bills in collection). The past few weeks I’ve been receiving calls from a courier/collection agency, PDI, that is trying to deliver “court documents” to me. They’ve called my phone, my husband’s my mother’s, my mother-in-law’s, my sister-in-laws and others too probably. When I look at my credit report, there is only one credit card company on there as a charge off and says it was sent to collections, but there are no collection agencies on my report (other than medical, which is not this PDI). I’m not sure what to do, but it is horribly embarrassing. If I have nothing on my credit report for this company, what can be done?
Read through this article about filing a debt collection complaint with the CFPB, and then do just that.
It is possible that this is a debt collection scam too. Read this post before filing the CFPB complaint.
I would then connect with an experienced FDCPA consumer law attorney in your state. If you post the name of a nearby larger city I can email you contact information to any I know of in the area.
I live in Kansas on Experian credit report it shows I have a collection. It also says that I haven’t had a collection in 9 years. My question is should this have dropped off my report after 71/2 years?
It sure sounds like it from what little you shared. If the account has not been paid for more than seven and one half years, it should not be there.
I would dispute it off.
Hi Michael…
By 2000, I had amassed about $30,000 in credit card debt and had about $5,000 remaining on my student loan payments. In late 2000, I went to “Siberia” for nearly 15 years, and made no payments on those debts. During that time I received no mail and no phone calls, so I don’t know which creditors/debt collectors (if any) tried to contact me, tried to sue me, or did anything else to try and collect from me. Today, I’m back living in New York. I recently found out that someone trying to collect for the student loan sends a letter to my family’s house about once a month. Other than that, my family doesn’t know which of the other creditors/collectors (if any) sent mail or called over the years. For many years, they simply hung up on strangers who asked about me, and put all my mail in a box in my old room.
After being 100% incommunicado for 15 years, I figured that in addition to the difficulty of putting my personal/work life back together, I would have a very difficult time putting my credit life back together. So yesterday I started researching bankruptcy. After stumbling upon this site and reading hundreds of problems and solutions, I decided to get my credit report. I feared it would look like a war zone, but it is actually a complete blank — no late payments, no judgments/public records, no balances, no debt collections. Nothing!
I just got a job, and I want to open a bank account and perhaps get a credit card at some point. So my questions are as follows:
1) Can any creditor/debt collector sue me at this point? If they do, then do I simply raise the SOL defense?
2) Can they find a way to take a percentage of my wages?
3) If I open a bank account, can they somehow freeze it or otherwise take money from it?
4) Do I need to file for bankruptcy to eliminate these debts that may have “aged off” my credit report, but still technically exist for an eager debt collector waiting for me to pop up on the radar again after 15 years?
5) What about the student loan? It’s not on my credit report, but the monthly letters are still coming — 15 years after I stopped paying. Is it true that the government can take money out of my future income tax refunds to pay this debt?
Any thoughts would be appreciated… Thanks
1. At this point the time barred SOL defense would apply to anything other than federally backed student loans (they do not really expire like that).
2. There is no legitimate path to garnish your wages if they do not already have a judgment against you.
3. Same thing applies to any attempt to levy your bank account. There must be an underlying judgment for them to take that action.
4. I would not file bankruptcy. Those old debts are out of the picture (unless the student loan was federal). While a debt collector can certainly still write and call, there is nothing they can do to your credit or make efforts at legal collection. You can put a stop to any collection efforts if you like (not a federal student loan though).
5. Bingo. The government has the ability to collect from you in more ways, and for much longer, than private lenders do. Your tax return can be intercepted, and other government benefits too. But you also have options to get set up with repayment of that loan. You may want to start looking into that as soon as possible.
Hi,
I’m so happy to have found this website.
My husband and I would like to purchase a home. On my husband’s credit report there is a charge off from Chase Home Finance. The date of the charge off was 5/23/2011. Balance $70,701, high balance $75.650, past due $14,160. A mortgage officer advised us to file a dispute since the property was forclosed upon by the city we live in for past due taxes and is now owned by the county landbank. his Transunion score is 671/605, Experian 616/611 according to the report the officer pulled and showed me. All indicate too many inquiries. A report regarding the ‘dispute’ we received from TransUnion indicates that the “estimated monthand year that this item will be removed is 12/2015. The letter from Equifax didn’t say anything of the sort. Can you advise us what, if anything we can do, if the charge off will indeed be removed in 12/2015, and the likelihood of him being able to get a mortgage, and if so when? Since I am an under employed teacher working two part time jobs, and have over $100,000 in student loan debt (which is reporting fine-I haven’t begun making payments yet) I don’t suspect me and my income and credit to be much help in our goal to get a mortgage.
Thank you in advance for your help.
You will want to wait for the item to fall off his credit reports in December.
Generally speaking, you will want a 620 FICO score or higher to qualify for FHA underwriting. There are limited instances where you can qualify with a lower score. I have an article up about fixing credit to buy a home.
Thanks, I will look at the article. Another question, why the differences in scores from different agencies?
Each of the credit bureaus developed and uses their own credit reporting platform. Their systems may have some similarities, but there are many differences. Those differences are what leads to their not matching up when the information they have is identical. Now consider the information they have is often not identical and you see more differences.
Also, since only one letter said the Chase Home Finance will be removed in 12/2015-is that truly the case? We live in Michigan, and I thought that these things stayed on for 7 years. Is it different among the credit reporting companies? One mortgage officer told us we’d have to wait 3 years after a foreclosure in order to get a mortgage. WHat is the difference between a charge off versus a foreclosure? Before we left the home we had tried multiple times to contact Chase and work with them to modify our mortgage, but despite sending many forms, multiple times, we were always dealing with a different employee who said we had done things incorrectly. The last time we contacted Chase they told my hisband they didn’t know who owned our mortgage anymore, and to call back in a few months.
When did you last make a payment and/or make regular payment on the Chase home loan at issue?
Did you ever look into whether your loan could be considered for inclusion in Chase’s settlement state and federal regulators?
It is a common practice to be locked out of home loan approval for 3 years after a foreclosure, short sale, etc. There are exceptions though.
I’d be happy to share more specifics with you, but posting it in ‘public’ doesn’t seem right. I don’t actually know if our loan falls into the settlement with state and federal regulators. How do I determine that? This is what the credit report shows:
Opened
01/07
Reported
05/12
High balance
75,650
Reviewed
—
30
4
60
2
90+
33
04/12
……
05/10
Pastdue
14,160
Payment
Profit & loss
Balance
70,701
Last active
05/11
*CX1 *CU1
[Ind]
High limit
—
Install (I9)
Mortgage
(CNV)
Profit and loss writeoff; Closed 05/11
You are welcome to submit a consult request from: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/free-debt-consultation/
Those forms all come to me first and it is highly likely it would be me that you speak with.
As far as the mortgage settlements go, I would start off by contacting your states attorney general office and ask for more information about the process. I can talk to you more about that in a consult.
Recently I have been contacted by a collection agency that has an unpaid bill of mine from more than 8 yrs ago. I have never made a payment on this account and it has multiplied 4x the oringal amount. They contact me roughly 4-5 times a week leaving me blank messages. They have told me recently that they have posted a comment on my report as of May 22, 2015 and had also told me about other reports on my credit. In my understanding I am way past the 7.5 yrs sol, are they a loud to be posting on my credit report? Also can they be contacting me for debt that is past the sol?
When a debt passes the SOL to legitimately sue in your state, or for the account to still show on your credit reports, it is still something debt collectors can call and send collection letters about. You can stop the calls and letters by sending them a cease communication letter. Use certified mail return receipt requested. Keep a copy of the letter you send, and the green return card you get back in a safe place. If you hear from the debt collector again, post an update and lets go from there.
If they did post anything new on your credit reports, post an update about that too.
Hi, I have a question I am concerned about my credit report it took me many years to realize or care but I have a lot of medicals bills that I never took care of when I was younger….. I was very irresponsible. I am 30 now and finally I am realizing that this is something I can’t let go anymore. The problem is some have been years maybe 7 plus, majority in Oregon where I am from and some in NYC. So do I pay them if they are probably old now I heard they never really go away some say after a certain amount of time they have to fall off but they are always looming or can be put on a public record? I am worried I don’t even know what is out there. I guess it would be on my credit report right and if so after should I not worry about the old ones I just want to build my credit and pay some off if I have to andget myself in a better place what should I do?
thanks
Do any of the old bills show on your credit reports now?
If they are more than 7 and one half years old, you should not see them on there. If some are not quite that old, it sounds like they should drop off soon.
Can you recall the exact dates you received the medical attention that led to the debts?
They would have to have sued you for the debts to be a matter of public record.
I have a rental company trying to get money out of me for my move out, which of course they over charge for damages that weren’t accurate, but anyway I moved out march 2008 and until this year 2015 I have received 2 letters one back in march and the other May stating if it’s not paid it will go to collections. Can they send it to my credit report after 7 years of no payments. I live in Texas.
If the debt has not appeared on your credit reports up to now, I am skeptical that it would as a result of being sent out to a third party agency for collection.
If the collection item did appear, it sounds like it would be short lived, and maybe only be allowed to legitimately report until November 2015 (based on the dates you shared). Be sure to monitor your credit reports.
I had a student loan debt charge-off taken off my credit history already due to its age of more than 8 yrs. I recently received a collection letter asking payment for the same debt. Would this collection activity re-appear on my credit history? Is it legal or what are my options if it does?
Unpaid student loans are still legally collectable even though they fall off your credit reports from age. If this is a private student loan it is likely that it should not reappear on your credit reports. Some federal student loans can legitimately appear on your credit longer the the 7 and one half year federal limits.
Thank you! Mine is a private loan that I cosigned. Does the California SOL apply on my loan? When you say legally collectable, they can send collection notices but can they sue and obtain a judgment? I appreciate your answers.
Additionally, all these years, I did not receive any sort of judgment notifications at all for this debt(originally from Sally Mae). It fell off my credit report and increasing my scores to 750 or so. I’m planning on purchasing a home within 2-3 years and just concerned that these collection efforts will hinder the loan process. I read here that judgments don’t necessarily show up on credit reports. Is there a place or way I can find out if there’s somehow a judgment against me for this loan? I hardly change addresses so it’s not like they don’t know where I reside.
I cosigned for this loan and I understand the liability aspect. The person who used the loan is working with an attorney for a forbearance and Bankruptcy case .
The SOL for the state you live in is generally what would apply.
If you want to double check whether there was a lawsuit filed and a judgment entered without you knowing, look up your name in the courts for the counties you have lived in. Many courts offer free online access to do this type of search.
Hi Michael,
I have a credit report from Focus receivable management back in 2008 and I get my monthly report from my bank I have notice a trend from them they mark it as closed then it goes off my report my credit score goes up(not by much) then a few months later they have a new credit report again same amount owed but a new date and drops my credit score. Are they allowed to do this? 10-10-2008 is when it was reported. Thanks. Im trying to work on my credit score and I have 3 things on there since I was 18. Trying to save up to pay it off $2400 in collection
Do you know when you last paid on the account Focus Receivable Management is showing up for on your credit reports? If it was more than 7 and one half years ago than Focus should not be on your credit reports.
I would file a credit reporting complaint against Focus Receivable with the CFPB. You can do that here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
Post an update with the outcome of the complaint and lets go from there.
Hi Michael,
It was through time warner and my military orders were suppose to cancel the contract out but I guess I owed them $222. I tried calling Time Warner to pay it but they won’t accept it and I read so many bad reviews about Focus Receivables that they don’t remove off the credit report so I haven’t called them. And I don’t want any harassment calls in the middle of the night living oversea again. I know I have until 10-10-2015 to file but is it still 10-10-2015 since the date just changed to 05-09-15 so new date would be 05-09-22? I have not made any payment. I just want to make sure I am in limits to file this claim before I do and I do not win cause they change the date. I have a printout from when it stated the original date. I checked my credit score and printed out my report then applied for my credit card in Oct. Sorry for the long post and all over the place I just want to get this company out of my life!
Given the additional details you shared, I would definitely start with complaint to the CFPB. And no, the on and off credit reporting with date changes should not be happening.
Be very detailed in your complaint with the CFPB and include that you were active duty. Be clear in the resolution you are seeking is that Focus Receivable be deleted from your credit reports permanently.
Hi Michael,
So I called the company awhile back and finally heard from them I paid in full cause I was just tired of the harassing calls but I was told it will still be in report for 7.5 years that they can not erase it. Is that true I thought if I paid in full it will be deleted. I could be wrong but please let me know. Thank you so much again.
Paying a collection account, whether paying in full or settling for less, results in the same thing. You get an updated credit report that shows the account is resolved. It does not get the account removed from your credit reports.
There are some very rare instances where pay for delete works, but that is not a realistic expectation to have in these scenarios 99% of the time.
Hi Michael,
I have a debt and I haven’t made a payment since 2007 (local credit union on a car loan). I’ve been trying to dispute it to take it off my credit report with Experian and they won’t remove it. This debt is over 7.5 years since the last payment.
So, how do I go about removing this from my credit report?
If the time has passed for this to stay on your credit reports, and your disputes are not resulting in the correct outcome, file a credit reporting complaint against Experian and the credit union with the CFPB.
Be as thorough as possible with the information you give the CFPB. Post an update with how this progresses for you. It could take a few weeks to hear back on your complaint.
I recently applied for a mortgage and received pre approval for new home construction. There is a collection item that is due to be “removed” or fall off in august 2015. does this happen automatically on the first day of the month that it is to be “removed”? The lender advised that they will pull the credit again after the date to be sure it had been removed.
The collection item will not necessarily be removed on the first of the month.
Thank you Michael
If not necessarily on the first, but sometime during that month.correct? who exactly removes the item? if not removed during the month it is scheduled to be removed do I need to contact someone and if so who?
Yes, during the month. If the item is showing as scheduled to be removed, it is the bureaus that will delete it.
If the collection does not come up as scheduled, send the bureau a dispute and demand it be removed immediately. If the collection stays on at that point, file a credit reporting complaint with the CFPB.
Hello Michael. I talked to you before about a junk debt collector putting something on my credit report after 18 years. I write the consumer complaint dept, the attorney generals office in Fl. and Mo. .I wrote Trans Union , Experian and Equifax and it is not on there but the finance company denied me a small $15K loan and even gave me the date in was put on my credit report . Are traditional loans and commercial loans held by the same standards.? Can a 1989 time share debt be used to base a loan on. It was taken off my report in 1997. I don’ get it because I have brought cars , a truck and a house and can’t buy a used commercial truck. I have the info for the attorneys in Missouri you gave me . Thank you
Speak with one of those attorneys and find out what you may be able to do.
Commercial credit does not carry the same protections as consumer credit.
I have been in the process of paying off our debts the past 3 years. My husbands medical bills were so enormous that we were going to file bankruptcy but ended up not doing so because he owns his own business and he would run the risk of losing it. I hope to be rid of debt by the end of this year. I just checked my account through Credit Karma and I show a debt on my credit report that shows the date June 7, 2010, with a new report date of April 3, 2015. This creditor has NEVER contacted me. I am aware that the law in Colorado states that the active date for debt changes when you’ve had contact with the debtor (statue of limitations). How can they update a reporting date if they’ve had no contact with me?? Colorado law says they can no longer legally pursue a debt after 3 years for credit cards. I will not contact them and risk violating the current statue of limitations. What are their rights, and mine? Will this be required to drop off my credit report in 7.5 years or are they extending that by new reporting dates? And how can they have new reporting dates if they’ve had no contact with me. Thank you.
The debt collector should fall off at the same time as the original creditor. This may just have been an “update” to your credit reports by the debt collector, and not an attempt to reage the collection derogatory so that it appears for longer than is permitted. If I read your comment correctly, that is what I think occurred (they did not reage).
Who is the debt collector in question? Some of them have a reputation for fast and loose credit reporting.
You would not reage the SOL to sue by dealing with credit reporting issues. That concern is more about offers to pay, and in most states must be done in writing to reset the SOL, such as in Colorado.
Can a debt collector come back an try to get u after a 13 yr repo
Debts like yours are still collectable after 13 years. But after 13 years, the time limit to sue you will have expired in nearly all states, and the repossession should no longer be appearing on your credit reports.
If this debt turned into a judgment some years ago, you should really be looking at ways to resolve it. If not, paying on the debt will be a matter of personal choice.
Who is the debt collector? Are they calling, writing, reporting?
I have a question. I am in the middle of getting a loan on a house I have a collection showing on my credit report Eufora out of Pheniox AZ. I tried to contact this company for two yrs to get the collection off my report. I have called the number they give on report it answers like the company but no response. I am afraid to dispute it because its 7 yrs in JUNE 2015. I catalo need to pull my loan by May 2015. Should I dispute it?
When you disputed the credit report in the past, was it only with Eufora directly, or had you sent disputes to the credit reporting agencies?
I actually didn’t dispute it in the past. I was just learning how to fix my credit and clear this stuff up recently. I always just tried to call and pay if they could prove it. I did a ton of research and found out about the dispute process but was also told it updates if they have proof. This account was so long ago I honestly don’t remember if its a legit. sadly! It was only with Eufora. I don’t remember any people even calling to collect either. No paperwork like I have had with other collections. Does this help?
Yes, thanks. I would dispute it with all credit reporting agencies as “not mine” if it were me. Eufora is/was more of a high fee secured card advertised as a credit builder. I do not think they were very good at it.
Hello:
I’m hoping you can help me navigate a situation. There is a HELOC (in my husband’s name only) that was sold off by BOA while we had been in the process of negotiating a short sale offer with our lender at the time who was Countrywide (which became BOA).
Twice we had an attorney contact the company who took on the HELOC (Real time Resolutions) and they never responded with any information about the debt. My understanding of the law is that if they don’t respond in 30 days that the debt can’t be listed on the credit report? Is that accurate?
In 2013 I submitted a dispute with Experian about the debt. They reported that it would report to a positive by 2/2015. Based on that dispute response I used the consumer finance protection bureau to contact all three credit bureaus to have the item deleted from my husband’s credit file. Each credit bureau did so. However after two weeks, Equifax put the item back on his credit again. Causing his credit score to dip 85 points.
I submitted another dispute with the CFPB. So far nothing has changed as I am monitoring his credit.
I know the SOL on this debt has past. We are in NV. However I am unclear as to when this debt will fall off his credit and no longer count against him as we are trying to purchase a home.
I am unsure of the exact date that the first payment was not made on this account but I believe it was May 2008.
However I had been using the date that original dispute I filed returned to me, which was 2/2015 as a status change date. So if the last payment was to be due 5/2008 (as a document I have from Real Time shows) does that mean that the 7 years is May 2008?
Who are the powers that be that remove an account once it has reached the appropriate time frame? Am I relying on Equifax to remove this account? Or the creditor? Or how exactly does that process happen. Sorry to ramble on. Thanks so very much for your time.
I am not sure what you are asking in regard to a 30 day response deadline and Real Time Resolution not being allowed to appear on your credit reports. Can you tell me more about what your dispute was about?
You said you filed another complaint with the CFPB against Equifax. When did you file that complaint?
You generally count forward 7.5 years from when you stopped payments on an account to determine when it will age off credit reports. If May 2008 is when payments stopped, it could be November this year when this falls off his credit.
You would generally assume the credit bureau will delete from your reports. But Equifax will use dates provided to them by Real Time Resolution, so in essence, it is both of them that impact the deletion. And collectors can report dates that are not accurate, which can delay the credit bureaus deleting old items. You have to stay on top of them.
I forgot the Mortgage was in Ohio. I now live in Floirda.
When was it that you stopped paying on the mortgage? Is this debt left after a short sale or foreclosure?
I foreclosed on the house in 2008 it was owned by citi bank at the time. The house was sold soon after. Not sure how Wilmington Finance could be involved in that.
Unpaid debts and defaulted loans are bought and sold by investors regularly. A debt can be sold multiple times. The new owners should not report to the credit bureaus in a way that would extend how long they stay on your reports, but should report in a way that has their entry dropping off at the same time Citibank does.
Is Citi still on your credit reports? If so, what is the date they are scheduled to drop off?
I have a debt on my transunion cr that is from Wilmingtom Financal that was bought off by Citi Financial. back in 2005. The amount is not the same as the Citi Financial amount. The Citi Financial is 95000 and the Wilmingtom Financial is only 21000. The Wilmington Financial debt was sold to Collinsasset which now shows a opening date of Dec 2013
Thank you for your help Mr. Bovee. I have another question. Will these drop off my credit reports if it has been 7 yrs and my SOL is 4 years automatically? Or do I have to write a letter to each credit reporting agency and each debt collector and ask it to be removed? I know you said if a new collections buys my debt they can start with the letters and phone calls but that I can write a cease all communications letter. Would any collector even want to buy my debt unless I won the CA lotto? They obviously can see I have no money and no intent to pay off any old debts after 7 years. Will there be a red flag that just says I didn’t pay my bills that can never be removed? This is why I was considering a bankruptcy? I have no intent on acquiring any kind of new debt or credit card in the future. I just want to be able to rent a decent place to live. Thank you so much for helping all of us with your comments.
Credit card debts will fall off your credit reports after up to 7 and one half years from the date you stopped paying. The original creditor, and the debt collectors that pick up these accounts later, should all be set to age off your credit at the same time. The debt buyers do not get to add on time just because they are new to the scene. If they do, it is often referred to as illegally reaging, which unfortunately still happens. But you can dispute any reaging that occurs with the credit bureaus and even the CFPB.
Check your credit reports after you know the negatives were to be automatically removed. Post an update if anything remains and lets go from there.
This close to all of the collections dropping off your credit reports, the bankruptcy could prevent you reaching your goals at the soonest time possible.
I am primarily interested in raising my credit score. . I Live in Pa. I have 5 original lender credit card entries. All reporting last payments in 2010 and noted as “charged off.” I have collection company entries that the original lenders sold to all with “in collection status”. I have not had any contact with any of these since the last payments to the original lenders in 2010.
In addition I had an apartment rent judgement reporting an which I just paid in full today to the collection agency handling it.
My questions:
1) Once the collection company reports the apartment judgment “paid” to the credit reporting companies, can I get it deleted from the credit reports before waiting 7 years and if so how?
2) Can I get the 5 original lenders that have noted my accounts as “charged off” to delete their entries before 7 years? Are not the collection agency entries duplicates as far as the amount of negative items shown on my reports?
Thanks
The way judgment debts get updated on your credit reports is typically going to be when your local court data miners, that feed the information to the credit bureaus, pick up on the fact the court record has been updated to reflect the judgment has been paid or satisfied. Read over that link and the comments. It is not all that common to get a judgment deleted early, and have that stick.
Getting collections and charge offs deleted before they are scheduled to drop from age is possible with some, and not so much with others, and probably not across all three credit reporting agencies.
What are your credit and financing goals in the next 2 years?
Hello Michael,
I have simple goals. First is to raise my credit score, Right now its averaging 590 with all three credit bureaus. Second is to get a credit card, secured or unsecured, whatever I can get to help me reestablish a credit history. Third is being able to rent an apartment.
The collection company that was handling the apartment judgement sent me a letter stating that I was paid in full. They also said they would send a letter to district court explaining that the judgement has been satisfied.
All this information is helpful but overwhelming at times as I decide on a course of action. Am I heading the right direction?
You are headed in the right direction. I would look at a secured card from BofA or your own bank, or a low limit unsecured credit rebuilding card from Capital One, and soon. When is the last time you applied for credit of any nature?
Unless you are able to negotiate lower balance payoffs on those other collection accounts, you are looking at a balance of establishing new credit, and time passing, in order to rebuild your credit.
You are passed the SOL for the debt collectors to legitimately sue in Pennsylvania. That puts you in a good place to wait this out, or to negotiate good settlements.
What are your thoughts and inclinations?
Hello Michael,
The last time I applied for any type of credit was in 2008. I have not considered BofA or Capital One for a secured or unsecured card because they were the two banks that I defaulted with their credit cards and rightly or wrongly, I just assumed they would deny me for that reason. I have looked at cards from other banks (being careful because some have outrageous fees). Am I wrong to assume they will just arbitrary deny me because of my negative history with them?
Also does it show or does it matter on the credit reports if the credit card is secured or unsecured? One bank, First National Bank of Omaha has decent fees for a secured card and say they will review my history after 11 months to consider opting me to an unsecured card.
Thank you, your comments are invaluable.
Both could decline you (BofA for secured card, Capital One for starter unsecured card), and for the reasons that concern you. Neither bank is well known for maintaining a black list on customers.
I like FNBO. It can matter a bit if the account is secured or unsecured. FNBO does convert to unsecured after some time, so it is as good a place to start as any.
I received a summons for an old credit card debt that is no longer on any credit reports. Need to file an answer back with the court and not sure what to do. Since it has dropped off the reports I’m assuming it is past the SOL. I live in Colorado.
I would not rely on the credit reports for determining if something is too old to be sued for collection in your state.
Do you recognize the debt as yours? Can you determine the date you last made a payment to anyone on the account?
Would paying off a debit that is 6 plus years old improve your credit? I would like to get a new car this summer, but I’m wondering if I settle these two debits, will it improve my credit score at all? Both of these debits are old credit cards accounts from HSBC and Chevron that are scheduled to drop off my report in 06/2016 and 12/2016.
Second question, I sent a validate letter to a collection company and it was delivered Feb 9, 2015. I still have not heard anything from this company, how long do they have to replay??
Thank You for the help!
You may not even be able to get the car loan with unpaid collections on your credit reports. Do you know anyone that works in the auto finance industry? Ask them about what is happening with loans like one you would be looking to get approved.
Settling the old bills can sometimes lead to a drop in your credit scores. How much lower will vary, but not usually by much, and not for very long. Talk about that issue with someone in auto finance too. Where you bank may be a good source of information if they do auto loans.
Debt collectors are generally not under any time constraint for how long they can take to reply to your request for debt validation. They may never respond to you. But they cannot continue to try and collect until they do respond.
Thank You.
I have defaulted on several dept store credit cards as well as a Cap One and also had a car repossessed. I will never be able to settle or make any payment on any debt I have. I have not made one payment since fall of 2008. I do not even have a bank account. I had a 25$ payment to the IRS deducted from my payroll check twice monthly for some back taxes I owed in 2005 until I rec’d a letter telling me they had considered my IRS debt paid due to it being 10 yrs old and I was released of my debt because I had tried to pay it in good faith. If I request a credit report from the 3 major credit reporting agencies will that flag a collection agency? If not, who do I request my report from.
What state do you live in? After close to 7 years of nonpayment on the old debts, and with no intent to negotiate anything with debt collectors, most people do not have to be overly concerned with credit reporting alerts the collectors may view. The debt collectors cannot put any teeth behind their collection efforts when your states SOL to legitimately sue is passed. They may be able to see that you care a little bit about your credit, and that can lead to some collection notices in the mail or some phone calls, but that is about it (depending on your answer to state of residence).
I live in California and I am still getting a phone call from just one collector. I will never buy anything on credit again, even if I could. After a divorce and receiving credit cards approvals in the mail every day and being so stupid to sign the agreements, my life will never be the same again. Will these drop off or should I file a bankruptcy at this point.? I will be renting an apt and they will be doing a credit check so I’m curious after all this time what will pop up or what will fall off. I’m way too old to start my life over again.
The SOL to legitimately sue for collection on these old credit cards is 4 years in California. You do not need to file bankruptcy. It would cause way more harm to your credit at this point.
Check your credit reports and scores at will. If collectors call or write to you at this point, you can write them and request that they cease all communication with you. That will stop calls and letter until some new collector gets a debt. You can repeat the process with the new debt collector. Make sure any letters you send you use certified mail return receipt, and keep a copy of your letter and the little green card you get back in the mail.
My husband has several collection agencies reporting to his credit. Mainly for medical bills. Some of them are set to be removed in early 2016. We live in Ohio. Should we wait for them to just fall off or do we need to pay them? He’s also in the military if that effects anything or not.
It is a good idea to pay them if that is something within your means.
Is there a pressing credit or finance goal you are trying to accomplish in the next year?
I have a student loan that is paid off, and was paid off 7 years ago. However about 10 years ago I had a few payments that were late. This still shows up on my credit report, despite that all accounts in question are closed, and all others are current. My degree is in Economics, and I take courses in financial fields on the side. Will this kill my chances at working in the financial industry? (None of my courses have covered this sort of compliance issue.)
I cannot think of a scenario where some 30 day late pays on credit reports from 10 years back will impact your employment opportunities. Not when you are the right candidate for the job.
Last Reported Jan 31, 2015
Creditor Name USA FUNDS
Account Type
Account Status
Opened Date Apr 11, 2014
Closed Date Jun 30, 2014
i am unsure about this one a friend of mine ask me if usa could report on a closed out acct on her student loans. she said for some reason they keep reporting on it. when does the seven years start? does it start from the time the account is opened dated or last reported? i am unsure on this question.
Student loans underwritten by the federal government are not necessarily limited to the 7 year credit reporting timeline.
Everything in student loans is based off your default date…the date the guarantor paid the claim. They can continue to report for 7 years from that date, even if the loan is paid in full.
Hello Michael , Thank you again for all your help. I got my credit report from Experian and Trans Union showing no such delinquent accounts and Trans Union even sent me a letter saying that there is no such item on my credit report and I personally looked at each report. The company that denied me credit did so in a manner that is not consistent with fair credit evaluation. I have no idea where this information is coming from but it’s annoying and maybe being used against me in an unethical manner . I question the professionalism of this company and I may have them investigated for unfair practices. The item was taken off my credit report late 1997. 18 years ago I don’t think it can get sold over and over to junk debt collectors for that long can it. I noticed some FDCPA info in one of the post . Let me know if this is something I should look in to. Are there other agencies the companies use to gather info for loan applicants.? Thank you again
I sent you an email with contact details to attorneys who normally offer a no cost initial consult, and who can help you weigh your options about the credit denial.
Yes, really old debts are sold over an and over again, and there is nothing illegal about it as of today.
I live in TX. I have 2 accounts that have been charged off. One to Citi Bank that the original credit line was for $4200. I had been making payments then lost my job and went through a divorce, needless to say I quit paying on it. It no longer shows up on my credit but I still get mail from MCM from time to time wanting to settle but the amount they say is owed is over $11,000. The other is with capital one, it is also in collections with MCM. It shows up on my credit report saying that I owe $1,200. the original debt was charged off at about $400. However it is showing an “open” account. I have been reading a lot of what has been posted here. I just need to know how to handle this. I don’t want to run the risk of being sued, but I don’t have the money to pay the “settlement” that they are offering. Any advice would be helpful.
Citibank is no longer on your credit report, but is MCM or Midland Funding showing on your credit for this account?
Is Capital One still on your credit report? Does it show a zero balance owed now that they sold the account to Midland, and now Midland is showing the open account for this debt?
When was it that you can best recall you last paid Capital One or Citibank?
I can offer better feedback if you post a reply with answers to those questions.
Capital One is showing a zero balance. I have not paid on this account since it was charged off in 2009. Midland is showing the account opened in 2011.
Citibank was about the same time as well 2009 when last payment was made. But there is nothing on my report about Citibank or Midland for that amount $11,000 +, but they (Midland) continue to send a bill from time to time.
This is what is showing on my report.
CAP ONE Find a better credit card for you
Account Name: CAP ONE
Account #: I deleated
Payment Status: Charge-off
Account Type: Credit Card
Balance: –
Date Open: 03/01/2008
Last Updated: 01/01/2009
Account Status: –
Terms: Revolving
Phone #: No Phone Provided
Address: PO BOX 85520
Ownership:
Original Creditor: –
Company Sold-to: –
Credit Limit: $300
Monthly Payment: –
Past Due Amount: –
High Balance: –
Balloon Payment: –
Comments: –
MIDLAND FUNDING (844) 236-1959
Account Name: MIDLAND FUNDING
Account #: 853829XXXX
Payment Status: Seriously past due date / assigned to attorney, collection agency, or credit grantor’s internal collection department
Account Type: Collection Account
Balance: $1130
Date Open: 01/01/2011
Last Updated: 04/01/2011
Account Status: –
Terms: 1 Month
Phone #: (844) 236-1959
Address: 8875 AERO DR STE 200
Ownership:
Original Creditor: CAPITAL ONE BANK USA N.A.
Company Sold-to: –
Credit Limit: –
Monthly Payment: –
Past Due Amount: $1130
High Balance: –
Balloon Payment: –
The SOL to sue you legitimately in Texas is 4 years for these accounts, so that appears to have passed. Suing you would not be in the playbook at this point.
As for the credit reporting, Midland Credit should fall off at the same time that Citibank and Capital One do. If they don’t, you can dispute them off as too old to remain.
Are you okay with ignoring the collection attempts? You can write to MCM and tell them to stop communicating with you if you like. Collection calls and letters would stop.
i just check my credit report and it said an update and there were 2 of the old student loan were removed. i know they haven’t got my letter yet.
I have an account from a car loan that went into default in aug 2008, and in 2010 it looks like “somebody” I am assuming the credit union itself has been paying $5 on the account. Is that to try and keep it active? This should be charged off my record in January 2016, so what do you think is going on with them paying $5 a month on the account?
I cannot think of a reason the credit union would apply 5 dollar monthly payments. Your account is showing as past due right?
If your payments were not being made in full, your account is considered delinquent. If 5 dollars is being applied as a monthly adjustment, this is not going to impact the credit reporting time limitations. But if for some reason the account is still on your credit reports after it has been 7.5 years since you first missed payment that led to default, post an update and lets go from there.
they are government student loans
Federally backed student loans can stay on your credit reports for longer than the 7 years.
July 21, 2008 was the last payment made on the child support.
Check to make sure that the child support credit reporting is deleted this coming August after the 7 year mark has passed.
i only mailed out two of them because i had know idea if i was even doing it right or not and i was having issue with it printing out the 3 one. i am going to work on the trying to print out my 3rd on and send it out asap just like i did the other 2. i am hoping to have the 3 one mailed out by Monday. if you disputed something and they basic say to bad. is there a time limit on how long you can dispute it again?
There is not really a time limit per say. If your dispute is obvious, and the credit bureaus balk for whatever reason, it can make for sense in some situations to file credit reporting complaints with the CFPB next, rather than re-dispute.
You did not say whether these were private or government student loans.
i outlined each one like i did for you asking that they remove them or correct them because of how old they were. i kept it really basic because i look every where online trying to find out how to find the information on how to dispute student loans. There was hardly anything. I know i have to pay them and i am but its really confusing to have so many of them on my report i have to read all them just so i know i am looking at the right one. its sad that i found this page after i mailed out my letter. i will keep you up dated on what i find out. now on a different note my husband has a child support 19 years old that is still on his credit report it is paid off he hasn’t had to pay child support since 2008. at on point during him paying child support they stop taking his child support because the employment had made a mistake and was taking the full amount every two week for a year and know one noticed he was over paying. how do we go about disputing that one?
Child support is limited to staying on his credit report for 7 years. What month in 2008 was that last payment made?
i hope this gives you a better idea of what i have going on.
July 10, 2007 balance -$0- on this account. account is closed – Transfer/Sold it has been on credit report for 7 years and 7 months.
July 10, 2007 balance is -$0- on this account Closed – Transfer/Sold. it has been on credit report for 7 years and 7 months.
January 23, 2007 balances is -0- on this account. the account is Closed – Transfer/Sold . It has been on my credit report for 8 years and 1 month.
January 23, 2007 balances is -$0- on this account. the account is Closed – Transfer/Sold . It has been on my credit report for 8 years and 1 month.
April 22, 2008 balances is -$0- this account. This account has been Closed – Transfer/Sold. It has been on my credit report for 7 years and 2 months.
April 22, 2008 balances is -$0- the account has been Closed – Transfer/Sold . It has been on my credit report for 7 years and 2months.
April 22, 2008 balances is -$0- account has been Closed – Transfer/Sold . It has been on my credit report for 7 years and 2 months. I am requesting that the item be removed.
same accounts more than once on my credit report just changing the amount that due and the date they were opened.
United Student Aid Funds c/o Sallie Mae the account is Closed – Transfer/Sold. balance -0-
United Student Aid Funds c/o Sallie Mae the account is Closed – Transfer/Sold . balance -0-
United Student Aid Funds c/o Sallie Mae the account is closed. balance -0-
there is no open date on these 3 it just has 2 lines
Thank You
Chris
Nearly all of these should have aged off your credit reports. I will be interested to learn what the credit bureaus reply with. They should reply within 30 days, and I would expect the majority to come off. But if that does not occur, post an update and lets go from there.
I do not know what you wrote in the dispute letter you sent, but a straight forward approach to this, outlining that the accounts should have aged off, would be hard to misinterpret.
You said you sent out disputes to two of the credit reporting companies. Did the third already have these removed? Were these private student loans?
i am disputing it because of how old they are and that they have been duplicated more than once. each one i have on my credit report is 7 and 8+ years and they are closed with a zero balance 2 of them say derogatory that have been closed for 8 years and 8 months it was last reported on 4/08. the rest of them say collection but they are closed with a zero balance. my student loans are with great lakes and they are current.
Thank you,
Chris
I disputed two accounts that have passed the 7 year mark on my credit and it now says “account information disputed by consumer, meets FCRA requirements”. What does that mean if the account truly is older than 7 years past due? One is from AT&T via EOS CCA and it was opened in 2012 but the phone balance is from 2007. The other is from GE via LVNG FUND opened in 2010 but the account closed also in 2007.
If you are certain that the accounts are 7.5 years old (not just 7 years even), I would file credit reporting complaints with the CFPB.
It appears that LVNV Funding and EOS CCA could have reaged the debt based on the dates you provided. But it may also be that you are not quite passed the 7.4 year mark.
i am not sure if i did this right or even if it will help. i sent out two dispute letters out today two of the credit reports. i had let my students loans get away from me over the years. i am paying on one and the other 2 are in forbearance. on my credit report it says i have a total of 16 student loans how ever all but 3 are closed, sold, transferred, and the balance is zero and the are 8 and 7 years old from the day they opened up them. so i sent out a dispute letter asking for them to be removed or corrected. i am not even sure they can be removed. i don’t have a total of 16 students loan a few of them were only opened for 6 months before they were closed and a new open date was applied to them. any info on students loan on the credit report would be helpful. thank you so much for your help and time.
Thank You
Chris
Are you disputing them as duplicates, not yours, or something else? Are they showing as key derogatory or collections on your credit reports?
Dear Michael,
Thank you for your time and response to my inquiery,
I have noticed over the years that some of my very old collection accounts are still appearing on my credit report. I have also noticed Collection companies seem to sell old accounts every two years or so, to update the reporting date, so as to never allow an old collection account to be removed from your credit report.
So my question is this, can I successfully argue or demand the removal of any old accounts by using the methods below?
Contact the Collection Company trying to Collect on a very old debt.
Ask them, According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act….
Please send me a Report by mail, asking for the following information.
1. What is the Company name of the Origional Account that this debt was owed to?
2. What was the last reported Amount owed to the origional Creditor?
3. What was the last documented communication date with origional Creditor?
4. What was the amount of last payment to the origional Creditor and the last documented payment Date?
Once I receive this information in the mail can I…
1. Use it to Close the Account per the last communication date with the origional creditor?
2. Ask that they Delete it within 30 days from their records?
3. And notify all 3 Credit Reporting Agencies within 30 days is Closed and Deleted from record?
…accordingly, if the origional Communication date with the origional Creditor is past the 7 year reporting period?
The path I would take to resolve collection accounts reaging on my credit reports would be simplified to:
Identify the original creditor that is still reporting. If the account is too old for them to still be showing, I would dispute all related entries as too old to be on there.
If the original creditors negative reporting has not aged off, but multiple debt collectors are showing up for a specific account, I would first identify if the original creditor is still reporting a balance. If not, I know the account was sold. I would dispute any debt collector entry that is not the current owner.
If the original creditor has not aged off, and still shows a balance owed, it is more likely the debt was not sold. I would dispute any debt collector reporting who is not currently the assigned collector.
Who are the debt collectors reporting new dates on your credit reports?
Are any of the original creditors still showing negatives on your credit reports?
Hi Michael,
I have a collection account from a phone company that will fall off my report in July or August. My question is will the “scheduled to remove” date change? Also, will the collection account be automatically removed from my report after August or do I need to dispute it before it can be removed? Lastly, do you think I should request a copy of the credit report for proof of the “scheduled to remove” date just in case that date will change?
Thank you for your help!
The scheduled to remove date should not change, assuming the date is based on when your negative account is considered 7 years old.
The collection should be automatically removed without your having to send in a dispute to get it deleted.
If it were me, I would want a copy of my credit report to use in any later dispute about scheduled drop dates, should it be necessary.
Hi Michael, I have a Current Collection account debt for around $1000 Back from 2007 that is scheduled to drop off my credit reports as of June 2015. The debt is not for a CC debt, but for a agreement from a local advertising company. The Debt was sold from the original Creditor(advertising agency) To a Collection agency, and the CA is the one making the marks on my Credit report. I live in California, and the CA is also in California. Even though the Debt is planned to drop off my report in 3-4 months, I am nervous that once it does, it will simply be sold to another debt buyer and restarted on my credit report as a new Collection account.
I have 2 questions/options that I have been debating with my self-
1- Should I Call the Collection agency and settle with them regardless of the amount? Also- Paying the debt amount , when the report is changed to Paid/Settled amount- would this restart the 7.5 year term for drop off? Or still keep the same schedule to drop off in June?
2- Continue waiting until June and let it drop off with out paying the amount at all? and forget it entirely( Hoping that I don’t get sued for the amount or it get resold.)
I just do not want the debt being re-sold after this term drops off, and don’t want to wait another 7 years if renewed for Updating to paid/settled. I have the money to pay if off, But am really not in a large rush to get it off my report before June.
What would you recommend in this situation. BTW- I love this thread and your dedication to helping resolve issues with every one involved. Thank you
1. If it were me considering settling this old of a collection account, that is just about to drop off my credit, I would not.
Paying or settling with the debt collector will not legitimately re-age the account on your credit. Nor would the resale of the account create a legitimate re-reporting concern. This kind of thing can happen though, so you will want to keep on eye on your reports, and use your right to dispute where needed.
2. Based on what you shared, you are passed the point for a legitimate lawsuit to be filed for collection in California. Should something like that occur, post an update and lets go from there.
I would wait it out.
can anyone assist me in this matter. I went to school in 2005 in which the school shut its doors on students closed down and left me with an outstanding balance. Its now 2015 and the collection shows open date 2012 in which this been on my credit since 2006 in collection. can a collection agency keep pushing the date to more new to keep it on my report or it suppose to drop in 7 years.. it shows it will stay to 2019 because they updated the collection date when transferred.
That should not be happening. I would start with filing a credit reporting complaint with the CFPB here: consumerfinance.gov/complaint/.
Were the student loans private? Are they trying to collect on loans from the time period they shut down and left you in a lurch?
Where you actually in attendance when the school closed down?? Basically go to school one day and it was closed the next?? Was a teach out offered? If these are gov’t loans, did you ever talk to your lender? If you qualified, fed loans can be discharged for school closure.
And mike…fed loans can be subrogated with basically double the reporting time.
Mr. Bovee,
Is it better to pay off charged-off debts or just to let it fall off after the SOL? I am in the state of Texas and I only have two more charged-off accounts needing to be paid. I am paying both accounts off in full.
My ultimate goal is to repair my credit.
Thanks for your help!
It depends on your goals. Post a reply with answers to some questions.
What are the reasons you want to repair your credit?
When was it you last paid on these accounts?
Who is reporting the debt with a balance owed on your credit reports, your original creditor, or a debt collector?
Paying charged off collection accounts in full is often going to get you the same result as settling for less as far as your credit goes.
Mr. Bovee,
Thanks for your prompt response as I am amazed how quickly you responded.
I want to repair my credit so we can apply for a mortgage and also not to mention my wife has perfect credit.
On the “Big Three” it shows the charged-off collections. The tricky question is one of the CC’s I am paying towards was charged off years ago and was a credit card for my personal business at the time.
I was told from CCS that it is always best to pay off any debt owed.
Thanks for your help!
You will need to resolve the collection debts before applying for a mortgage, but not necessarily pay the debts off in full. If that is the context that CCS said to pay old debts, it would be accurate.
I want to know when you last made a payment on the two remaining debts so that I could offer more than just general feedback.
Are you paying toward only one old debt (the old personal business card you mention), or are you making payments now on all of your older collection debts?
If you have yet to set up a solution, I would typically encourage settling over making installment payments toward the full balance to a debt collector.
Mr. Bovee,
I am making payments on both CC’s one being my personal and the other company.
Thanks again for your expertise.
Regards,
Will
Okay. Can you outline the payment agreements for me? What is the approximate balance owed? What are your monthly payments? Who is it you are paying?
Those payments you made will typically mean you reaged the debt.Not for credit reporting, those accounts should still fall off as scheduled. But you may have restarted the SOL to be sued for the debt. That can create a situation where it is indeed better to continue paying off the debt. That said, there are still opportunities to settle the bills for less, which is why I asked for the details of the accounts.
I have 3 collections on each report. They fall off Eq & Tu in aug/sep 2015 and off of exp in june/july 2015. I want to request early exclusion over the phone, but which #s do I call? I am not disputing, just asking for them to be removed early. I have read others have had success.
Are you talking about calling the credit bureaus themselves and requesting a good will removal?
Yes but myfico users refer to it as early exclusion. When is the best time to ask each bureau?
Credit reporting companies are not in the habit of deleting negative items off of your reports early, and just for the fact that you asked. They generally require a dispute of some sort to be instigated. That stuff I am familiar with.
Good will letters are a mixed bag, mostly filled with “did not work”.
The thinking behind this stuff is more or less “why not try”, and there is something to that attitude. But there are also ways people go about these processes, or how the CRA interprets correspondence, that I have seen drop a credit score.
What is the credit or finance goal that you have in the next 6 months that suggests you should try to get collections removed early?
I filed through Trans Union and I am on the one you sent. Trans Union told me itll take up to 30 days to hear anything and after the 30 days if I do not get a response than it will be deleted. But I did just get on Credit Karma to get info off their and I checked things in Equifax also and its not the same name as it shows on Trans Union. Trans Union shows the account under ” Common Wealth ” and Equifax shows ” NE CRDTOL “.
Either way, continuing to report something negative after what can be up to 7.5 years, or suggesting that the new company gets to report longer because… they are newly collecting, is not in line with your consumer rights.
I would file complaints with the CFPB, and not the credit bureaus. This way you are highly likely to get your situation in front of an intelligent set of eyeballs at the credit reporting agency, as opposed to what may be a problem resolution center employee off shore.
My questions is… I gave back a car in 2007 and they marked it down as a repo. I got my credit report towards the end of 2014 and it showed where that car in collection was closed in June 2014. I recently got a report showing the car collection to be re-opened in Aug 2014 by a different collection agency than the original. Is that legal for them to do that even after the 7yr mark and not by who the collection was originally from?
What you shared describes a debt collector illegitimately reaging a debt in order to make it show on your credit reports longer than it should. What is the name of the debt collector?
the original is Santander and the new one is common wealth
I would file a credit reporting complaint with the CFPB. It would be great for other readers if you post an update with the result after you hear back from them.
I was just told by Trans Union that the account was closed June 2014 ( 7 yrs ) and now taken over by another company and they have the right to report it again. But I did file a dispute.
With whom did you file your dispute?
I forgot to mention I live in Arizona, same as the hospital location.
Thx
I had a charge off credit card account with Apple Federal Credit Union in March 2008. They did not send it to any external collection agency but instead converted this charge off credit card account into a 36 month installment loan without my consent and knowledge in October 1 2008.
I did not make any payments and It was then charged off again in October 31 2008.
I understand that this negative trade line should come off my credit report after 7.5 years without paying the balance owed.
However, I had an auto loan with Apple FCU that I paid off in May 2010. They refused to release the title since they have cross collateral clause on my auto loan.
In this case,I am forced to pay off the balance if I want to get the vehicle title. Should I negotiate with Apple FCU to remove the charge off installment account which has not been sent to external collection agency if I pay in full?
It is worth a shot, but it is not all that common for banks to agree to remove negative items off your credit reports. It will come off your reports soon anyway, so that is good.
Would you please suggest how to approach them to remove the negative items off the report? How do I open up the dialogue?
I am able and willing to pay in full. The balance is 3000 dollars.
After paying off the balance, will I be able to reopen accounts with them such as CD or loan?
Am I able to negotiate with them to remove some late payments on my auto loan which was paid and already closed years ago but those late payments are still showing on my credit report?
It is as simple as asking what their policy is for your situation, and if you were somehow able to pull together the money to pay the balance off in full, if they would remove the negative reporting.
I just do not see this type of thing happening with banks. Power company, maybe… small medical office or billing, a chance, but not banks.
Ask about their policy with opening additional accounts. For many banks, that will not be a problem once you get everything else worked out.
Getting the 30 day late pays on the auto loan removed is just not gonna happen. It would be a fluke.
What are you credit and finance goals in the next 12 to 24 months?
Hi Michael,
I recently recieved a letter from a collection agency attempting to collect on a hospital debt from Febuary 2007 for approx. $2000. At the bottom of the letter it states, “If we dont revieve a letter of dispute within 30 days we will consider the debt is valid”. If I ignore this letter and not respond, does the debt become valid again ? Or should I write them and tell them the debt is past the SOL and I am not paying a dime ?
I dont think the debt shows on my credit report at this time.
Thanks
Jefrf
A debt from February 2007 is out of stat to legitimately sue, and to appear on your credit report. If you have no interest in paying, you could also consider writing a cease communication letter that included the collection agency is SOL (the other kind).
Send any letter certified mail return receipt.
Michael
I have a debt with citibank that was sent to collections United recovery systems. I have been making monthly payments to the collection agency 70 a month for last 5-6 years. they just sent me a letter saying my balance is 3600.70 but they are offering me a settlement that ends tomorrow for 1,260.25. I have heard that after 7 years it falls off my credit when I looked today at credit karma it showed closed date 2-1-2008. Is that why they’re sending me this settlement offer because it will fall off 2-1-15 or can they just turn it over to a new collector that day to keep the debt going?
It may fall off of your credit report, but the debt is still collectable. Your most recent payment is likely to be the date you would count the SOL for how long you can be sued for collection, but run that by an experienced debt defense attorney to be sure about the way your courts rule on this.
Yes, they can still turn it over to another collector.
Ok so in other words I should settle and pay it off today. Because they can still collect the debt from me even after 7 years has passed or if they can they can just give it to another collector..?
Well come to think about it if it falls of my credit report what would be the point of me still paying on the bill.? I always want to pay my bills but this one i’ve already payed more then I borrowed and kinda just want to be done with it.
It is not about the account falling off your credit reports. If it were me, it would be about the fact that I could be sued for collection. The payments you have been making all this time are likely renewing the statute of limitations to last month… every month.
I would be taking the settlement for reasons not related to credit reporting, because as you observed, it is coming off soon.
I would if I had the money. The savings off the balance remaining would be my goal, and to prevent further collections.
Hi Michael,
I’m in CA. I have some student loans. My report shows that one of them will be removed on 10/2015, but it also says “claim filed with gov’t”. Another does not have a date just says “claim file with gov’t”. For the last 3-4 years I have not received my tax refund since it goes to pay one of my student loans.
I was planning to file for bankruptcy to get rid of all my bad c/c reports but since I see that they go away and I’m not planning on buying a house for another 5 years or so, i figured I would just wait until they go away.
My question is the following, do student loans go away after 7.5 years as well? or do they stay on my record permanently? If they stay on my record permanently is my only option to pay them off?
It is not necessarily that the student loans will stay on your credit reports as unresolved forever, but the loans in default can still prevent you from getting a home loan, or other types of financing well after they may stop appearing on your credit.
It is not difficult to get your student loans out of default and on a repayment plan that you can afford (and even start getting your tax refunds). Call the hotline you see to the right on this page. Select option 4 to talk with a counselor about your student loan options.
Hello Michael,
Great article ! My question is, I have a collection from GC systems for a Sprint Wireless account that just showed on my credit report, I called GC systems to pay it and they said Sprint took it back and gave it to another collection company. I called the other company and paid it before they posted it to my credit report. What should or can I do anything about GC systems that is on my credit report ? Can I request to have them removed from my report, since they do not have the Collection anymore ?
Thank You.
That is precisely what I would do. Send any dispute letter certified mail return receipt.
Thank You! I am new to this, should the letter pretty much say (I and all the account information) dispute this claim and request to have it removed because it was paid already ? or something along those lines?
Thank You again.
If it were me, I would use something more along the lines of “It has come to my attention that you are reporting a debt on my credit reports that you have no association with, or legitimate ability to collect. Please remove any credit reporting regarding “XXXXXX identify any and all account and personal information clearly here XXXXXXXXXX”.
Thank You,
I will post a update shortly.
Yes. I was still in school and living with my mother. She is the one that signed all the papers.
I would let them know in writing (use certified mail return receipt) that you were a minor and are not liable for the debt as you had not reached the age of majority.
I would send a different dispute to the credit reporting agencies about the debt not being yours. Send those disputes certified mail return receipt too, and copy the debt collector.
Post an update with the outcomes and lets go from there.
Who is the debt collector showing on your credit reports?
I haven’t received anything from them in quite awhile but this is on my credit report. I also do not want to wake up the creditor neither. Can they still sue me for the money? Or is it legally not my debt? Will disputing it remove it as if it were never there or will it just remove it as if it fell off? CREDIT BUREAU SYSTEMS out of Paducah KY – is the collector.
What was the date the medical service was provided?
May 2008 was when I received treatment. Bill was in collections march 2009. 18th birthday was April 2009.
They would have to sue you using a unique legal theory than is typical. I just do not see that happening.
If it were me in your same shoes I would send a cease communication letter to the collector stating the debt is not yours. I would send dispute letters to the credit bureaus letting them know the debt is not mine (no details, just not mine). I would send everything certified mail return receipt with USPS.
If the collector tries to collect after they got my cease communication letter, it would have to be in the courts, or I could sue them for not complying with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If the debt collector did sue, I would want to be ready financially to hire an experienced debt defense attorney.
Dealing with a debt collector in the way I would is not everyone’s cup of tea. If you send a cease communication letter, you leave a debt collector little option but to try to collect in the courts. You could send just the dispute letter about the debt being yours.
Post an update with how you progress and lets go from there.
Hello Michael,
I live in Illinois. Two weeks after turning 17 I was in a accident that lead to $6600 in hospital bills in Kentucky. I had a Illinois medical card at the time. The open date in collections was a month before my 18th birthday. Can they do that? Can I dispute it or just wait for it to drop off next year?
Were you still under someones legal guardianship at the time of the accident when you were 17 (like your parents)?
Michael,
Could I email you the copy of reports directly or should I just post everything here?
I keep everything on the site as much as possible. Just do not post any personal or private identifiers (like your address, social security number, etc).
Hi!
I have been reading comments for hours! Thanks for all your input!
I live in Louisiana, have a Citi Bank debt that was sold/transferred to Midland Credit mgmt in the amount of $6000. Citibank info on credit report shows “date of last payment” and “Date Of First Delinquency” 03/2008, and “Date Major Delinquency First Reported” 11/2008. Which starts the 7 year clock? Also Midland is showing DOFD 04/2008, and DMDFR 04/2010. Should I be concerned with the 2010 date, or just watch and make sure it comes off this year? Do you know the SOL for sueing and judgments in Louisiana?
Lastly, I read somwhere in here where “public records” may have different drop off dates. I know the city bank or midland account is public record. would this change anything having the account listed under public record section on my CR?
The date you first missed paying, which appears to be March of 2008, is the date you start counting forward. I would not be concerned with Midland Credit’s date being newer than that. Just watch to be sure both the Citi Bank entry, and Midland’s, fall off at the same time this year. If Citi drops off, but Midland doesn’t, post an update and lets go from there.
You are long passed the 3 year SOL in Louisiana for collecting credit card bills through the courts. But if you were already sued for this debt, the SOL for extra ordinary collections (lien, bank levy, wage garnishment) goes for 10 years, and I believe can be renewed for 10 more.
The date of a public record on this account would give a fresh shelf life. If there is a judgment for this debt, what was the date the judgment was entered in the court?
I was never sued, nor was there ever a judgement for this debt (that Im aware of!), is that the only reason something would show under the public record section??
Given the information you shared, other than a credit bureau error, a collection lawsuit and court judgment is why this would show up in the public records section.
There are options to manage a lawsuit and judgment that you knew nothing about. I can send you contact info to a couple of great consumer law attorneys in LA that offer no cost initial consults, which can help you get to the bottom of things. Let me know if you want me to email those to you.
Mike you are wonderful to help all these people like this!
I have been neglecting my credit reports for years and years. Started before i was even 18, my mom took student loans out in my name and let them fall delinguent. I felt doomed from the start. Since then, I have been evicted, multiple credit cards went to collections, hospital bills etc. I’m nearing the 7 year range for most of these debts. I have concerns for a judgement, civil court (virginia) with Midland Funding LLC. I did not appear in court so the judgement was granted. Can I still dispute the collection? Is there any way to dispute the judgment?
I think I’ve learned from reading past posts that I should worry about most recent items on my report and hopefully most of the old will start falling off within this year.
I am recently married with a baby. My husband and i want to start working on our credit and long term financial goals.
Its all very stressful and confusing to me. I really appreciate any help you can offer.
You can dispute a judgment with credit bureaus. It is possible (not highly probable) that the dispute results in the judgment being removed from your credit report. You need to be prepared for an item like that to reappear.
Judgments on your credit reports are there based on a public record. You can sometimes do something to impact the court records (vacate or set aside a judgment). It can be a good idea to challenge judgments at the court level, but there are times where it would be a waist of time and money. Often enough, it is better to settle the judgment so that the court record is updated to show the judgement is resolved.
Once the judgment is updated on your credit reports as paid or satisfied, the judgment is less likely to hold you back from credit and financing goals.
How many collections do you each of you have on your credit reports? How many current and positive items are there?
Do you still live in Virginia?
I just ran my reports yesterday. There are 3 public records, civil judgements. 2 are paid, although one states it is till open. Both are estimated to be removed by this spring. The third is Midland Funding which is estimated to drop off 10/2017. This has not been settled/paid.
The summary (for Experian) shows 10 potentially negative items and 3 in good standing. I currently have a secured card with capital one. However, until yesterday I had no idea how to properly use it to my credit reporting advantage.
I do currently live in Virginia (since 2006).
Like I said, I’m ready to take responsibility and try to clean up this seemingly endless mess I’ve created, but I find the whole process overwhelming. Is there somewhere local, or trustworthy that is essentially inexpensive where I can get guidance? Any recommendations and/or advice is really appreciated.
I would focus on settling the judgment debt with Midland first. They have the most reason to drag their feet to hold out for the full value of the judgment. If they see you doing other stuff to improve your credit reports (debt collectors have real time access to credit reporting), it shows you are motivated to clean up the past, and can cause collectors to hold out for more money than may have been the case otherwise.
I can help you understand the benefits and drawbacks to dealing with the collections on your credit reports. Post the other collection accounts, when you last paid anyone on each of them, and how much is now showing as owed. It sounds like much of this stuff on your credit is going to fall off soon, so it may jsut be a matter of making good choices moving forward, while being patient waiting for the old stuff to fall off.
As far as the minutia of credit reporting and building, we can talk about that stuff as it applies to you here in the comments. Post more about your finance goals that you have set for the next 12 to 14 months, and what your FICO score is today.
For the minutia of credit reporting, reading each bureau report, applying for credit you are most likely to be approved for, etc., I like the credit report card program with http://www.credit.com
Hi Michael,
My FICO scores are 473 Transunion & 468 with Equifax.
Financial goals, I will need to buy a vehicle within the next year or two. We would like to purchase a house, but are currently trying to work out our (mostly MY) credit first. Other than that and trying to establish healthy savings – there is not much that we need to use our credit (or lack there of) for.
I have my synopsis of the 3 bureaus listed in excel. It may be difficult to read on here.. is there a way to send it or the actual report to you, if that would be appropriate?
Shoot me over the excel summary to the same email address you get these comment notifications from. I can respond to what I see, but it may not be until tomorrow.
Hi Michael,
Sorry for the delay. I was in a car accident the night I posted last. My car has been deemed a total loss…needless to say my financial plans have changed somewhat. I have beenore than preoccupied but I will send the excell sheet tomorrow. Thank you!
I have about 9 different accounts that went into default and then collections from around 2004-2008. When I pull my information from a credit tracking site all the dates have been renewed to show 2013-2015. How is that possible and why haven’t they fallen off yet? I tried to dispute some as expired but they always come back a validated by the creditor. What do I do now?
Please post a list in reply to this comment of all of the collectors that have refreshed collections on your credit reports. List the year you know you last paid the original creditor for each account.
I can help you from there.
Okay Thanks!!!!
I have one from original creditor GE now with collections agency LVNV Funding last payment made 09/2007 reported to collections 12/30/08 and was supposed to drop off 10/14 as stated on my credit report but it has refreshed. I did dispute its accuracy and so I’m not sure if thats why it is still on my credit.
I have one from Citibank, collections Midland MCM that was removed on 11/9/11 and 3/12/12 for $545 that is now showing up on collecions as $749 and will not come off until 12/15. Last payment by me made 10/08. It is also still showing under the original creditor as purchased by another lender which means it is showing under adverse/bad accounts AND in collections.
One from GE moneybank original amount $404, colections Midland MCM removed also on 11/9/11 and 3/12/12 that is now showing a balance of $717 estimated removal 3/16. Last payment made by me in 10/2007.
And there is a collections account from AT T Mobility last paid phone bill 2007. The reps have started calling me again recently and this should be off my credit by now.
Is it the GE credit line that dropped 10/2014, and now LVNV is refreshing their separate reporting to stay longer, or is it that GE is staying longer too?
The Citibank account, now with Midland MCM collection showing on your credit report, appears pretty accurate based on when you last paid. It may even be set to come off a few months early. The fact that Citibank is reporting it as sold is normal.
The GE Money collection account that went to Midland MCM now showing on your credit report, would appear to have a couple months left on it based on when you last paid the original account.
Negative credit reporting time limits for this type of thing can go 7.5 years from when you fell behind.
What month in 2007 was that ATT account last paid?
What are your financing goals in the next couple of months?
I am going to encourage you to get started on a different king of complaint/dispute. It would be better to have the answers to these new questions before I do that.
Hello Michael ,
I have an item that showed up on my report from 8/2014 . It was from a time share purchased in 1990 when I was married. It was used once in 1990 and if I remember we told them we couldn’t pay for it , couldn’t sell it , for some reason the company came after me for payment and we both were there at the time of purchase. 10 years went by and I got a letter about this same issue. It faded , and now 5 years later this item shows up again. This time I think my ex gave this company some personal info because all this time (15 years) and it was never on my credit report. Me and her got into a dispute in 2013 and I think she went and found this company relieved her part of the obligation and now they are looking for me . Being married obligates the spouse also rite . Thanks for your helo and if you have any suggestions fell free to let me know . Thank you
The item is too old to be appearing on your credit report. I would send the credit bureaus a written dispute via certified mail return receipt requested. Send a copy to the collection company that is appearing on your reports too.
If the item does not come off on the first try, post an update and lets go from there.
What state are you in?
Hello Michael , Thanks for your help. I had my dates off the last date any money was paid to this company was 1990 . 24 years ago . I will get the letters out to the bureaus as soon as possible .I live in Missouri .
Question;
If SOL is 7 yrs why are the chargeoffs still on my credit reports after 10 yrs and 7 months I have a trip merge report from 2003 to prove these should’ve been removed. I’m in Texas and recently a collector from a repo I had in 2002 has been calling harassing my parents, the original lender went out of business Americredit. The collection agency name is Great Lakes Collections. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
A charge off from 2003, and a repo/deficiency balance from 2002 should not be appearing on your credit reports today. Collection calls to your parents should not be happening either.
I can email you contact info to an experienced collections violation attorney in Texas if you like? The initial consult is no cost, and you could learn some valuable information that will help you handle this from here.
Yes please. Exactly what I thought thank you so much for the confirmation. I figured they were just trying to scam my parents out of money and then start a new date on my report for the collection. I appreciate your assistance and you are a blessing to those of us that are in the dark about credit reports and laws pertaining to them.
Hi Michael,
I’m in CA. I have some student loans. My report shows that one of them will be removed on 10/2015, but it also says “claim filed with gov’t”. Another does not have a date just says “claim file with gov’t”. For the last 3-4 years I have not received my tax refund since it goes to pay one of my student loans.
I was planning to file for bankruptcy to get rid of all my bad c/c reports but since I see that they go away and I’m not planning on buying a house for another 5 years or so, i figured I would just wait until they go away.
My question is the following, do student loans go away after 7.5 years as well? or do they stay on my record permanently? If they stay on my record permanently is my only option to pay them off?
Hi, I just checked my credit report and it states that some of my 7yo now debt has been charged off. I was wondering what now? What is the next step,? I’m clueless of how this is because it’s been 7 years now is that they charged off . Should I expect it to be cleared from my credit report? And if it be wise to take advantage in building up my credit ? Thank you any info will be much appreciated
Are these all credit card debts? If not, list the other types of debts that are showing on your credit reports.
Did you start missing payments on all of these debts at around the same time?
Are debt collectors reporting on some of these debts in addition to what your original creditors are showing? And if so, do the dates for the collections to fall off show the same for both creditor and collector?
The time period for negatives to remain on your credit can be 7 and one half years from the date you first missed those payments. It is most common to wait for this period of time to pass before making efforts to improve your credit.
Yes, I was covered blue a Blue Shield PPO plan at the time. This must have been part of a deductible or copay to the hospital that I was responsible for paying.
Settling with medical debt collectors for 50% is a realistic target.
One concern will be whether you are able to negotiate any form of settlement on the debts because of insurance contracts. Settling for less than owed is a form of discounting. Discounting can be contractually limited, or prohibited, in insurance company contracts with medical products and services.
The fact that these bills have remained unpaid this long will be helpful. You will want to be sincere in how you lay out any financial hardships that you were, and are experiencing.
Although I did have medical insurance, this was not a bill with Blue Shield. This was a bill from the hospital for a procedure. Does that make a difference. Also, is it wise to pay up with the collections or since a fair amount of time has passed should I just wait for it to drop from my credit report? If I pay the amount will it start fresh on my credit report and stay on for 7 more years?
I am not sure whether that will make a difference. You will find out as you connect and begin any negotiations.
The debt will likely stay on your credit reports as unpaid collections through much of 2017. If you want to accomplish certain goals that require better credit, you may still want to negotiate and pay a settlement. Paying any amount will not reset collections on your credit reports, or allow any additional time for this to continue to stay on your reports.
If you are good with waiting for this to fall off your credit, you could do that.
Hi Micheal,
I have a $2,700 medical bill that went to collections in California as of 5/2/11. I have made no payments and have since relocated to Costa Rica. They have only contacted me once to let me know of the debt in 2011 and I have had no further contact. I am trying to fix my credit score, currently at 650. I have good payments and history with other student loans and credit cards. My question is should I try to negotiate settlement and deletion from my credit report, if that is even possible. Or just hold out until the 7 year mark? I do not have plans to buy a car or home though, that may change in the next 3 years. The Statue of Limitations according to California should be up in May 2015. Thank you for your advice.
How much can you pull together as an offer to settle the bill?
Who is the collection agency showing up on your credit reports?
I could possibly manage $1350 at most which would be 50% of the debt plus interest accrued. The company is called Progressive Management System out of California.
Thanks. Did you have health insurance at the time? Did insurance cover any part of the health products or services rendered?
Hi Micheal
I have been following much of all your posts. I had excellent credit 720-775 credit scores for 16 + years. I was divorced in 2007, paid off all marital debt , sold our home, then I purchased a new smaller home. Paid all my bills on time and began to find out 6-12 months later that my x husband was reopening joint accounts and before I figured it out he had debt ran up to nearly 25k to Dell, Capital 1, Amex, Home Depot, Lowes, jewlery stores, etc etc. He was ordered to pay the balance of my bankruptcy attorney & he did not. So I found my self giving up, stressed out by trying to cancel, make payment arrangements, etc, etc, etc and keep up on everything while still paying my own bills, feeding our children. After some time of trying to do this I was diagnosed w/ multiple sclerosis and unable to work. Everything fell behind and eventually just surviving was of most importance. The last payment I made to bankruptcy attorney & or any credit cards was in Nov 2007. For a while creditors bothered me, I just changed # s ignored them, returned to sender on all mail. I couldnt afford an attorney didnt understand bankruptcy. My home was forclosed upon & sold in sherrifs sale along w/ my vehicle in 2008. I recently ( last 2 years) got back on my feet, got back to work, opened 2 credit accounts and have paid on them for over a year and they continually raise my limit. I purchased a buy here pay here vehicle that reports to the credit bureau and paid that off. All of a sudden after nearly 8 years of not being bothered myself & my employer receive a letter from an attorney who collects debts for my former divorce attorney and attached to the letter was a Notice of application for Wage Execution written in form of court document. Is this legal???? My credit report shows that all of the above are charge offs or closed or most are just gone off the report!
How is this happening? Do my employer & I respond?
Please advise
Stressed out
Carissa in NJ
Your employer has an obligation to meet via what is apparently your prior attorney looking to collect on a judgment. Ideally you will want the advice of an experienced debt defense attorney in New Jersey. I can help you locate one nearer you that offers a no cost initial consult if you like?
After 7 years of bad CC report they finally removed it. However, now that they removed it another collection agency is contacting me for payment on the same account that was removed from my report. They told me that if I don’t respond to them after 30 days of the letter, they will assume that this account is true.. I am from Texas and my main concern is my credit report, so, can this agency report this and put a negative item on report “again” and for the same account? Please help. Thanks
No, they cannot, not based on the info you have given me to go off. If they do, post an update and lets go from there.
I would please like Michael Bovee help me with my concern.
Michael, after having more than 7 years of negative CC item on my report, they finally removed it and my score went up and made me real happy, however, now I’ve been contacted by another collection agency and offer a monthly payment on the same account. They letter says: if I don’t contact them within 30 days they will assume that the depth is valid. Now, my main concern is my credit score. Do you think they could put it back again on my credit report? Please help this issue is giving me unrest. Thanks.
Hi David – Who was the prior collection that just dropped off being reported by? What company is trying to collect on that same debt now?
The letter about the debt being assumed valid if you do not dispute it is normal. Debt collectors use verbiage like that as a catch all in order to comply with laws, and limit their exposure to being sued themselves.
The debt collector should not put this back on your credit reports, but that kind of thing has happened from time to time. It is not complicated to get really old debts off your credit reports, if they do reappear inexplicably, or as some collection tactic. Do you have copies of your credit reports with the old company on there? Have you made recent copies showing that being removed?
Hi Michael, prior collection was LVNV Funding LLC
new company: First National Collection Bureau, Inc.
No I don’t have copies of the old company on there, but in my account with Credit Karma it shows the “removed negative credit” with the LVNV. I could click on old collection and see it. This account was in 2006 and removed in 2014. The new company is trying to tell me that a 70% discount payable in 5 payment each payment within 30 days of the previous payment. Like I mentioned earlier, the only concern I’m having is for them to put back the same debt back on my report.
Most regular debt collection/unpaid bills have up to a 7.5 credit reporting shelf life. That clock started ticking when you first missed a payment to the original creditor. It ended sometime this year, as it was removed. All entries to do with the one single unpaid bill (other than a judgment in the court) would need to be removed from your credit reports on the same day, when the time allowed for it to stay on your reports is up.
Debts do not go away just because they fall off your credit report. It is normal to still hear from debt collectors after that. You can tell them to cease contacting you (do that in writing), and that leaves them the courts, where the limit to have legitimately sued you is likely to have passed. What state are you in?
This debt collector should not show back up on your credit reports. If it does, post an update and lets go from there.
i have a question..there were medical bills i didnt know i had from 2007 ect. what is statue of limitations in ohio. I checked credit report and they were in keybridge which have all been removed and now all the sudden..or did they sell them and remove them from my reporti got 5 bills for all the same amounts from care credit..whats happening and am i still liable if they were in a different agency name and taken off my credit report
Signing a contract or agreement for those medical services could mean the SOL is 15 years. If those bills are related to a revolving consumer debt such as care credit, the SOL would be less.
If the debts are valid, they never really go away. They can pass the time allowed for filing a legitimate lawsuit to collect, and grow old enough to drop off your credit reports (which appears to have recently occurred).
Be sure to keep an eye on your credit reports to be certain the debts do not reappear.
Did you have a care credit account?
Hello, I got a call out of the blue yesterday from EOS CCA trying to collect a debt from 2005. At the time I lost my job and made settlements of over 85% on my cards all except this one major bank who would not do any sort of settlement or even a payment plan. I never paid it thinking that they would eventually settle but they just amazingly stopped calling after a few months. The debt at the time was $16,000. Every now and then I would get a call from new agencies trying to collect….it suddenly went from 16k to 20k then 30k and then out of the blue yesterday these guys call with an “urgent” message telling me that they are trying to collect a whopping 42K !!!!!
I told them that the original debt was a much small amount, and most importantly that debt was uncollectable because it is nearly a decade old. They told me it doesnt matter.
They alluded it would ruin my credit if I didnt pay….but I told them that they are not to contact me again on that number and that they are only allowed to contact me in the future by mail.
They hung up, but now I am fearful of what they might do next. That job loss took me years to recover from and I worked hard to rebuild my credit to today where I have a 732 FICA.
My question is, can they report this to the credit agency and if they do, have I any legal recourse to permanently stop them? I have heard horror stories of companies like this who simply report it over and over again after it is removed through the dispute process. My credit score is VERY important because I run a small business and frequently need access to credit to make deals and usually I need to move quickly. Having something like this reported ESPECIALLY at the laughable $42,000 BS claim would be especially harmful. Secondly is there any justification for a credit card balance going from $16,000 in a CO to $42,000. The last few calls years past, the collectors claimed it was interest and fees, but that is hard to believe. Thanks!
There would be little justification for the balance to have increased that much. In any case, it should not matter. If your state time limit to be sued for this debt has passed, and the credit reporting limits are over, they cannot throw it back on your credit. If they do, post an update and lets go from there.
Did you get the name of the collection agency?
Thank you. The credit agency is EOS CCA. I had never heard of them so I called and got their name then looked it up. Their website is https://www.eos-cca.com/
I will keep a close eye on my credit…I subscribe to Equifax reporting so if they do anything I will know fairly quickly.
I learned a good lesson from this past episode, I know it was tough back then but I think I would play it a lot differently if it happened again. I really did not understand the ramifications at the time. This CO actually came back to haunt me when I went to apply for a business loan a few months ago. I have a good standing business account with the issuing bank….10s of thousands of dollars flowing through each month. When I applied for a small business loan, I was shocked to hear that it was immediately turned down because of the CO from nearly 10 years ago. Was told by the lending officer that they keep this data on file FOREVER, and will NEVER loan you money unless you become a very large company looking for a minimum of 250K, and then maybe they will look the other way. Until then…as he told me…it is a 100% show stopper. Who would ever have thought!
I paid off all outstanding debts I owed several (5+) years ago, but they are still showing on my credit report as “Charged Off” and “Account in Dispute” — what’s my best course of action in getting all of this resolved?
What are your current and near term (12 to 24 months) credit and finance goals?
I’d like to get a small loan from the bank for purchasing a house within th next six months — and purchase a new car as well.
The big issue is getting my report to reflect the fact that I have already (many years ago) paid and taken care of the debts.
Charge off is going to remain on your credit reports for the typical 7.5 years since you last made a regularly schedule payment. For you, it sounds like that was at least 5 years ago, and more than that on some accounts.
Do all of those accounts showing as negative, but that you settled with all that time ago, show a zero balance due and owing? If so, that would generally be considered correct reporting, and if old enough, are probably not impacting your credit score all that much any more.
Do you know your credit scores?
Do you have current and positive credit reporting entries? How many? Are any of them newer than when you settled these old debts?
The part about under dispute is often the result of something you sent to the credit reporting agencies to… dispute.
Post an update with the names of any creditors or debt collectors that are showing you still owe a balance even though your reached a mutually agreed upon settlement.
I need your advice about a collection I just received. In Aug. 2005, I opened a secured credit card from B of A, using my Tax ID number. I got my social security # in January 2007 (I wonder how the account got associated with my current social security #). In Aug 2010 I stopped paying this card and it was eventually charged off. A year later, I tried to contact B of A to pay it off but I was told it was already sold. I was not given a name or contact of a collection agency so I didn’t know who to approach. In Sept 2012, Cavalry Portfolio purchased the collection and reported it on my credit report. The balance is $702. They offered a settlement of $500. I am willing to settle for $300 as I am settling the other debts I got from my former spouse. I am afraid that if I call Cavalry, the SOL (California) will be reset if they don’t agree to the $300 I intend to pay. Yesterday, I got a mail from LTD Financial Services stating that the Cavalry collection has been placed with them. What can I do at this point? Can Cavalry or LTD sue me even when the SOL has passed? Thank you for your help.
It is unlikely LTD Financial or Cavalry will sue you in California on a debt passed the SOL. And I do not think you can verbally acknowledge a debt in California and have that reset the SOL to legitimately sue.
If you are not in a hurry to get this settled for a near term credit or financing goal, you have time on your side, and without the risk of being sued. I like your chances for settling at 300 dollars.
#4. Student loans, if loans are traded or sold, does the initial student loan company come off when the new company is done being paid or 7 years after their last received payment?
I can help with this one. Student loans are not traded or sold per se. Claims are paid thru default. The original trade line remains for 7 years from the date of default, not the date of last payment. Are these federal or private??
Dear Michael,
Hi, I am writing you to ask for your advisement. I have 4 issues I need help on. I am an emotional wreck just letting you know up front. I feel as though I worked so hard from 2010 to now to improve my credit. and I feel like it’s all for none. I have paid off approx. 20k in debt. I have been living dirt poor. I pull my credit report two weeks ago and it is worse than when I started, all these new places, and the old places, and other places between. all reporting on the same debt, (balance is 0 on some) but it still reflects negatively. and even after paying 20k in bills, my score went down 87 points. 🙁
#1. I have moved many times between 3 states in the last 7 years. In 2008 I moved to Kansas, I bought a car in Missouri in March, then moved to Oregon 4 months later. I was in a car accident 3 month later in October/November 2008. I had full coverage insurance, and Gap insurance. The loan was from GMAC. Insurance paid, and I thought gap insurance paid. GMAC contacted me in 2009, at that time I told them what I knew, faxed them about 15 pages of information; and after that I never heard from them or any other collection company until a month ago. (Before the month ago) I disputed this information on my credit report and told all 3 agencies that this had been paid. They opened an investigation, and said it was valid. (Fight happened) then was contacted a month ago. I pulled my credit report (the actual report) two weeks ago and the report date is now 2013 instead of 2009. Does this make any difference? In addition, the last payment was 11/2008 when my insurance paid them. I contacted the collection agency and told them I dispute this debt and to send me proof. (The sent some bs ledger) I took this to my attorney’s office and they said they would write a letter; They called prior to sending the letter to get some more information, and they said the debt was no longer there that it was sent back to the creditor (GMAC) GMAC hasn’t contacted me but What law applies? (KC (where I lived when I bought the car), MO (where I bought the car), OR (Where I lived when the accident happened), or MT (Where I am from and have lived for the last 10 years minus the year mentioned above) ) When will this come off? Should I keep disputing it or wait for it to fall off? Can they sell it (in turn) renewing the 7 years and the amount?
#2. Debt Buyers—- I have a debt (many debts like this). Original creditor is Enterprise Rent a car, the collection company reporting on it is Atlas, (connected to #1) my insurance again should have paid the bill in full. They arranged the pickup and drop off, of the car, after my accident. (Atlas has been unable to reach consumer) for many year after I disputed this in 2010. It shows they still have it nonetheless; can they in a year sell it, renewing the 7 years?
#3. Debt buyers again—- The original creditor’s debt is 9+ years old (last payment made) the original creditor is not on the report but the 3 buyers after them are. When I requested proof, (ie., contract, loan documents, things of the sort) They said they could not supply them because they didn’t know who the original creditor was, that they only had to show proof that they bought the debt, is this true? (Do all 3 collection companies get to stay on there for the full 7 years?)
#4. Student loans, if loans are traded or sold, does the initial student loan company come off when the new company is done being paid or 7 years after their last received payment?
Another question—if a debt is 6.5 years old (Last payment made), is it better to pay it off, or better to just avoid the company(ies) for the next year?
Thank you.
I understand all the negative collections, and will comment on each point you raised, and will have my own questions to ask. My first question popped up after reading how your credit dropped… What types of accounts, and how many, are reporting as current and positive on your credit reports?
1. The credit reporting surrounding the car loans would typically fall off of your credit reports after as much as 7.5 years from the first time you missed a payment… at least, according to them. The issue appears to be that the collection should not be showing on your credit, because the finance company was paid, and they have not come up with anything convincing to say you have not.
I would file a credit reporting and/or debt collection complaint against GMAC and any debt collector currently involved with this account, or who may be appearing on your credit reports. You can file that complaint here. Be as detailed as possible with dates, names of companies, people, and describe the actions you have taken along the way.
2. No, they cannot renew the 7 years limit on credit reporting by selling it. But this too should another complaint filed with the CFPB as a paid debt, that should never have ended up in collections, and certainly not on your credit reports.
3. Are all three collection companies you refer to in item 3 related to the same debt outlined in number 1?
No, they are not just allowed to continue to report the same negative on your credit reports that relates to an account that has already aged off of your credit reports. The exception to that would be if this ended up as a judgment in the court, which can add a new negative to your credit reports.
Please provide more detail of which collection agencies are showing on your credit reports, and for which specific debt.
4. Please provide more details about your delinquent student loans, and which are federal or private.
Hey, Michael
I have 21 positive reports; some predate 8 years but are still on there. Most are installment student loans. Many of the positives are both installment and revolving. I went through the report again last night with a fine tooth comb. I have 2 more questions but will ask when I’m done answering your questions. That’s the thing, Farmers Insurance did pay them, I (had) a copy of the check at one time but with so many moves, that information is probably somewhere in a black hole, Even on the Credit Report it says they got a lump sum in November 2008.
So once a debt buyer buys a debt (say at the 5 year mark), if the last payment to the creditor was 6 years ago they can only be on there until the 7.5 year mark?
No they are different miscellaneous other bills. All for relativity small amounts. I have 3 separate creditors, one (Credit card) has been sold, then sold again, and then sold again. The other two (Installment) have been sold 3 or 4 times, the original debts are between 9 and 12 years old. But the debt buyers are insisting because they bought the old debt, it became a new debt and I owe them, and they will stay on my credit for ANOTHER 7 YEARS. (one was just rebought in 2013) I didn’t even know anything about it until I pulled the credit report. Never even heard of the company.
I have never had any judgments, or public records.
Debt A. Enterprise Rent a Car- Sold to We Collect it, Inc.,- Sold to Atlas- both debt buyers are showing- one is a zero balance, but the dates, one starts and ends 2009-2012 then the next one starts 2012- to come off 2019.
Debt B. 1st Premier- Opened in 12/2008- Never have made a payment, was sold 2 times, (I disputed this information with all 3 credit bureaus and the two companies were deleted off) but Premier is on there now showing a balance due to them as of the dispute date.
Debt C. Pinnacle- I have no Idea about this debt, it says it started 11/2013 but trust me, I would have known about it that was a month after my wedding, but this is the first I have learned of its existence, they are the ones who do not know the original creditor, and the debt is so old the original creditor isn’t on my report anymore.
Debt D. GMAC- Already covered.
THESE ARE THE ONLY 4 DEBTS WITH A BALANCE. NOT INCLUDING STUDENT LOANS OR THE POSITIVE DEBTS I CURRENTLY PAY EVERY MONTH.
W/O a balance:
Debt A. BPCU- showing as: paid charge off amount.
Debt B. HSBC- sold to LVNV Funding- then paid
Debt C. Wells Fargo-1, opened in 2004, last payment in 2008, says it was sold, but the above debts with balances are the only balances. This one’s number is 3191
Debt D. Wells Fargo-2, sold to Asset Acceptance- sold to ? This is a different account then the above, both Wells Fargo and Asset Accept. are on there with the same account # but the last buyer isn’t on there. (Asset Acceptance shows 0 balance and all other entries are N/A but opened in 2010, its number is 6382) (2 Different account numbers, two different amounts, different open dates…)
** STUDENT LOANS**
– Loan 1. ISL- this is an interest free loan, Private, I currently pay it every month to the owner of the loan, and it shows as a collection account. High credit of 3945.00.
– Loan 2. ISL- shows 0 balance, federal, shows pays as agreed, shows sold to DSM college Loan, opened 2005, last payment and closed 2010, (Shows original debt of 1313.00 with payments = 905.00)
– Loan 3. ISL- shows 0 balance, federal, shows pays as agreed, shows sold to DSM college Loan, opened 2005, last payment and closed 2010, (Shows original debt of 2000.00 with payments = 1535.00)
– Loan 4. ISL- shows 0 balance, federal, shows pays as agreed, shows sold to DSM college Loan, opened 2004, last payment and closed 2010, (Shows original debt of 2625.00 with payments = 1811.00)
– Loan 5. SAF- shows 0 balance, federal, shows 120+ days past due, shows sold, opened 2007, closed 2010, (Shows original debt of 1334.00 with payments = 1560.00)
o Loan 11. (Same loan as 5 I’m pretty sure) SAF- shows balance of 1661.00, opened 2007, – deferred (Last payment was in May, I had it set up on Auto Pay, so I don’t know where the payment was going.)
– Loan 6. SAF- shows 0 balance, federal, shows 120+ days past due, shows sold, opened 2007, closed 2010, (Shows original debt of 2651.00 with payments = 2762.00)
o Loan 10. (Same loan as 6 I’m pretty sure) SAF- shows balance of 2938.00, opened 2007, – deferred (Last payment was in May, I had it set up on Auto Pay, so I don’t know where the payment was going.)
– Loan 7. DEPT OF ED/SALLIE MAE- Date opened 08/2014- pays as agreed- deferred (I’m currently in school)
– Loan 8. DEPT OF ED/SALLIE MAE- Date opened 05/2014- pays as agreed- deferred (I’m currently in school)
– Loan 9. Sun Trust/GLHEC- shows pays as agreed, opened 2004, deferred, (Shows high credit debt of 5938.00 ** I currently pay this monthly to GLHEC. ( Mathematically this appears to be Loan 2, 3, and 4) (With ZERO payments made previously.) (How do I go backwards and state my case for the amount owed? It was also with DSM College Loans previously.) They should get what I borrowed, + interest + reasonable collection and transference costs…. I kind of want to get payment ledgers from all the places showing, costs, interest, principle and all the payments I have made…. What the hell, I just realized this.
– Loan 10. DSM College Loan- shows 0 balance, federal, shows CA, shows sold, opened 2010, closed 2011, I disputed this information and it was deleted.
You really need to log into NSLDS and get a listing of your loans and status.
In response to your 7.5 year mark, and it having been 6 years already… yes, that is correct. It would mean there is another year and a half before it would have to drop from your credit reports.
If I were you, I would file collections and credit reporting complaints with the CFPB against all debt collectors that are reaging your debts that are long passed the time for them to report on your credit. They are flat out lying to you about their ability to report for 7 more years. And many collectors will only start listening when regulators speak to them, or it affects their bottom line. Which leads me to an additional suggestion.
Contact an experienced Fair Debt Collection violations lawyer in your state. I only know of 3 in all of Montana, but distance is not always an issue with this type of case. Each of them offers a no cost initial consult. Talk about any actions that can be taken with any of the collectors behaving badly. Many attorneys take FDCPA cases at no cost to you, and I think you have a couple of issues that need to be looked at. I can email you all of their contact details if you like?
I want to be sure I am reading your comments correctly about the Wells Fargo accounts on your credit reports. Was there 2 Wells accounts you opened, or just one? If two, did Asset Acceptance have both? Have you spoken with Asset Acceptance about the debts, and who is the current debt owner?
As relates to all of your student loan questions, I will defer to Lynn. She is a former student loan debt collector of many years, and knows her way around the issues well.
Michael,
Yes I would like that, that information will be helpful.
Sorry that wasn’t very clear, as far as Wells Fargo is concerned, I am confused because I only ever had one card, opened my freshman year in college, (2004) This is not with Asset Acceptance, I have no idea who it is with. Asset acceptance is showing a different account number that I have never seen before. It also says it’s sold, but I still have no idea who that one is with either. (They are two different and separate matters)
Lynn,
For the student loans, I will do that. Looking at it now, I feel like after so many years, I have gotten no where. All these loans are at a balance higher than what I originally borrowed, even after making 3 3/4 years of consistent monthly payments, never skipping a payment, and not being late.
— Loan 9. Sun Trust/GLHEC- shows pays as agreed, opened 2004, deferred, (Shows high credit debt of 5938.00 ** I currently pay this monthly to GLHEC. ( Mathematically this appears to be Loan 2, 3, and 4 of ISL) (With just the original loan amount and ZERO payments made previously.) (How do I go backwards and state my case for the amount owed? It was also with DSM College Loans previously.) They should get what I borrowed, + interest + reasonable collection and transference costs…. I kind of want to get payment ledgers from all the places showing, costs, interest, principle and all the payments I have made…. What the hell, I just realized this.
I am sending an email to you with the contact details for the experienced Montana consumer law attorneys. Talk to any one of them about your concerns with the credit reporting by Asset Acceptance. With the account number discrepancy, and the fact they no longer hold legal right to the debt, you may just be able to dispute that entry by them off.
I have debt from the original lender from 2008, 2007, 2009, 2001. According to my research I am beyond the SOL in Florida. My question is, the debt collector has marked three of the accounts as established in 2011. Making the debt only a little over 3 years old. I thought the last payment began the SOl. Also, I just filed for a CC and am hoping that they don’t now start coming after me after all these years. i am trying to repair my mistakes in the past.
Who are the debt collectors involved?
The account you have not paid since 2001 should not be on your credit reports, and maybe the one from 2007 depending on the month payments stopped.
You can reasonably expect some type of renewed collection activity with hard inquiries from credit applications. But with the SOL to sue having passed, it is debt collector bluster.
Good evening!
I have recently been monitoring my credit score via Credit Karma in order to obtain a home in March. Since September, my score has dropped 25 points. The only thing that I can see has changed is that 3 collections accounts aged off the report without being resolved. I have not known this to impact a score negatively, am I wrong? I’m at a loss. Thanks for your assistance, it’s greatly appreciated!
-Meredith
Any recent credit inquiries? What about positive credit history changes?
What are your current credit scores?
Dear Michael,
There have been some positive changes
From July, to September, it jumped approximately 20 points due to 3 credit cards being added. However, I’m starting to wonder if I’m over utilizing those accounts. I was told to add them in order to increase my score, could it be that I’m killing it with those same cards?
Thank you very much!
New accounts can lower your score for several months until they are considered a little seasoned. What were the months you opened the new credit cards? When you say over utilizing, what do you mean? It is best to keep your balance owed to less than about a third of the available credit limit.
My initial dispute to Equifax for these entries was “Duplicate acct #’s please consolidate”.
Please provide as much detail as you can in the comments here, so I can offer the best feedback.
I did see where you submitted some info in the contact form, but I do not want to assume it is okay for me to post that myself, so I need you to.
I submitted the dispute last week, I want to buy a car and I wanted to know if this would cause me to be denied. I submitted the dispute as a conformation on info on record is correct.
I missed what Lynn pointed out, which is there does not appear to be a negative connotation to the trade line. It is unlikely this entry would hold you back from getting approved for a car loan.
Do you know what your current credit scores are?
yes, it 593 based on credit karma. I was denied earlier this year for a veh. loan with my bank but i was trying to do a joint app. with someone with no credit as the applicant and me a coapplicant.
List any collections on your credit reports.
Also list any positive items showing on your credit. Lack of credit history can hold someones credit score down too.
Hello, this item is still on my credit report and I need to buy a car, based on the information provided it looks like this should have dropped off my credit. Any Ideas on when this should drop off. I have put in a dispute with the CB to have them check all information given.
Account Details
Last Reported Apr 30, 2012
Creditor Name MARKONE FIN
Account Type Automobile
Account Status Closed – Transferred
Opened Date Dec 11, 2004
Closed Date Apr 30, 2012
Limit —
Term 54 Months
Monthly Payment $281
Responsibility Individual
Balance $0
Highest Balance $15,175
Payment Status Current
Worst Payment Status Current
Date of Last Payment Dec 12, 2005
Amount Past Due $0
Times 30/60/90 Days Late 0/0/0
Remarks Purchased by another lender
If you last paid anything on this account in 2005, it should be gone already.
Are all 3 credit bureaus reporting the same way? What reason did you state you were disputing in your letter? How long ago did you send dispute?
I am not seeing anything negative with this tradeline …car loans like mortgages are bought and sold all the time. Positive tradelines from my understanding will continue to report for 10 years from date of closure.
So I co-signed for a car (never will I do that again) in October 2007. They date opened on my credit report as 10/2007, on one of my credit reports it is showing a fall off date of November 2014. However, my “mortgage lender” seems to believe that because the last reported date says 10/2014 that it will start the seven years from last month. Kind of a rhetorical question, but should I believe my credit report or my mortgage lender? And if the credit report is what I go by, when December arrives and if it is still on my credit report how do I go about having it removed from all three credit bureaus? Thanks!
You may want to shop around for a different mortgage lender….
Print a copy of how you credit reports appear today. If the item scheduled to be removed at the end of the month is still there in December, post an update. You will want to dispute that off your credit report. I will help you come up with a draft of the dispute letter you will send to the credit bureaus right here in the comments.
I have been trying to repair my debt for years since my mistake in college nearly 10 years ago. I had 3 credit cards with probably $2,500 in actual debt between the 3 cards. However, this debt has escalated dramatically. My debt have all been in collections since 2004. All my large debts have officially fallen off my credit report and aren’t reporting any longer. I haven’t received a call from a debt collector in years until today. They are threatening me and I don’t even know if this is a valid debt at this point. He told me I owe over $6,000. I don’t even know how after all this time they can still come after me, but I’m terrified because in the last 5 years, I’ve made great strides towards improving my credit score from in the low 500’s to the middle to high 600’s. How can I find out the SOL for Nevada and if technically they can still come after me for such stale debt. Any help would be great thank you!
The SOL to legitimately sue you in Nevada has long passed. The SOL for credit card debts in Nevada is generally 4 years.
The debt collector may be a scam, or you may be hearing from collectors who work zombie debt – debts that are too old to sue for, and are passed the time allowed to appear on your credit reports.
You do have some options available to make them go away. But first, are you confident the debts were last paid in 2004? What is the name of the debt collection company contacting you?
I follow credit karma and credit sesame very carefully. They say last reported 2007/2008. I’m not sure of the company. He said the name and then never mentioned it again just that he was a big very well known debt collection agency according to him.
If they reach out to you again, try to get as much information as you can, but while giving them none. You do need to know who they are if you are going to send them a cease communication letter that would stop collection calls and letter.