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
Short answer
Yes, but the clock is not the one most people count from. Negative items stay on your credit report for up to 7 years measured from the first missed payment to the original lender, and every entry tied to that same debt should age off on that same date.
Key points on this page
- Original lenders and creditors show payment default for up to 7 years from when you stopped paying.
- The 7 years starts at the first missed payment to your lender, not at the date a collection agency or debt buyer picked up the account.
- All negative trade lines related to the same collection account should age off at that same 7 year mark.
- Only one entry for a bill should show an unpaid balance. If a debt buyer reports a balance owed, check that the original lender no longer shows one.
- A collection account reporting a newer date of last activity prolongs the credit damage, so compare that date against the original lender’s.
- If the debt is still inside the statute of limitations to sue, a dispute can wake a collector who was not bothering you. Weigh that before sending one.
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.
Good morning Michael
I’ve read a lot of these post here and here’s my situation in Florida.
I applied for credit and was denied due a judgment that was filed against me back in 2009. The problem with these judgment is that I wasn’t served and apparently and off duty sheriff served the summon at a old residency. I went town clerk to get copies of the filed judgement and all she gave me was the judgement document?? Should there be some type of backup proof? Also, I walked over to the sheiff department to get a copy of signed service and the sheriff ask me why I waited to long to follow up on this judgment?? I didn’t get anything with a signed signature. Now, my question, Can this judgement be vacate? Sewer Service? Look forward to your reply? Also, this judgement CaptialOne.
Thank you
It is possible to vacate the judgment, but it is a nuanced process. You should connect with an experienced debt defense attorney in your state about getting help with this, or even to learn how much of a possibility this will be, given any established state court case law.
Post the name of a nearby larger city and I will get some contact info to you for attorneys who have the experience you need. You can usually consult initially at no cost, so worth the effort.
Hi Michael
I apologize in not mentioning the City. Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Thank you for your time
Thanks Eve. I sent you an email with a couple of attorneys you can speak with in Ft Lauderdale (closest I could find with debt defense experience.
I have credit card opened in 12/06 and closed due to non-payment in 06/09 by BOA. Although is was closed I was enticed by their rep to pay montlhy as they claimed it will help my credit. I guess I should have left it alone as older credit has less affect on the score.
My question is when is the 7 year mark for me. I was told that it is 7 years from the date is was first reported as delinquent but I don’t see that date of first delinquencies that led to the closure of the account.
{edit – link removed}
Please advise!
*account # blacked out for security reasons
Jay – How many months of payments did you miss to BofA before agreeing to the repayment plan? Is it full paid off now?
Good question but I am not sure how many months of payments were missed before agreeing to make repayments. I wish I had old paperwork to look it up! All I have is this from my report.
I have not it paid off because I heard it’s best to leave it alone. There is still 1,240 balance on this closed account and it now appears they just sold it to a collection agency but that has not showed up on my credit yet.
It looks like you were reported 90 days late in March of 2014. It that is correct, your account could have charged off last month. You are looking at 7 years for that charge off to roll off of your credit report.
If the balance is still showing up on your credit reports as owed to BofA, they likely did not sell the account. And the debt collector they assign the account to may never appear on your credit.
Are you able to come up with roughly 40% to settle this (give or take)? How long will it take to pull together that amount of money? Have you heard from the debt collector for BofA?
Yikes! 7 years from March 2014. I was hoping it was charged off when they closed the account due to non payment in 2009.
I have received letters from an collection agency called Northstar Location Services saying they are representatives for FIA Card Services.
Yes! I am able to pay 40% or even the FULL balance of 1,240 if needed to remove from my credit! This ding is really hurting my credit so I’m willing to do what ever it takes.
I want to be sure I understand your comments correctly, my impression of things:
You could not make payments years back, so stopped briefly. Your account was set up on an internal repayment plan direct with BofA within a couple months of your missing payments, and you paid those on time every month for years. Your credit report showed that Bank of America closed the account at consumers request back then, but did not show that they charged off the account. Now, after having missed payments again, you are looking to settle or pay the debt, and want the credit reporting removed in return for the payment. Northstar Location Services is collecting for FIA card services, but not showing on your credit reports.
Please correct anything I have wrong, and then I can respond more fully.
Also, what month/year was it that you stopped making those monthly payments you agreed to?
Hello,
Thanks in advance for your time and feedback on this. I reside in California, I was able to save certain amount of money recently and I’m looking to settle old credit card debt from late 2008. I have my credit report from the 3 different agencies, one particular account shows, the original account was reported 6/2010 charge off /sold (last payment 9/2008, major delinquency 4/2009) Estimated to be removed 9/2015. The collection agency shows opended 6/2010 (have never talked to them) and has been reporting ever since, I recently received a settlement offer (85% off!?) $1700.08 if paid by 7/30/14, I don’t know where to go from here, please advise. I was planning to call or write them a letter and hoping they take, $1000.00 as full payment, can this be done?? will this restart SOL.
Who is the collection agency?
Assett Acceptance, LLC
You would not restart the SOL if you took advantage of a single payment settlement with Asset Acceptance. Calling to shave a bit more off the settlement on a deal that is already 15% of the balance is possible. The reason they are offering something this low is likely because you are passed the 4 year SOL in California to sue. But you are within the 7 years SOL for Asset Acceptance to still show on your credit report.
What are some of the other collections on your credit reports besides this one? Are any newer than the one with Asset? If so, when were the payments on those missed, and what are the balances owed? With this information, you can prioritize the money you have to settle accounts and get the newest collections updates to show paid/settled, and zero balance owed on the credit reports.
Thanks so much for your reply. Other 3 accounts are also from late 2008, last payment 11/2008. These all sold to Midland Credit Mgmt and when I add up the balance on these, they show $6,900 total (original debt was approx $2,000). I have not received any settlement offers from Midland recently. Am I better off trying to settle this debt? calling them and offering the $1,000 for all 3 accounts?
It depends… if you want to settle all of them than you should try to get as a good a deal as possible. But 15% and lower on all accounts could be stretching what is realistic.
Midland Funding bought Asset Acceptance last year, so you are essentially dealing with the same company on all of these.
If you cannot get the deals done for an amount you can afford, or can live with, and are not pressed for time, you can call the next month and see if they are willing to loosen up a bit.
Thanks for the info.
I will call them. I do want to settle all 4 accounts. Now, can I deal with just Midland or Assett on all 4 accounts (since they are the same)… or deal separately with the two? sorry.
Call and ask what is possible. Even if you cannot actually get your 3 Midland Credit accounts managed through Asset Acceptance, or the one with them through Midland, do the math and negotiate openly with each company so that they know you only have so much money, and it has to knock down all accounts.
Hello again,
Thanks again for your feedback on this. I really appreciate it.
A follow up to the tread above, I finally contacted Asset to try to settle the one account, I offered $1200.00, at first the account manager that took my call was courteous, telling me it might not be possible and that he would see what he could do. But, when I mentioned I had the amount in CASH and that if we settled I would have to mail them a cashiers check (I read this is what I should do and also ask that they follow up in writing first), he started raising his voice and was just plain rude. I was really upset and just ended the call. Now, I will contact them again (hopefully a different rep), question, is it OK to settle just over the phone and pay say with my checking card? or direct deposit? or should they agree to mail me something in writing and me mailing a cashiers check?
I would not send any payment without the agreement and terms you negotiated in writing first. Read through this article and the comments before you proceed with anything: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/debt-settlement-letters-agreements/
Once you read through that article about written agreements, you can determine how best to pay in away you are comfortable. I prefer people follow the method for payment I outline here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/paying-your-credit-card-debt-settlements/
Hi Michael, I have a couple questions for you. My fiance had a vehicle go back to the bank in 2007, we live in Michigan, is 7 years how long it takes to drop off your credit? Its been 7 years and I had no idea about things dropping off your credit after 7 years , last year we tried getting pre approved for a house and he couldn’t because of that… if that drops off could we be approved now?
My next question, I have zero credit and I’m trying to build is so maybe then I can get approved for a house, what is the fastest and safest way to build your credit!?
It can take as long as 7.5 years for collections to drop off your credit. Do you know the exact month the car was repossessed? When is the most recent credit report of his you looked at?
When it comes to building credit from scratch, I would start with one or two credit cards, use them sparingly, paying them off or on time every month, and for 6 months to a year, then look to establish an fixed/non revolving loan.
Are you working full time? Do you have some savings? Have dependable transportation?
Hi again and thanks for responding! As far as my Verizon account and how long ago… gosh, I am not sure, I am thinking at least 7 or 8 years ago and I have not made any payments since then, I had no idea I even had a balance with Verizon or this Convergent company. My credit is in the high 6’s and I am planning on buying a house someday. I was advised to get a credit card through my Credit Union and of course pay it off monthly, but now this little thing showed up & I have now idea what to do!
I have been watching my credit score over the last couple of months and saw one collection account that was removed from my report but my credit score went down 30 points. Why didn’t my score go up?
There are a host of factors that figure into your credit score. One or more things triggered the drop to your credit score. The collection account dropping off may have had nothing to do with it.
If you want to get live feedback that will help you understand your credit report and score better, talk to a credit counselor. Some have credit report consumer education initiatives where you can call and spend some dedicated one on one time looking over your credit report, and at no cost. Call 800-939-8357, and press option 1 and let them know you are calling to discuss your credit reports as part of that program.
My boyfriends Mom opened 2 bills in his name (a phone bill and a cable bill) back in like 2009 without his knowledge. We just ran his credit and found those on there because we are looking to get a house. His mom admitted to it, but is not going to pay them off. We want to rid his credit of these collection charges so he will get approved, but the 7 years is not for another 2. He called the companies that the bills originated from and they said he needs to file a police report. He doesn’t want his mom to get in trouble/arrested, but why should his credit be damaged because of her. What ways can this be fixed? Could he be denied because of these collection charges?
Yes, he could be denied a home loan as a result of the unpaid collection accounts showing on his credit reports.
They want the police report because that is their policy for responding to identity theft claims that result in collections and other negative stuff showing on credit reports.
How much is owed on the collection debts according to his credit reports? If he does not want to rock the boat with mom, he may have to settle these debts (pay less than what is owed), to increase the ability to get a mortgage loan approved. Here is more info about settling with debt collectors: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/settling-charged-off-credit-card-debts-with-collection-company/
Are there debt collectors showing on the credit reports, as well as the original service providers, and if so, who?
Hi, I just received an out of the blue bill from Convergent saying I owed a past due amount to Verizon, offering a payoff of 50% if paid within a certain time frame. I am clueless about this, where did these people come from? This does not show on my credit report, I had no idea I owed anyone any money or I would have taken care of it. First question, should I contact Verizion or should I contact this Convergent company and pay this? Second question is IF I do pay this bill will they report it to credit companies? Like I said, nothing regarding this shows on my credit report now and the last thing I want is for them to report it after I pay and tarnish my credit! I am baffled here. Please help. I want to pay if I owe this, however do not want to blacken my credit at the same time and am not familiar with the policies. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much.
How long ago did you have your Verizon account? When did you last make a payment on it?
It would help to know the answers to those questions in order to offer feedback about any Convergent credit reporting.
Michael Thank you for your advice, but what about if I don’t have money to hire a lawyer?
I remember I received a court papers but I take them to a person who is responsible for reviewing the credit, I received the papers on friday. I brought it to her on tuesday she said the time already pass, they give me the paper two weeks after the day I can answer.
Now I have 10 day to respond this one, What should I do?
Local legal aid offices will often help with debt collection issues if you qualify for help.
I am not sure who you are dealing with that is responsible for reviewing your credit. But it sounds like they told you it was to late to respond to the original notice of the lawsuit because you ran out of time, and that may not have been the case. The time you have to initially respond to a lawsuit typically begins the day you are served, not the day the lawsuit got filed in the court. Otherwise process servers working for debt collection attorneys would just wait until the day before the response deadline to serve everyone.
I think you should at least talk to an experienced debt collection defense attorney about your options. Most offer an initial consult at no cost. This way you can assess what you can/cannot afford, and get some basic questions answered.
Do you recognize the debt they are collecting on?
I received a letter from Court, “Application for entry of default” from a collection agency Midland Funding LLC, they said a have 10 day to answer or file a responsive pleading with the court of the file application, default will be effective and default judgment will be enter against me.
What is this? What can I do? I need your advice please, thank you.
I live in Arizona.
Laura – Did you know you were being sued before receiving this? Can you offer a bit more back story?
Because you are being sued, you really should be speaking with an attorney of your own, and one with debt collection defense experience in Arizona.
P.S. the original account is from a bankruptcy in 2002 that has been removed from my credit report.
I have a 12 yr. old charge-off account that is showing on my credit report from the original account, and then was sold and resold 2 more times to collection agencies. All four appear on my credit report, and each time the debt balance goes way up from $212 original charge-off to over $2900 now. The last collection agency refused to settle anywhere near the original debt. I checked and the last 3 agencies are actually under the same corporate umbrella, and the agent told me as long as they keep selling the debt in house they can keep the account / reporting going. Is this true?
No. Not true at all. Who was the original creditor,and who are the other collection companies appearing on your credit reports. What state are you in?
Post your answers, as it will affect the feedback I have to offer, and lets go from there.
Hi,
I would like to know if is it true that many or all credit card for stores have some kind of insurance that cover up them when someone no pay and they put your account on delinquency. That insurance cover an amount of the debt and the other part they recover it for selling your account to a collection agency. That’s why the lawyers that works recovering your credit recommend not pay the amount the collection agency is trying to get from you and they resolve the problem sending some kind of letter that the collector never answer and by law that’s make that your credit reports change.
Is that true?
Sounds pretty hokey to me Melissa. If you cannot pay your debts, and are not optimistic of any plan that can help you clear unpaid bills in the span of about 36 months (though sometimes shorter or longer), than chapter 7 bankruptcy can be a better option than doing nothing, or opting for some administrative process that hits on banks cant loan money, creditors have no losses when you do not pay, and other alternative debt relief theories, like their insurance makes them whole.
What is it you have going on that makes it difficult to pay your bills?
I paid for an Experian membership for credit monitoring and found 2 collection accounts on my report. I was not aware that I owed medical bills because at the time I was eligible for free care and I moved and changed my address after the appointments. Still seeing the accounts, I called to pay them in full because I didn’t like that I had debt. Upon calling the worker named an additional bill for $200 more ( a bill that wasn’t on ANY of my 3 reports!) .. I paid all three (debts) in full but now I’m wondering if that was a mistake. This other 200 some odd debt supposedly happened in 2008. Now I’m wondering if I made a mistake paying for that. Can a debt collection agency scam you? Is it possible or should I just be thanking my lucky stars that that debt wasn’t on my reports?
Debt collection companies can be scams, but the information you shared does not lead me to think you were scammed by one. They brought up a bill in their system, but you do not recognize it. You could have paid the other two and asked for additional details about the third and taken care of researching the legitimacy of it on your own time, since it was not appearing on your credit reports, or actively being collected on.
You still could look into the matter.
When reviewing our credit report, we noticed a new collection activity. There were 3 collection accounts from the same collection agency all listing the same original creditor. The credit report list 3 different “Date opened” dates and 3 different “Current balances’. We contacted the original creditor since we had never had service with the listed original creditor. Turns out the Century Link bought Qwest and they claim that our debt is from Qwest. Century Link sold the debt to Credit Management Company. Century Link claims that the debt was all from one address (we lived in this house for 10 months) and that there were actually 4 accounts in our name linked to this address, but only 3 had been sold to the collection agency. We lived in this home from August 2007 – June 2008. The collection agency have “Dates opened” as 9/24/2013, 10/03/2013 and 3/10/2014. Those dates obviously have nothing to do with the last payment on the accounts or when the accounts became delinquent. My fear is that since the credit report does not accurately show delinquency, that the 7 to 7.5 year will be based on the listed “Date opened” date. We live in AZ and the SOL is 6 years, I believe. Can the collection agency legally be reporting this as new? I apologize for the multiple issues in this one question, but would appreciate any answers and advice. Thank you!
How the items appear on the credit report – as if they are newer – may not be the dates set to age off of your credit reports. But before hitting that, do you agree that the multiple accounts are yours, or did you just have the one account?
I’m sorry, Is that really the answer to the SPECIFIC QUESTION I asked? I don’t mean to be rude here but I am not some RUBE that just fell off the Bad Credit Bus. I know EXACTLY how to look up the SOL for collections in ALL 50 states & have done so. I also have read some conflicting court case’s where some DUMB ASS JUDGE didn’t rule as he should have in a particular state. But how can you fight STUPID. MY question is/was “Shouldn’t I (or should I say “SHOULD I”) expect my CREDIT SCORE number to jump UP (IMMEDIATELY) as of the date ALL THREE of the BAD REPORTING S DROP OFF??????????????????????? DO the ALGORITHMS used by the Credit Agency’s when you call in for a CURRENT CREDIT REPORT use the CURRENT EXISTING DATA that is in your REPORT, OR do they keep some kind of SECRET backlog file of the fact that you just recently had THREE BAD DEBTS fall off and use that information to keep your SCORE NUMBER from being as high as it should with what should look to the computer like a person with GREAT CREDIT HISTORY since all those BAD things are NO LONGER SHOWING UP ??????? I think I am asking a very Perice, clear and detailed question here. I think I got a “boiler plate” answer that missed the whole point. Do you care to try again to address my specific question? If you don’t know the answer , JUST SAY SO! There’s no shame in admitting that the Credit Reporting agency’s are keeping all this information a big secret. It might be criminal of them that they do this considering how important it is for people to repair or maintain their rating numbers. But that’s a whole other story!
No, I would not care to take another swing at the answer. It is what it is. You don’t like the answer, I get it. I cannot offer a precise one. In all your reading of all 50 states this and that, and perhaps all of the folks you have asked your question to, you have not gotten a definitive answer because… it depends, like I said prior.
No I cannot answer your specific credit algo questions, and the folks that can are not going to.
Dusty – If you want to rail against the credit reporting system, do it on another site, or start your own.
Very well said Michael. Love seeing your answers to the questions.
QUESTION…. I have THREE credit cards that I let go delinquent just about 7 years ago. I understand I should add about 180 days (6 months) to that for the “TIME CLOCK” for when they should drop of my CREDIT REPORT. I have done NOTHING and contacted NO ONE (Collection agencies or CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ) in that time. (Naturally the debts have been bought & sold through a number of collectors, but NONE have successfully GUILT ED me into attempting to make a “payment schedule” .Neither has any of them successfully served me to bring the matter before a Court to get a JUDGEMENT. (The individual amounts probably just are not worth the expense it would cost them to do so). MY QUESTION IS….
When these “Bad Debts” drop off from my Credit Reports as REQUIRED by FEDERAL LAW, If all the other items on my report are “IN GOOD STANDING”, Should there not be an immediate substantial upwards jump in my CREDIT SCORE when I finally call in and order my reports from the three big agency’s ? (Assuming I do not have errors that need to be disputed such as the possibility that some collector (vulture) has tried to report a later date for the item or it’s being reported as a second separate item with a later 7.5 year start date). I am well aware of the 50 states SOL for collections and the fact that there is STILL controversy in some states about what the time limit should be or what state should be considered as the “home” state for the time rules on TIME LIMITS for collections. I am more concerned with rebuilding OR knowing if my SCORE numbers will significantly increase the MOMENT the bad debts drop off from reporting. Maybe some insight into how the “ALGORITHMS” that are apparently kept as a big secret from the consumers would help people understand how to work on their credit problems, Instead of the type of answers the people that CLAIM to be trying to help you at these so called CREDIT HELP SERVICES give like….. “If you give us all your information we can work out a lower % rate with the collectors and save you money”. Why don’t they just tell them that by contacting them and then the collectors through them they have just RESTARTED the time clock for the 7.5 years and now the collector knows EXACTLY every detail about how to SERVE you to get you into COURT and get a judgement against you! I think anyone that has read a little bit on line knows most of this but the question stands about how the DROP OFF from the BIG THREE will effect my SCORE NUMBER and Will it be IMMEDIATE if all else on my report seems to be of good standing????? Thank You
Everyone’s credit rating, and contents on their reports are different, so it is hard to say. I can tell you that my experiences are that folks who have on time mortgage, student loan, and car payments kept up all the while negative collection account(s) appeared, until they aged off, fair better credit scoring wise, than those whose credit reports are dominated by accounts that went into collection. Someone who was able to keep other unsecured accounts positive and still open will often do better when other credit card collections fall off.
Finding out for certain the SOL to sue in order to collect from you has expired should not be difficult.
I am in the process of cleaning up my credit to purchase a home. On my credit report it says “Item to be removed July 2014” does that mean July 1st or end of July?
Safest to assume by end of month.
Should I not call the credit bureau? The lender is running my credit next week but I wanted to be sure that it would be off before they ran it.
If I had the lead time of a few days like you do, and I were concerned about the day of removal, I would pull the reports myself and verify removal of the negative item. I would probably pay for the credit reports rather than using a free service. But if you have not used your 1 per 12 month period free reports federal law requires the large credit bureaus provide, you can pull those at http://www.annualcreditreport.com
I have a credit card debt from Bank of America for $700. California SOL is past. Now I am receiving a collection letter (Cavalry Portfolio Services) that also shows up on my credit report. Their letter states they will not sue me because of the age of the debt but they will continue to report to credit bureaus. They are offering $491 to settle. Should I take their offer?
As long as bank of America is showing a zero balance owed, while Cavalry shows the balance owed to them, that is normal. If they are both showing a balance owed to them on your credit reports, that is a problem.
Cavalry Portfolio blinked first with the offer to settle for less they mailed you. You could call and offer a lower amount, say 1 to 2 hundred less, and see if they bite. If they cannot sue you to collect, than the leverage they are left with is the fact that they can continue to show as an unpaid collection on your credit reports.
If you have financing and credit goals that would mean getting this balance to show resolved and zero owed, try to get this settled, even taking them up on the unsolicited offer. But don’t expect Cavalry to delete what they are reporting. You should expect them to report accurately about there no longer being a balance owed.
I understand that items can be taken off the credit report after 7 years. I have a credit card ( opened as college student ) that is 8 years old from first delinquency and sold to a collection agency and was never paid off. Do items still come off after 7 years, even if there is money still owed to the agency?
Yes, in general collection accounts should still come off after the legal limit to report on your credit has passed, and even though there is still money legitimately owed on the debt.
You can dispute old debts, that are not taken off of your credit when they should be, with the credit bureaus themselves, and the creditors and debt collectors that are furnishing bad information to the reporting agencies.