Negative Information generally remains on your credit report for 7 years.
But there are some exceptions to the 7 year rule:
- If you have declared Bankruptcy, that information can stay on your credit report for up to 10 years.
- A lawsuit or judgment against you will show on your credit report or until the statue of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.
- Tax liens remain on your credit report for exactly 7 years starting from the date they were paid, not from the date they were incurred.
- Information reported as the result of an application for more than $50,000 in loans or life insurance has no limitation
Collection Agencies strive to extend the time Negative items remain on your credit report!
If you have an account sent to a collection agency, you should note that the length of time a negative mark stays on your credit report does not begin the last time you made a payment, but begins when you are either first late with a payment, or the account went into collection. This is important to know, because it is in the interests of collection agencies to extend bad marks on your credit report.
To facilitate this, some collection agencies have been known to update your reports with credit bureaus to lengthen the time an account appears on your report. The reason this dishonest reporting can extend a negative credit report is that when the account is updated, the period of time the delinquent account appears on your credit report is extended.
It pays to be diligent with your credit report. If you suspect that a collection agency has tampered with yours, you can challenge it. Contact the Credit Bureaus about it and they will move the date back to when the debt was first occurred, not when the last payment was made!