How to Remove a Seven-Year-Old Bad Debt From Your Credit Report

Most negative information doesn't remain within your credit history indefinitely. The Fair Credit Reporting Act notes that the credit bureaus must remove most types of bad debt after seven years. If the creditor incorrectly reported the date the account was first categorized as delinquent, the account may remain a part of your credit history for longer than federal law allows. Disputing obsolete debts within your credit file helps you have them removed and improve your credit scores.

Instructions

1

Pull a copy of your credit report from each credit bureau. Because the credit bureaus sometimes record different information for each of your accounts, the account may be present on some versions of your credit report and not others.

2

Locate the obsolete debt on your credit reports. The creditor must report the date that it charged off the account within the account's trade line. If the debt is a collection account, locate the original creditor's trade line.

3

Calculate the time period between the date the original debt was charged off and the current date. Charge-offs usually occur 180 days after your final payment on the account. The seven-year reporting period does not begin until you fail to make a payment for 180 days. Thus, a bad debt must be 7 years old before you can dispute it as "obsolete" with the credit bureaus.

4

Visit the website of the credit bureau you plan to file a dispute with. Download and fill out a credit dispute form. If you cannot print out the form, you may also write a letter informing the credit bureau of the obsolete entry on your credit report.

5

Make a copy of the credit report that reflects the obsolete debt. Highlight the account's trade line.

6

Send your dispute form or letter with the highlighted copy of your credit report to the corresponding credit bureau. Once the credit bureau verifies that the item is obsolete, it will remove it from your report.