What Is The Seven Year Shelf Life?

With the exception of certain types of bankruptcy, a negative item on your credit report stays there for seven years. This fact, however, needs some explanation. For example, when does the seven-year shelf life begin? There is a great deal of misconceptions about when the seven-year period begins.

Start Date

According to Equifax and Experian, a negative item remains on your credit report for seven years from the date of delinquency. This is the date that you missed a payment beyond the grace period. When you are past due, the credit card company reports this to the credit bureaus. This is called a report of delinquency and the date of the delinquency is when this period begins. The clock does not change if you miss another payment. It only begins after the first missed payment.

If they close your account at a later date or declare the account as a charge-off, things change. For example, say this happens 120 to 180 days later, the clock will still start from the first date of delinquency. It will not change to the closure date of the account and or the date of charge off either.

Likewise, if the credit card company sends your account to a collection agency, the seven years start at the date of first delinquency, not on the date when the collection agency took over, or closure, or charge off.

Nobody’s Perfect

Your credit report may have negative items. Some may be yours. Some may not be yours. When the item is yours, checking the date of delinquency may provide you some leverage to have the item removed. You will need a current copy of your credit report before you begin the dispute process.

If you can determine that a negative item is not yours, you can dispute this item with the credit bureau. Keep in mind that the credit bureaus are not out to get you. If the item is really not yours, or the 7-year clock has run out, they will remove it in order to make your report as accurate as possible.

Changing Lives One Score At A Time

The Credit Care Company has been helping debtors to restore their credit for over 13 years. Our staff is full of compassionate and experienced credit specialists who know every inch of debt and credit law. Contact us today and let us help you navigate your seven-year shelf life in a way that is most beneficial to you.