FICTION
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FACT
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| The
law states that bad credit must remain on my credit
report for a period of seven to ten years. |
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There
is nothing further from the truth. There is no law
that states that bad credit must remain on a credit
report for seven to ten years. In fact, there is no
law that states that creditors must report your
credit history at all. The law states that accurate
credit may remain on your credit report for seven
years. Bankruptcies may remain on your credit
report for 10 years. |
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| When
I pay off a past-due account, such as a charge off
or a collection account, it will show as "Paid" and
will no longer be negative. |
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The
paying off of an old debt actually harms credit.
The seven-year clock begins ticking on "the date of
last activity". When an outstanding delinquency
account is paid off the status changes to "Paid
Charge Off" or "Paid Collection" and the seven-year
period begins again. Doing the right thing buys
additional years of negative credit. |
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| Some
negative listings, such as bankruptcy and judgments,
are impossible to remove from a credit report. |
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All
types of negative listings--even bankruptcy and
judgments--have been removed from credit reports,
and have been thousands of times. Courts do not
report information to credit bureaus. When a public
record item is disputed, the credit bureaus must
send an employee to the courthouse to verify such
information. Often this cannot be done within the
allotted 30-day time period, and the negative items
are permanently deleted from the credit file. |
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| If I
succeed in deleting a negative item it will just
come right back on my credit report. |
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The
Fair Credit Reporting Act clearly states that if an
item is not verified within a 30-day period, that
such item must be permanently deleted from the
credit report. Although uncommon, items sometimes
reappear. If that happens, those items can be
removed instantly by notifying the credit bureau of
their previous deletion. |
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Disputing the credit report is easy and any consumer
can do it for the price of a few stamps. |
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Disputing the credit report is easy, but getting
results from the credit bureau is difficult,
complex, and infuriating. It's no coincidence that
the Federal Trade Commission receives more
complaints against credit bureaus than any other
type of business. |
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| If I
declare bankruptcy my credit report becomes a clean
slate. |
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Declaring bankruptcy does not erase bad credit. For
their own interest, some bankruptcy attorneys may
not adequately explain the effects of bankruptcy to
their clients, leading to misconceptions. |
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| If
my credit dispute is unresolved and I file a "100
word consumer statement" with the credit bureau as
suggested on the report, creditors will read the
statement and take it into consideration. |
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A 100
word statement is an admission of guilt to creditors
and only serves to verify the negatives on the
report. |
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| If
I'm having trouble paying my bills I can go to
Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) and they
will help me to restore my credit. |
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CCCS is
a non-profit debt counseling service that assists
those who are in debt. CCCS companies are
controlled by the creditors and the credit bureaus.
The fact is, if you are in a CCCS program, and it is
reported to the credit bureau, creditors will treat
you as if you had declared a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. |
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| It
is illegal for a collection agency or creditor to
change or delete a negative entry on my credit
report. |
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There
is no law which states that credit must be reported
at all. Collection agencies and creditors can
change or even delete any negative entries. Any
disputed or incorrect negative entries can be
removed. |
