“Old Debt May Not Just Fade Away”

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Just pay what you agreed upon. Although just went though a deal that the company did not do what they said they would do and had to pay them anyways. Sad but true .... So why pay them ???? Because they will ding your credit .... Ugly for sure. 

Good evening Joe Petrowsky , Very nice blog! Congratulations on your Feature! I agree, that most people aren't aware of those procedures.

Collection agencies have nothing to lose as they got the bulk of their reports for nothing and just need to monitor a persons credit report to determine when some activity is being sought and then strike for a payment

I was under the impression that you could not have multiple reports on the same debt.

Joe, people should pay their obligations, and stop trying to wiggle out of them.  I wonder how they would like it if they were on the other end.

Joe 

Thanks for sharing your insight on old dedt . . . .  Your post is a real eye opener.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludiwg

Joe

Congratulations on earning a feature for a very informative post.
Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Joe, seems like I am not the only one who who didn't know this about old debts.Thank goodness I do not have any.

Yes, some people are surprised once they see an unpaid account on their report from more than one source.  Great information to share.

Joe Petrowsky - I used to think the same - and now I know....

Wish there was a remedy to this.

WOW! I didn't know that either. I'm sure most people don't know. What a shock!

And that is why consumers should take great care with their credit obligations...you bought it, you pay for it...so simple

I learned something new from your post about the seven year rule. . 

This is so true Joe - my husband learned this many years ago - bottom line... don't ignore a debt - pay it off before it goes to collection!

"Seven years after the original default date, all mentions of a debt -- no matter who has bought the debt or when -- have to come off your credit report, says Maxine Sweet, vice president of public education for credit bureau Experian.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, debt collectors can't change the account number and consider it a "new obligation," and they aren't allowed to "re-age" that debt, says Tracy S. Thorleifson, attorney with the Federal Trade Commission. Seven years from the original default date -- that's it, she says.

One exception is judgments. If a creditor sues and gets a court judgment against you, they can keep the judgment on your credit report for seven years or until the judgment expires, says John Ulzheimer, consumer credit expert. However, as a matter of practice, credit bureaus keep judgments on a credit report for seven years from the judgment filing date, he says.

In other words, while the original obligation and any listings by subsequent collectors will come off within the original seven-year period, the judgment can have its own independent seven-year life span."


Read more: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/debt/6-ways-not-to-reset-old-debt-1.aspx#ixzz4CmqHWAlc

Some people just can't face it and chose to ignore it hoping it will go away. That is not the way it works in the real world.

Collection companies often "sell" or transfer the information to a sister company just for the purpose of keeping the clock ticking. Make sure that when you do pay it off they agree to remove the item form your report, not just show it paid! 

Interesting information! I didn't realize the 7 years could restart again. Yikes.

You learn something everyday here on Active Rain. Great facts to share with the general public. 

There ought to be a mechanism for forcing a credit bureau to remove an improper ding. Small claims court might be a good option.

When a creditor will not remove an incorrect report, it might well cost too much to force a removal thru legal action. The system is front loaded in favor of creditors who may or may not have valid claims.