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Credit Advice
Topics addressed on March 31, 2010:
Date opened nor date closed affect when account is deleted
Dear Experian,
My credit report shows delinquencies on very old accounts from when I was laid off and unemployed for 18 months. All repayments were arranged between myself and the lender and repaid as agreed. How long before these come off my credit report? Is it from the date closed or opened?
- WTR
Dear WTR,
The accounts in your credit report will be deleted seven years from the date they first became delinquent and after which were never current. That date is called the original delinquency date.
For example, if an account were to become late today and the payments were never brought current, it was charged off as bad debt and was sent to collection, the original delinquency date would be today’s date. Seven years from today’s date, the account and the subsequent collection account would be deleted.
Neither the date opened nor the date closed has any bearing on when the accounts will be deleted.
The date opened can be important because the longer an account has been open with a positive payment history, the better indicator it is that you will manage new debt well.
Accounts with an entirely positive payment history are deleted 10 years from the closed date. Closed positive accounts will remain in your credit history longer than accounts with negative information, helping you establish a positive credit history.
Thanks for asking.
- The "Ask Experian" team