FICTION:
The law states that
bad credit must stay
on a credit report
for a period of
seven to ten years.
FACT:
There is nothing
farther 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.
FICTION:
When I pay off a
past-due account
such as a charge off
or a collection
account, it will
show "paid" and will
no longer be
negative.
FACT: The
paying off of an old
debt actually harms
your credit.
Negative credit is
allowed to be
reported for a
maximum of seven
years. The
seven-year clock
begins ticking on
"the date of last
activity". By paying
an outstanding
delinquency account
you will change the
status to "Paid
Collection" or "Paid
Charge Off" and the
seven-year old
status begins again.
By trying to do the
right thing, you
just bought yourself
additional years of
bad credit.
FICTION:
If I succeed in
deleting a negative
item it will just
come right back on
my credit report.
FACT: 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 not
common, items
sometimes reappear.
However, when they
do they can be
removed instantly by
notifying the credit
bureau of their
previous deletion.
FICTION:
There are negative
listings such as
bankruptcies and
judgments that are
impossible to remove
from a credit
report.
FACT:
There is no type of
negative listing
that hasn't’t been
removed from a
credit report
thousands of times.
In fact, there is
not a court in the
land that reports to
the credit bureaus.
The credit bureaus
send employees to
the different
courthouses on a
periodic basis to
take down current
information and add
it to consumer
files. When a Public
Record item is
disputed, the credit
bureaus must send an
employee to the
courthouse to verify
such information.
Many times this
cannot be done
within the 30-day
time period and the
items are
permanently deleted
from the credit
file.
FICTION:
Disputing the credit
report is easy and
any consumer can do
it himself for the
price of a few
stamps.
FACT:
Disputing the credit
report is easy.
Getting results from
the credit bureau is
amazingly difficult,
complex, and
infuriating. It is
not a coincidence
that the Federal
Trade Commission
receives more
complaints against
credit bureaus than
any other type of
business.
FICTION:
If I declare
bankruptcy, I can
begin my credit
report all over with
a clean slate.
FACT:
Many bankruptcy
attorneys do not
adequately
understand or
explain the effects
of bankruptcy to
their clients.
Stated simply,
bankruptcy is to the
credit rating what
the atom bomb is to
war.
FICTION:
If you are not
satisfied with the
results of your
credit bureau
challenge, you may
file a "100 word
statement" on your
credit report
explaining your side
of the story.
Creditors will read
your statement and
will take it into
consideration.
FACT:
I know of no
creditor that will
take your 100 word
statement into
consideration. A 100
word statement only
serves to verify the
negatives on the
report.
FICTION:
If I am having
trouble paying my
bills I can go to
Consumer Credit
Counseling Service
and they will help
me to restore my
credit.
FACT:
Consumer Credit
Counseling Service
or CCCS is a
nonprofit debt
counseling service
that assists people
who are over their
heads in debt. CCCS
companies are
controlled by the
creditors and the
credit bureaus. The
fact is that if you
are in a CCCS
program and it is
reported to the
credit bureau,
creditors will treat
you as if you were
in a Chapter 13
bankruptcy.
FICTION:
It is illegal for a
collection agency or
creditor to change
or delete a negative
entry.
FACT: As
stated earlier,
there is no law that
states that credit
must be reported at
all.
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