CA's show accounts as open, but are really closed.

[the_girl]

Hello!

I just checked my credit report and everything looks correct except several old accounts (one cc from 1989!, few old car loans that were paid off in good standing) which still show open with a balance of $0 but no limit specified.

It's also not consistent, for instance 2 CA's might show the acct as closed where the other CA shows it as open...whereas on another account one shows it as closed and the others, as open.

Should I worry about getting this corrected even though the balances are $0? Do they affect the score?

Thanks!

the_girl

[c m chase]

As long as the balance is $0 and it's a positive account, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

You COULD dispute with the CRAS saying it's closed, but more than likely, they'd end up deleting the whole account...which isn't what you want. The age of the old accounts is great for your score.

[RedDog]

Please clarify. Are these credit card accounts (CC) or are they Collection Agency accounts (CA)?

Any account that has a long history (ie 1989) has a positive effect on your credit score. Open credit card accounts with zero balance are great.

Open Collection accounts with a long history are bad but they still have a slight positive effect on your score. You will find that if a old collection account is removed your score MAY go down. You have to weigh the benifits of removing bad information against the possiblity of lowering your score.

There are many articles on this site addressing this issue.

Hope this helps.

RedDog

[c m chase]

This is true. Though, she did mention one was an old cc and the others were PIF car loans.

And, even if it DOES bring down your score, you should always try to remove CAs from your report. It'll make your score go back UP faster than it would if it were still on there.

[the_girl]

No, these are not collection accounts...by "CA" I meant Credit Agencies. I need to get the lingo right

Here's an example:

Experian shows me having an OPEN revolving charge account with Exxon Mobile opened in 1993. Well, I closed the account in 1996 (and it shows no activity since then).It shows the balance as 0$, balance limit is blank, and payment status is "Current".

The others are similar.

Is this positively or negatively affecting my score (or not at all)? What I am most concerned about is this looking like I have this account as "Available/Open Credit", when it's really not.

Thanks!

Jodi

[c m chase]

This is true...it could be seen as available credit....though I don't think that factors into score. I believe that mostly that would be looked at if you're trying to buy a house or car. And honestly, I don't think a gas card would be that big of a deal....if it were a $10,000 Visa, then maybe.

If you're still worried about it, you can write the company and ask that they update the status to closed. Again, I wouldn't dispute with the CRAs for fear of you losing the whole tradeline. You certainly don't want it deleted.

All in all, I say you're in pretty good shape.

[Rezin]

As long as the balance is $0 and it's a positive account, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

You COULD dispute with the CRAS saying it's closed, but more than likely, they'd end up deleting the whole account...which isn't what you want. The age of the old accounts is great for your score.

Ahhh, crap. I had a car installment loan showing open, and I had a balance of $1098 when it's really been piad off since Sept. So I diod an online dispute with EX telling them it was closed, paid as agreed. I got the letter back saying still under investigation..

Did I screw up. It's one of my best tradelines. I just wanted it to show $0 and closed since I saw my other FICOs rise when it was paid off.....