FCRA gurus

[carguy82]

I have an account that was paid in full on 6/6/05. The creditor says they charged the account off on 6/3/05. They never reported this account to my credit bureau until 7/5/05. They have reported this account as a paid charge off. The only bureau it currently reported on is experian.

My question is how long does a creditor have to report an account to the credit bureaus? Someone told me they OC has 30 days to report the account is this true. I am just wondering if I am in the clear with trans union and equifax.

[Methuss]

There is no time-limit on when a furnisher may submit information to the bureaus to be reported. The only 30 day time-limit in the FCRA I am aware of regarding reporting is that the furnisher must supply the date of Last Activity with 30 days of reporting the tradeline. This is so the running period can be accurately calculated.

My concern in your case is the dates listed. It is completely petty and retalitory for any company to say a month later that they charged off an account 3 days before it was satisfied in full. In looking at the calendar, they claim to have charged it off on Friday and accepted your payment the following Monday. Arguably, they may not have "posted" your payment on the same day they received it as they are required to do by law, or held your payment in some way; they may also have fabricated the charge-off date so they could punish your credit report harder. Late pays, even 90 day lates have no effect on your credit score after a year or so while a paid charge-off hurts you for 3 years or more.