ok...? about the "7 year rule"

[moonwife]

I have always heard that once a debt is older than 7 years it is "gone". I'm looking in reasons why I would dispute my debts and I'm not seeing that one, how does this work? Can someone explain this one to me step by step?

My husband and I both have old debt. Many of mine are probably close to 10 years old. But my credit has never gotten better.

1) How do I dispute these with the CRA? Like....do I just say I dispute this because it's old?

2) how does this work.....these debts are sold down the line so many times that I imagine it would be really hard to keep track of truly how old it is. Is that burden of proof on me or the creditor?

3) Does it truly work that once it hits 7 years, it should be removed, regardless of if I ever paid it off or not??

oh and one more question

Is there a rule of thumb for how many points I should see my credit score rise for every thing I clear up?

[sunset]

1) How do I dispute these with the CRA? Like....do I just say I dispute this because it's old?

I disputed it was too old to remain on my credit report, that it was obsolete and should be removed. That worked for me. Others here may be able to tell you what worked for them as well

2) how does this work.....these debts are sold down the line so many times that I imagine it would be really hard to keep track of truly how old it is. Is that burden of proof on me or the creditor?

I believe it's determined by the DOFD (date of first delinquency). Even though mine was sold several times, it was still on my CR 11 yrs later. I disputed it as mentioned above and it came off. As for the burden of proof, maybe someone more experienced than I can answer that one for you.

3) Does it truly work that once it hits 7 years, it should be removed, regardless of if I ever paid it off or not??

Mine wasn't paid off, and it still came off.

oh and one more question

Is there a rule of thumb for how many points I should see my credit score rise for every thing I clear up?

Now, that I couldn't tell ya. My report seemed to depend on how old the tradeline was. If I remember correctly, most of them were around 10-20 pts. But that was my stuff. Yours may be different.

[swirlgirl]

I always like to remind people that even when a debt falls off of their credit report, the debt does not go away. It's still due to the creditor and they can still sue for it. In this case, the state SOL might come into play. However, even if the SOL has expired, the debt is still owed to the creditor.

Basically, a debt doesn't go away until it's either paid or forgiven. That's why people will get letters on debts that are 20 years old.

[sunset]

Basically, a debt doesn't go away until it's either paid or forgiven. That's why people will get letters on debts that are 20 years old.

I hear ya. I got a letter earlier this year (if I remember correctly) from a CA collecting for a CC from 1987(?) that my ex hubby took out in my name without my knowledge.

[gator944]

First of all, if the tradeline is helping or serving as a positive on your reports, it will stay for 10+ years. Make sure it is truly a negative or derogatory entry on your report before you dispute off of there.

Something else to consider is a trade line may be negative today, but a late payment may within the trade line may drop in a few months. Then your negative turns into a positive.

Example:

You have a car loan that has been paid off for 4 years now, but 6.5 years ago you had a late payment. The Bureaus may show the trade line as a negative and deduct from your score for the late payment. 6 months from now the late payment should drop out of sight, but you still have the car loan on your report that is now sparkling clean.

If it is truly hurting your credit score with no chance of going positive then dispute it. The dispute section should have an "other" selection and space to explain it.