How long do negative items stay listed?
Federal Law requires that most negative credit items must be removed from your credit bureau file after seven years of no activity. There are some exceptions to this, like Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which can be reported for up to ten years. However, there have been reports with negative items listed for well over 7 years. This happens often when the credit bureaus make a mistake, or when the creditor re-ages the account or is reporting a wrong “last activity” date. This can also happen with collection accounts that are sold from one debt collector to another. Sometimes, figuring out the date that the “seven year clock” starts counting from can be a bit complicated. For example, the law states that for charge-off accounts, the date begins 180 days after the commencement of the most recent delinquency. Inquiries may remain on the credit report for up to two years.
