Are you about to apply for a loan or try to get a mortgage, but are worried that the credit mistake you had several years ago will hinder you from getting approved? If this mistake was only a few years ago, chances are it is still affecting your credit score.
All your credit history information is listed on your credit report for seven years, including the bad credit repayment behavior you may have had.
The exception is some types of bankruptcy filing, which remain on your credit report for 10 years.
After this amount of time, these items should not longer appear on your credit report and, therefore, will not affect your credit score.
However, that does not mean that negative information will be removed from your credit report in exactly 7 years.
It is not at all uncommon for items to remain on your credit report long after they should have been removed.
Review your credit report regularly and keep an eye on your credit history.
Make sure the accounts that are in good standing are listed and that the negative remarks that should no longer be there are gone.
If you do find an error, the best thing to do is indicate the mistake on your credit report and send in a written letter to the credit report agency to which you found the uncorrected information.
By law, they have 30 days to review and either correct or give you conclusive, legal evidence as to why the item is listed on your report.