Does an One Know for Sure About the 7 Year Rule?

Sometimes, money cannot be paid back.....it happens...in my case it was my ex who ran everything up and many years later I still suffer from it....after seven years, you can usually petion to have the debt removed or you can add a response (as in my case 'this debt is not mine')...I found out the hard way that they do not care what the divorce decree says...it really means nothing if the person who is to pay the debts does not.......I wish you luck in buying a house ...as one person said 'it can be done'....I had a family member help me......the finance person can help you.....best of luck!

Hi C.---my husband and I have just completed the Financial Peace University class at our church and it covered this briefly. Myth: unpaid debt will just fall off my credit report after seven years. Truth: Unpaid debt may never fall off your credit report, only converts to a charge-off "accounting term for unpaid debt." As for paid for bad debt, it falls off the credit report seven years after the last time it was reported (ex: paid off in 2000, last time company reported to bureau is 2005, falls off report in 2012).

I highly recommend you and your husband read/listen to Dave Ramsey's book "Total Money Makeover." We also took the FPU class as mentioned above through our church...there is a list of upcoming classes on his website. www.daveramsey.com

This class has taught us what every kid should be taught before graduating high school: budgeting, investments, insurance, bargain shopping, real estate, college funding, retirement, how to get out of debt--for real, etc. It has already changed our lives and we started in September. He also is on the radio from 1-4 M-F on AM 570.

Good luck and hang in there. Feel free to contact if have other questions regarding the class.
K.

Hi C.,

I do not know all the rules, but I can point you in the right direction. I used to be a Realtor, and LOVED working with first time home buyers. The key to your success is to find someone you trust to help you get on track and stay on! I know a very honest and dependable mortgage guy (lender) who always helps people in your spot. He is awesome. NO pressure, but I am sure you will like him, so you will remember that when it is time to buy.

I don't think I can give his name on here, I don't know. Just private message me, and I will get you that info.

Until you know all the rules, don't make another move. Pick up the phone and call this guy before you apply for a credit card, buy a car or even check you credit score.

Best wishes!!

I really don't know for sure. I have a credit card debt but it is over $2000 just slightly. I got to a point where I could not pay and it grew. They did not try to sue me, but would call and speak in a threatening tone and demanding I pay the entire amount immediately as it was sold to a collection agency. I stopped answering the phone and did look into bankrupcy but laws are different now. Finally they realized they were not getting their money and are allowing me to pay it out in $40 payments with no interest. I don't know if that helps or not, but that is what happened to me.

J.

You probably read my post about the time period starting over once the debt has changed hands. I speak from experience, I had a CC when I was 20 and it's still on there and I'm 31. I've contested it and the Credit Bureaus will not remove it because to them it looks like a new debt. Now, if you want to buy a house and you make a decent income, Call Rodney Anderson @ CTX Mortgage. He personally took care of our loan and we've been in our brand spankin' new home for 6 months and it's GREAT. He (or someone at his office) will tell you how your credit looks and tell you where you stand. We were thrilled and surprised when we only had to pay a few minor bills and we got into our brand-spankin' new house with ZERO money down. It was AWESOME and we still can't believe it. So if it's a house you want, call CTX Mortgage. EVen if you can't get one today, they will tell you exactly what you need to do to get on track for one. No, I don't work for them or anything...but we were SOOO happy with their service so we're recommending them to EVERYONE.

I will tell you I had and still have some bad credit to myself. I wanted a house last year but knew that I would not qualify, I was wrong. I talked to an insurance agent and she assured me that it would all be fine even with a medical bill that was almost $90,000. People say that don't look at medical bills but one that high it caught everyone's eyes. The mortgage companies look at the credit score and I wil tell you mine was 551 and I still qualified. So it's all about your credit score when purchasing a home. I have been in my house for over a year now. I hope this helps you some. Also every Friday at 12 on AM 970 they have a mortgage lending on there talked and giving advise.

http://www.budhibbs.com/

This is an old friend. He has answered a call, to champion the financially challenged. Please go to his web site and read his book, the download is free, really!

The Bad Debt will fall off of his credit report 7 year from the last date of activity. The last time you speak to, make a payment to, anything. So the debt is bad at this point, no matter what you do. However if you continue to make payments, and speak with the vultures. Then, ever time you do, that is activity, get it.

Bud calls it "walking the debt". Stop beating a dead horse, let it go. Walk away.

www.lawguru.com

Visit the above website and you should be able to find some help. I received a collection letter for a Master Card from 1993, well according to Texas Law, there is a 4 year statute of limitations from the last payment made. Also, when you receive collections letters stating you only have 30 days to request proof of debt...DO IT, because it is then the collection agency's responsibility to proof that the debt is yours. Make sure you do not just except a MSWord doc that anyone can create as proof. I know this from experience, and because of the statute of limitations and failure to proof that the debt was mine, they could no longer report to the credit places that this debt was in default and therefore was removed.

Hope this helps.....

Hi, I can give you advice due to personal experience.
My husband and I had horrible credit,we couldnt get credit at 7-11 if we wanted to!
But, I dug and dug and dug on the internet,and committed hours upon hours of rearch how to clean up our credit.
I have letter,you send to the CREDITOR not the Credit BUREAU..all the CB will do is call joe blow department store and ask if a valid debt,they say yes,and the credit bureau leaves it on...they end.
I went over and beyond that...I had a dillards credit debt on my credit report that was 15 yrs old,and it changed hands over and over again...to me,the more the merrier!!
By law, the ORIGINAL creditor has to provide you with the ORIGINAL contract you signed taking on this debt....credit card,etc...the older it is,the harder it is for them to provide this sort of document..why? Becuz they chuck paper and imput it on the computer...and your signiture is no more...
My score,went from 400 to 650 in over a month..true story.
I worked on it religiously!
Once removed,by law,they cannot put it back on....again,the original creditor has to provide the original contract you signed.hey have 30 days to do it..they take for granted your not smart and will just let it go...I however wanted to be smarter then them..lol.
I have letters I retrieved off credit repair sites,and they work!!
I sat down,ordered all three reports and mailed this same letter to every single creditor...THEN---you send the same letter to the ATTORNEY Generals Office,that is in the same state as the creditor,and they too follow up on it,and trust me,when the Attorney general is involved,they fix it fast...
Its time consuming,but well worth it!
Hope this helps!

Hi C.,

The only way you really know is to pull your credit report off once a year and see. You can actually call the 3 credit companies or email them and ask. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and check into that. Some folks say it is 7 years, others 10, you really never know until you have gone ahead and TRY to purchase a big item such as a house. If the debt has been paid, then the credit companies will still have it on your credit report, but also show (or should) that is has been paid off. Then your financial person should be able to work from there. If you are considering buying a home, you really do need to pay the debt off and not just wait for it to fall off, that is not good and it doesn't show that you have good ethics going forward from here on out.

This is not meant to sound personal, but alot of folks get themselves into trouble and never pay any of their debt back. If you made the debt, pay it back! It is a simple as that. I guess my biggest pet peeve is that people think that the debt will go away, eventually it does, but that should not absolve people from paying debts back even if it takes 20 years to pay it off! It does not speak well of anyone's moral compass when we don't pay debts back. This not only speaks of our finances, but it seeps into other aspects of our lives.

I also speak from experience, I have a few things during my younger years too, but they have all been resolved and I have paid back every single penny I owed to any creditor and also friends as well!

Thanks and good luck!!

G. B.

Just an FYI... you can get a free copy of your credit report to see what it says.

I believe it was 2004 when government passed a law to allow you access to your credit report for FREE from the THREE major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

You can get it here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

That is the OFFICIAL free credit report site. You can get a FREE copy of your credit report ONCE annually from ALL THREE PLACES... meaning, you get three free copies!

I have done this and still do it... but I don't request all my copies right away... I do it in thirds... one month, I will request to see what Experian has... then 4 months later, I check to see what Equifax has... then 4 months later TransUnion.

This site also gives you the option to dispute a claim. I've done it and it was SUPER easy... I filled out a little online form and that was it... 2 weeks later, I got a dispute resolution and the claim was dropped off my credit.

Check your credit report out before you worry... I was told that the average credit score is around 600 - 650.