Obsolete Information & Re-aging

What this is

The FCRA strictly limits how long negative information can remain on your credit report. Most derogatory items (late payments, charge-offs, collections, judgments) must be removed after 7 years. Bankruptcies may remain for 10 years. When a furnisher or bureau keeps an item past its legal limit — or resets the clock by changing dates — that's a violation.

Why it hurts your credit

An expired negative item that stays on your report suppresses your score for years beyond what the law allows. Re-aging — changing the date of first delinquency to make an old debt look newer — is a common debt-collector tactic that illegally extends a debt's reporting life.

The 7-year clock and when it starts

The 7-year period starts from the "date of first delinquency" — the first month you were late and never caught up — not from when the account was charged off, sold to a collector, or placed with a new agency. Collectors sometimes reset dates when they buy old debt. That reset is illegal.

How to spot re-aging

Pull all three reports and compare the "date of first delinquency" across all versions of the same account. If a collection agency shows a newer date than the original creditor reported, re-aging has likely occurred. Save copies of all reports — that comparison is your evidence.

What your dispute letter needs

Your letter should state the original date of delinquency (if you know it), calculate when the item should have been removed, cite FCRA § 605(a), and request immediate deletion. If you have old credit reports showing the earlier date, attach them.

Your key rights

• FCRA § 605(a) prohibits reporting most negative items beyond 7 years
• Bankruptcies: Chapter 7 may remain 10 years; Chapter 13 may remain 7 years
• The clock starts at the date of first delinquency — not the charge-off or sale date
• Re-aging (changing the date of first delinquency) is a separate FCRA violation
• Bureau must delete obsolete items upon valid dispute