What is the reason a creditor stops reporting on a specific account ?

[Z99]

I had an Auto Loan account with HouseHold Automotive Bank.

- Account opened 06/1998

- Account was paid off & closed in May 2005.

- Few months before that, it had couple late payments.

- Last time it was updated : on my credit report: 2009

Starting December 2011, I noticed that the entry for this account disappeared on my Equifax credit report, (but it still shows on Experian). This was my oldest account ( second oldest opened in 1999).

I also noticed that the score drpped from 728 to below 700.  My first suspicion is that not reporting this account has affected my credit "Average Age" & " Age of Oldest account"

Questions:

1) Can creditors decide at any time they want to stop reporting on the account ? 

2) In June 2012 it would be over 7 years since last late payment occured. If HSBC aggrees to continue to report on the account, should the "Status" field on Equifax report still say "30  days late " even though it occured over 7 years ago ?

Thanks

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[laz98]

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@Z99 wrote:

Questions:

1) Can creditors decide at any time they want to stop reporting on the account ? 

2) In June 2012 it would be over 7 years since last late payment occured. If HSBC aggrees to continue to report on the account, should the "Status" field on Equifax report still say "30  days late " even though it occured over 7 years ago ?

Thanks

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1.  Yes

2.  In theory, yes, the 30 day late should drop off 7 years from when it occurred, as long as the account stays on your reports.

[RobertEG]

A creditor can decide, at their option, to do one of three things once an account is closed, and the debt paid.

They can continue to report on the account each month thereafter.  That is the least likely, since their reporting costs time and money, and if nothing more than a repetitiion of the same ole same, serves no purpose.

They can just cease reporting, which serves the same purpose, as there is nothing to update.  That is the most likely.  Just ignore it.

Or they can delete the account entirely with the CRAs.  Which is apparently what they have done, at least with one CRA.

I can think of a couple reasons to delete.  First, they might just want to purge their account database.  Second, they might want to preclude any future FCRA disputes on the account.  In your situation, you had delinquencies prior to account closing.  Closing the account, even as paid, does not preclude you from later filing of a dispute, challenging the accuracy of their reporting of those prior delinquencies.  If they delete the account from your credit file, then...poof!  No chance of any future FCRA dispute, as there is no reporting to challenge the accuracy of.

As for the status, the account, once paid, has already been required to have been updated to one and only one status.... Paid.  There is no such thing as a current status on a paid account of 30-late.  The baggage of the 30-late is recorded elsewhere in your credit file.  Current status is not a historical code of any prior delinquency level.

If the current status is now reading anything other than paid, it has not been properly updated.

[Z99]

So the clarification I would like is:

On Equifax report  there is a section that says for example 81 month payment history.., and there is also a field on the report that says "Status".

If my 7 year history details section on Equifax report  does not report the 30 days late anymore because it is over 7 years, Could the Status still say "3o days past due" ?

In other words is the "Status" field reporting the delenquency for past 7 years or for the entire life of the account ?

( In the past I have seen on one of my report a discrepency between this 2 fields but I don't know the rule )

[Z99]

Below is an example of the scenario I am referring to. 

In the past I have spent some time to dispute this with HSBC & told them that the Status should be "PAID" but they said that that field is being populated by Equifax who decides what to put in it. Then when I call Equifax the refer be to Creditor & I could not make any progress.

Account Name	Account Number	Date Opened	Balance	Date Reported	Past Due	Status	Credit Limit
HSBC AUTO	XXXXXXXXXXXX	06/1998	$0	10/2009		30  DAYS PAST DUE

81-Month Payment History

Year

Jan

Feb

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Jun

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2009

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2008

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2007

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2006

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2005

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30

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2004

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2003

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[RobertEG]

No it cannot.

FCRA 605(a) does not itemize what can or cannot remain after expiration of the CR exclusion period, such as current status, payment rating, profile history, etc. 

Rather, it broadly states that "no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information...."

Reference to a prior 30-late that has passed its CR exclusion date in any form that identifies that item is precluded.

The information is not deleted from your credit file, but rather is "blocked" from their inclusion in any credit report they issue after the relevant exclusion date (except for the rare exceptions provided for under section 605(b))

[Z99]

Good explanation..  THANKS!!