cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Closed accounts do not always stay in report

tag
SouthJamaica
Mega Contributor

Closed accounts do not always stay in report

The conventional wisdom we pass around, that closed accounts stay in one's report for around 10 years, is not always true.

 

4 of my accounts -- 3 revolving and 1 installment -- which were closed during the past year, are no longer showing up in my Equifax report.

 

The absence of 1 of those accounts, a backdated Amex account which I didn't actually close, but which was replaced by a Barclays card, is wreaking havoc with my Equifax scores, altering the average age of accounts by 7 months.

 

 The takeaway, for me, is if you want to close out one of your older cards, think twice.

 


Total revolving limits 741200 (620700 reporting) FICO 8: EQ 701 TU 704 EX 685

Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closed accounts do not always stay in report

Though it is true that items are not required to hang around the full 10 years afture closure, most do.

 

I believe Equifax's software has something going on. A few weeks ago my entire history disappeared for 5 days. I've also seen some other people on the boards complaining about things disappearing and reappearing.

Message 2 of 9
SouthJamaica
Mega Contributor

Re: Closed accounts do not always stay in report


@Anonymous wrote:

Though it is true that items are not required to hang around the full 10 years afture closure, most do.

 

I believe Equifax's software has something going on. A few weeks ago my entire history disappeared for 5 days. I've also seen some other people on the boards complaining about things disappearing and reappearing.


Hope you're right, I could sure use that 1988 card back in my EQ report.


Total revolving limits 741200 (620700 reporting) FICO 8: EQ 701 TU 704 EX 685

Message 3 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closed accounts do not always stay in report

Sorry to hear, SJ. I do think there are issues currently with Equifax ( and more than just recently, Equifax seems to be all over the place in general).

 

Currently I have an installment loan that had not been reporting for months pop onto the report, then a few weeks later it popped back off and is now not showing at all. No reason for that to happen. I've checked with the lender three times and they are reporting monthly.

 

Equifax is also not currently showing my open and current BoA $29,000 CL Alaska Visa Signature card at all, it is showing one of my Discover accounts (regular it card) but not my Miles account (and these are not new accounts), and a Chase account is not showing. All of this information shows as current and correct on EX and TU.

 

It's not cool for major, current tradelines with significant CL's to just not show up at all on EQ. I don't have time to check my report constantly to see if active tradelines are disappearing, and I should not have to.

 

EQ has also been quirky with logging in. Once when I completed the information to file a dispute, the EQ message that came back was that my current address did not correspond with their records, and it would not let me access my report.

 

The very next morning, I entered the same address exactly as I had the day before and it let me in just fine.

 

EQ is a mess, in my opinion.

Message 4 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closed accounts do not always stay in report

I'm a software engineer and the engineering department is actually in the office that is a few blocks from my employer. I have been considering seeking employment with them, simply because it is clear they need a heavy hand in engineering to start pushing a rebuild of their data structures and systems. It feels like it was built with bubble gum and popsicle sticks from the outside looking in. I've been waiting to get a mortgage to pop in and start discussing the climate there, but by golly, if I can have a hand in saving that disaster of a system for us, I am going to try.

 

I agree with Humu that it has pretty much always been off in terms of reliability, but recently it seems like more and more people are having problems at an alarming rate. I always think 'oh, I have a common name, this is par for the course", but once my mixed files with Experian/TransUnion were completely fixed last March/April (they fixed these immediately, unlike EQ who took months to get it figured out), they have never had an issue since. 

 

I've had my EQ lock up and get incorrect personal information added in just from daily pulling with my credit monitoring with them. 

Message 5 of 9
Rebuilding69
Established Contributor

Re: Closed accounts do not always stay in report

I've always had problems trying to log into EQ accounts directly. I checked my last couple of reports & everything is listed, but I'll continue to check them.




Message 6 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closed accounts do not always stay in report

Message 7 of 9
Thomas_Thumb
Senior Contributor

Re: Closed accounts do not always stay in report


@SouthJamaica wrote:

The conventional wisdom we pass around, that closed accounts stay in one's report for around 10 years, is not always true.

 

4 of my accounts -- 3 revolving and 1 installment -- which were closed during the past year, are no longer showing up in my Equifax report.

 

The absence of 1 of those accounts, a backdated Amex account which I didn't actually close, but which was replaced by a Barclays card, is wreaking havoc with my Equifax scores, altering the average age of accounts by 7 months.

 

 The takeaway, for me, is if you want to close out one of your older cards, think twice.

 


I had a store card managed by Cap One that was closed in 2009. The account dropped off all three of my CRA reports in late 2015. I poked the bear for incorrectly reporting my CL at $300 when it had been $5000. They responded by sending me a letter that the closed account had been removed from my CRA reports. Not a big deal and it resulted in a bump up on my LexisNexis credit based insurance scores (CBIS).

Fico 9: .......EQ 850 TU 850 EX 850
Fico 8: .......EQ 850 TU 850 EX 850
Fico 4 .....:. EQ 809 TU 823 EX 830 EX Fico 98: 842
Fico 8 BC:. EQ 892 TU 900 EX 900
Fico 8 AU:. EQ 887 TU 897 EX 899
Fico 4 BC:. EQ 826 TU 858, EX Fico 98 BC: 870
Fico 4 AU:. EQ 831 TU 872, EX Fico 98 AU: 861
VS 3.0:...... EQ 835 TU 835 EX 835
CBIS: ........EQ LN Auto 940 EQ LN Home 870 TU Auto 902 TU Home 950
Message 8 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closed accounts do not always stay in report


@SouthJamaica wrote:

The conventional wisdom we pass around, that closed accounts stay in one's report for around 10 years, is not always true.

 

4 of my accounts -- 3 revolving and 1 installment -- which were closed during the past year, are no longer showing up in my Equifax report.

 

The absence of 1 of those accounts, a backdated Amex account which I didn't actually close, but which was replaced by a Barclays card, is wreaking havoc with my Equifax scores, altering the average age of accounts by 7 months.

 

 The takeaway, for me, is if you want to close out one of your older cards, think twice.

 


The Conventional Wisdom is based on many years of experience and how it works with the credit bureaus as a postive reporting tradeline remains for ten years. A creditor may not choose to leave you on their reporting for ten years but, if they do the bureaus have maintained the reporting for about ten years. Negative reporting tradelines are suppose to be purged off in seven years (except BK7's). As a long time credit bureau follower (walking the walk walker ... I have seen the ten year rule stand the test of time). My history goes back to the early 1970's. In the past I had my own business which went up in smoke after 911 but, the credit bureaus did their part to maintain the ten years of good. Individually, as with everything in the credit world (credit is like pinball) there seems to be times when something happens (maybe can't be explained) but, overall it works. In reading of late, I have heard some strange things have been happening related to some credit bureaus (Equifax). Don't know if it is part of the system changes coming allowing for medical bill reporting changes, including rents or what. Seems to me you need to get in contact with the credit bureau before your profile is changed further. In my past sometimes it seemed to me the credit bureaus went rogue with my profile and I rode them like a horse!!! Equifax was the most stubborn uncooperative one and I disputed and drove them crazy until finally they got it right (now you should know it took me two years of riding Equifax but I got it right in the end - truth I was their worst nightmare).

Message 9 of 9
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.