Help-TU Date Opened and Date Reported

[Anonymous]

Hoping someone can help me. Some items on my TU report were opened over 7 or 8 years ago, but are saying that they have just recently been reported. I KNOW without a doubt I have not spoken to anyone about these or validated this date in any way. Why would the date reported be so recent? And is it a good idea for me to ask to have these deleted? Would I contact the original creditors or TU directly in writing?

[SmartCookie]

Most companies report monthly... can you elaborate?

[Anonymous]

sorry for the delay to your question. I guess I'm just trying to determine if I should send letters to have these items deleted. Trying to figure out when they are expected to be removed but I don't know what date to base this off of. I just want to make sure the date reported isn't the date that will be considered for removal (the whole 7 years thing).

[SmartCookie]

Good accounts stay on at least 10 years after they are closed.  Bad accounts drop approximately 7 years from the DOFD or DOLA.  The date reported does not change that.

Sometimes a 'bad' account is helping your scores more than hurting it, especially if the derogatory information is old.  The more recent the bad info, the worse.

You should evaluate each account on it's own to see what you want to do with it.  If it is paid, you might try a GW letter to the company to see if they will remove some or all of the bad info but leave the account.  If it is unpaid, you might want to consider a PFD letter.  It's a little more detailed than this, but this is something to keep in mind.