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Credit history vs. delinquent account

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Credit history vs. delinquent account

Hello, I have an account that was charged-off in 1990 and that still appears in my credit report. I can easily dispute this item and remove it since it became delinquent 21 years ago. However, this account happens to be my oldest one as well (more than 21 years old.) My next oldest account was opened in 2005; it is only 6 years old.

Here is my question: Should I go ahead and remove this item from my credit report because it is a delinquent account? Or should I keep it because it provides for a much longer credit history and therefore outweighs its negative effect?

Any answer would be appreciated.

 

Ben

Message 1 of 25
24 REPLIES 24
Booner72
Senior Contributor

Re: Credit history vs. delinquent account

Delinquent how?

STARTING: 11/24/10 EQ-584 EXP-648 TU04-595
CLOSED FIRST HOME 8/19/11 EQ-630 EXP-691 TU04-653
CURRENT: EQ-701 EXP-??? TU08-720
Message 2 of 25
kjm79
Valued Contributor

Re: Credit history vs. delinquent account

Charged off in 1990 and still reporting?  Wow!  I'd say leave it.  With it being 21 years old the damage is minimal, if any at all at this point score wise.  However, if you delete it, you lose those 21 years of credit history and that will tank your score.  I'd vote to let it be. 

 

If you posted exactly how it's reporting and your relative scores, people may be able to offer more opinons. 


CH 7 Filed 7/27/15 Discharged 11/16/15
Starting Score: EQ 620 TU 568 EX 593
Current Score (07/13/16): EQ 674 TU 649 EX 674 (FICO's 08)
Cap1 QS ($5350) (Combined QS and QS1) Discover It ($4100) MilStar ($8,600) Fingerhut ($800)
Off to the garden 05/01/16
Message 3 of 25
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Credit history vs. delinquent account

Thanks for the responses. This was a credit card that was opened in 1990 and became delinquent in 1997 due to non-payment, and then at some point in time, it was charged off. It is reported under "Revolving Accounts" section of my Trans Union report. Here are the details of the entry:

 

Bank of America

Condition: Closed (Transferred)

Balancd: $0  (this entry is wrong, there is an unpaid balance, as I never paid this account.)

Type: Credit Card

High Balance: $4230

Limit: $4000

Opened: 06/01/1990

Reported: 12/01/2002

Last activity: 04/14/1997

Remarks: Purchased by another lender

 

The only negative accounts I have in my report is the above account and another "paid" collection account. There are 5-6 positive good standing credit card accounts, the oldest being 6 years old (individual account) and 11 years old (joint account.) There are no other entries in my report.

 

My Trans Union credit score and grade currently is 814 and B, respectively (range: 501 to 990, "F" to "A".) Under the "Score Analysis" section, it says this: "Your oldest revolving credit account was opened too recently. [TransUnion]   Time is an important factor for a healthy credit score. Giving the accounts time to mature may allow creditors to better understand how you pay your debts."

 

So, I don't know if they are even considering the above Bank of America delinquent account towards my credit history. What do you think? Should I file a dispute and remove it (easily done), or leave it alone? Thanks and have a great weekend!

Message 4 of 25
kjm79
Valued Contributor

Re: Credit history vs. delinquent account


@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the responses. This was a credit card that was opened in 1990 and became delinquent in 1997 due to non-payment, and then at some point in time, it was charged off. It is reported under "Revolving Accounts" section of my Trans Union report. Here are the details of the entry:

 

Bank of America

Condition: Closed (Transferred)

Balancd: $0  (this entry is wrong, there is an unpaid balance, as I never paid this account.) It's correct if it was charged off and/or sold to another lender. 

Type: Credit Card

High Balance: $4230

Limit: $4000

Opened: 06/01/1990

Reported: 12/01/2002 - my bet is that this account falls of on or around 12/12.  Based on how this account is currently reporting, there is no negative information and it's just showing as a closed account.  Closed accounts will stay on your report for 10+ years. 

Last activity: 04/14/1997

Remarks: Purchased by another lender

 

The only negative accounts I have in my report is the above account and another "paid" collection account. There are 5-6 positive good standing credit card accounts, the oldest being 6 years old (individual account) and 11 years old (joint account.) There are no other entries in my report.

 

My Trans Union credit score and grade currently is 814 and B, respectively (range: 501 to 990, "F" to "A".) Under the "Score Analysis" section, it says this: "Your oldest revolving credit account was opened too recently. [TransUnion]   Time is an important factor for a healthy credit score. Giving the accounts time to mature may allow creditors to better understand how you pay your debts."  Sorry to bust your bubble but this isn't your FICO score.  Your looking at TU's own score that they call a VantageScore, very very few lenders ever use this.  Ignore this score and the "grade".  Fico's don't have grades.  You can get your TU score here and your EQ score here.  Can't get your EX score unless you get it from a lender or are a member of a PA CU. 

 

So, I don't know if they are even considering the above Bank of America delinquent account towards my credit history. What do you think? Should I file a dispute and remove it (easily done), or leave it alone? Thanks and have a great weekend!  It doesn't look like the BOA is a negative account at all and is reporting correctly.  Don't touch it!  lol Keep it as long as you can and let your other accounts grow for the next year to add some more age, and try not to open any more unless you need to. 


 


CH 7 Filed 7/27/15 Discharged 11/16/15
Starting Score: EQ 620 TU 568 EX 593
Current Score (07/13/16): EQ 674 TU 649 EX 674 (FICO's 08)
Cap1 QS ($5350) (Combined QS and QS1) Discover It ($4100) MilStar ($8,600) Fingerhut ($800)
Off to the garden 05/01/16
Message 5 of 25
Booner72
Senior Contributor

Re: Credit history vs. delinquent account

Maybe no ding for the charge off because it is past 7 years, but somehow, in a really great way, you are still get the AAoA credit as it is still here?  I'd leave it for sure.  I have a SL that has 2 120 day lates but it's one of my oldest accounts so I hope it stays forever.

STARTING: 11/24/10 EQ-584 EXP-648 TU04-595
CLOSED FIRST HOME 8/19/11 EQ-630 EXP-691 TU04-653
CURRENT: EQ-701 EXP-??? TU08-720
Message 6 of 25
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Credit history vs. delinquent account

kjm79, thank you again for your response. I won't dispute this item since your conclusions were logical and it seems that this account has an overall positive impact on my score. Isn't it great that a negative account turned out to be positive after all?

 

I also disputed a "valid" judgement and a "valid" collection account, just for the heck of it. It turned out that they both got dropped from my credit report. Sometimes life can be nice!

 

I really appreciate the time you spend reading my question and your thorough answer. Have a great one!

Message 7 of 25
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Credit history vs. delinquent account

Booner72, thank you for your response. I decided to keep the account in my credit report. And you are right, I hope it'll stay there for a long while. Have a great one!

Message 8 of 25
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

ng ngRe: Credit history vs. delinquent account

Your AAoA calculation has nothing to do with the absence or presence of derogs in your CR.  It only has to do with the continued inclusion of the account itself in  your credit file.

Expiration of a CR exclusion date only prevents the CRA from continuing to report the expired derogatory information in any CRs they issue after that date.  It does not result in deletion of the account, or even deletion of the derogatory information from your credit file itself.  It just acts as a screen against anyone seeing it in your CR.  Unless the account is deleted for other reasons, expiration of the CR exclusion date wont exclude the account from your AAoA calculation.  So, getting the erroneous derog deleted wont result in reduction of your AAoA unless the creditor decides to report an entire account deletion to the CRA.  They may, or they may not.

 

When a creditor does a charge-off or refers an account to a debt collector, if the creditor has previously reported the account to a CRA, which appears to be the case in your situation, then the creditor is required to report the DOFD on that account to the CRA within 90-days of any charge-off or collection referral.  So if the account is in your CR, then the DOFD reported by the creditor must also be in your credit file.   Often, commercial CRs dont include the DOFD reported by the OC, but you can get it from the CRA by way of a information request under FCRA 609(a)(1). 

 

If the reported DOFD is more than 7 years plus 180-days prior to today's date, then the CRA is in violation of FCRA 605(a)(4) if it is still showing in your CR. Your path would be to file a complaint (not a dispute) with the CRA for their violation of FCRA 605(a)(4) and 605(c).  Disputes relate only to inaccurate credit reporting by the furnisher of the information, not to compliance of the CRAs with statutory provisions of the FCRA. 

 

However, if the reported DOFD is less than 7 years plus 180-days prior to today, and you believe the actual DOFD was earlier, then it would be the creditor, and not the CRA, that was at fault.  Then, your path is to file a direct dispute with the creditor for inaccurate credit reporting of the DOFD.

 

The key unknown is whether FICO is still scoring a CO that is in  your CR that has passed its CR exlcusion date.  I suspect they are.  Determining CR exclusion is not the task of the FICO algorithm, and I would assume that it would ding  you for any CO that is still reporting.

 

 

 

Message 9 of 25
Anonymous
Not applicable

FICO gives the final answer...

I found this in my Trans Union FICO score report, under "Understanding your FICO score" section:

 

Your oldest account was opened21 Years, 2 Months ago
FICO High Achievers [?] opened their oldest account 19 years ago, on average.

 

And...

 

Your most recent late payment happened7 Years, 4 Months ago
Most FICO High Achievers [?], about 93%, have no missed payments at all. But of those who do have a missed payment, it happened nearly 4 years ago, on average.

 

 

So it looks like kjm79 was correct all along in both the fact that the charged-off account is actually having a positive impact on my score AND that it is not even being reported as a negative item.

 

Thank you all for you help.

Message 10 of 25
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