Negative items and timelines

Negative items are the ones people want gone. The law gives them a clock, and it gives you a right to dispute any of them that are wrong. It does not let you remove a negative item just because it is negative. This topic covers each common type and what the rules say about it.

What decides what you can do

Two questions decide almost everything. Is the information accurate? Is it still within its reporting period? If it is inaccurate, you can dispute it. If it is past the period, it should not be reported. If it is accurate and within the period, a dispute generally will not remove it.

The guides

• How long negative items stay on your credit report
• How to dispute a collection that isn’t yours
• Late payment reported by mistake
• Hard inquiries: when you can dispute one
• Identity theft accounts and the section 605B block
• Medical debt on your credit report

Sources

• Cornell LII: 15 U.S.C. 1681c (reporting periods)
• CFPB: credit reports and scores

Next steps

• How long negative items stay on your credit report

  FCRA section 605 limits: most negative items stay seven years, bankruptcy up to ten. What starts the clock, what the exceptions are, and what bureaus add.

• How to dispute a collection that isn't yours

  A collection that is not yours can be disputed with the bureaus and the collector. First rule out a mix-up, then dispute with proof and ask for validation.

• What can and cannot be removed from your credit report

  A credit dispute can correct inaccurate, incomplete, or obsolete information. It generally cannot remove accurate negative items. Here is the line.