My fiance and I got in a little disagreement a little while ago about how long collections stay on a credit report.
He says that after 7 years they will be removed from a persons credit report – whether they are paid or not.
I disagree with that. Why would collection agencies just "give up" trying to collect money from a person and take it off a persons credit report. It doesn't make sense to me. If collection agencies just stopped trying to collect from a person after 7 years wouldn't a lot of people not pay their bills because it will just go away after 7 years?
Can someone clarify this for me? Thanks!
I'd be glad to clarify!
Collections stay on your credit report 7 years after the date of last activity. Don't let this confuse you…normally 7 years after date of last activity means the date that it was sold to the collection agency. Usually your account must be 180 days past due in order for the company to do that. Basically, I'm saying that the collection stays on your report 7 years and 6 months. After that, it will fall off your report.
Now, to get to your question, the collectors don't just give up and stop trying to collect the debt. Legally, they are still entitled to their money since they were not paid as agreed. They can attempt to collect that debt forever, if need be. You're right. Many people would just wait out the 7 years and start all over if that was the case. Cheaper than bankruptcy, no?! But that debt will follow someone until it is settled or paid.