How to Delete Outdated Credit Information

According the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), negative information on your credit report, such as collections and charge-offs, can be reported only for a certain number of years. After the allotted time frame has passed, the credit-reporting bureaus have to remove the information from your report. Despite the FCRA rule, sometimes you have to be proactive in getting the bureaus to delete the information. If you remain passive, your information will stay outdated, which can hurt your chances of getting future credit.

Instructions

1

Pull a copy of your credit report from all three of the major credit-reporting bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. You can visit the website for each individual bureau to get a paid credit report or request a free copy of your report from the "Free Annual Credit Report" website.

2

Look at each account that is listed on your credit report to see the date the account became delinquent. If a period of seven years has passed since the date the account first became delinquent, you can request removal of the account information. Note that bankruptcies are an exception to this rule since they can be reported for 10 years.

3

Write a letter to the credit bureau advising them of the account that is outdated and your desire to have the information removed from your report. Be sure to list the creditor's name along with the account number. List also your credit-report number, which can be found at the top of your credit report.

4

Make a copy of the letter, and keep it for your own records. Mail the letter to the address indicated on the credit report.

5

Allow the credit bureau 30 days to remove the information from your report.

6

Order another copy of your credit report to ensure that the outdated information has been removed. Don't worry; ordering your own credit report will not affect your credit score.