A collection or charge-off must carry its real delinquency date
15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(5)(A)
In plain words
A company that reports an account placed for collection or charged off must tell the credit bureau the month and year the delinquency began, within 90 days. That date sets when the item must come off your report, and it does not change when the debt is sold.
Who is protected
Consumers with a collection account or charge-off on their report.
When it applies
It has no special conditions: it protects everyone it names.
Check whether it applies to youWhat you can do
Open the Credit Health tool
Upload your free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. The tool lists items you may want to check and explains your options. You decide what, if anything, to dispute.
Open the toolDispute a missing or wrong delinquency date
If the date is missing or later than your records show, dispute it with the bureau and with the company that reports it.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- The rule is about the date reported, not whether you owe the debt.
- This is general information, not legal advice. It does not promise any result.
The law
- Federal lawFCRA — reporting the date of delinquency
15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(5)(A)
What it says: The furnisher must report the month and year the delinquency began, within 90 days.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1681s-2&num=0&edition=prelim
Court cases
- Homeowner wonSame topicJerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A.
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A., 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
the FDCPA's bona fide error defense does not excuse a debt collector's incorrect interpretation of what the Act requires
- Homeowner wonSame topicKaltenbach v. Richards
Kaltenbach v. Richards, 464 F.3d 524 (5th Cir. 2006)
a person who meets the FDCPA's general definition of debt collector is subject to the whole Act even while enforcing a security interest
- Homeowner wonSame topicHeintz v. Jenkins
Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)
the FDCPA applies to lawyers who regularly collect consumer debts, even through litigation
- Homeowner lostSame topicObduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP
Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 586 U.S. 466 (2019)
a business engaged only in non-judicial foreclosure is not a debt collector under the FDCPA, apart from the provision barring threats to take property without a present right
- Homeowner lostSame topicMidland Funding, LLC v. Johnson
Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, 581 U.S. 224 (2017)
filing an obviously time-barred proof of claim in bankruptcy does not violate the FDCPA
Related rights
Most negative items must come off after 7 years
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(a)(1), (4), (5)
Credit bureaus may not report collection accounts, charge-offs and most other negative items that are more than 7 years old. For a collection or charge-off, the 7 years start 180 days after the delinquency that led to it began — so, about 7½ years from the first missed payment that was never brought current. Paying, settling or re-selling the debt does not restart this clock. Bankruptcies can be reported for 10 years.
Read this rightMake the company that reported the error investigate it
15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)(1)
The company that reported the information — such as your servicer — must investigate when a credit bureau passes along your dispute, and fix what is wrong with every bureau. In many cases you can also dispute directly with that company, which must then investigate and report back to you.
Read this rightNo "silent" credit reporting by debt collectors
12 C.F.R. § 1006.30(a)
A debt collector may not report a debt to a credit bureau until it has first spoken with you about the debt, or mailed or electronically sent you a message about it and waited a reasonable time to learn whether it was undeliverable. This stops "passive" collection, where the first you hear of a debt is on your credit report.
Read this rightAfter a discharge, creditors cannot collect the wiped-out debt from you
11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2)
A bankruptcy discharge wipes out your personal liability for most debts in the case. After that, the law forbids creditors from suing, calling or otherwise trying to collect a discharged debt from you personally. A court can hold a creditor in contempt if there was no fair doubt that its conduct was barred.
Read this rightCancel a credit repair contract within 3 business days
15 U.S.C. § 1679e
You can cancel any credit repair contract, for any reason and without penalty, until midnight of the third business day after you sign it. The company must give you a "Notice of Cancellation" form in duplicate and may not start work during those 3 days. Some states give you 5 days.
Read this rightA credit repair company cannot charge you before the work is done
15 U.S.C. § 1679b(b)
Federal law bans credit repair companies from charging or taking any money for a service before that service is fully performed. A company that bills you up front, charges a "setup" or "first work" fee, or charges a monthly fee for work it has not done yet is breaking the law.
Read this right