Psychosis #4: Negative items must remain for 7 years.

That's sheer and utter balderdash. Even so, consumers hear it every day when they telephone creditors directly: "Sorry, by law that has to remain on your report for seven years." The next time you hear that, know this: The automaton posing as a customer service representative is either spreading lies or ignorance, neither of which is good for your fiscal or mental health.

Sure, creditors want consumers to believe the lie because they can charge higher rates of interest to those who have nasties on their credit reports. As far as they are concerned, the longer the stuff remains on consumer credit reports collectively, the larger their profits. The truth, though, is that nobody is required to report anything about any of us for any minimum length of time to anybody else. Put bluntly, relevant laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act only serve to place LIMITS upon how long items can remain on reports.

Next > Psychosis #5: Seeking help in repairing credit is unlawful.

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