# Oh lord, another credit report question?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-lord-another-credit-report-question/129876>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 27, 2002, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-lord-another-credit-report-question/129876 "2002-09-27T14:57:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-lord-another-credit-report-question/129876/1 "2002-09-27T14:57:04Z")

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SO I was perusing my report a while back. I had contacted a collection agency regarding an old old account (5+ years) and the agency has now re-reported two other accounts from roughly the same timframe. The original entries for the re-reported accounts are off the report but the new entries reflect the original reporting date. The original entries would have gone off the report early next year based on the 7-year rule. The question is, are these new reports going to fall off based on the original reporting date or by re-reporting them am I stuck with them for another 7 years?

I already know I can challenge them and the original creditor probably won’t be able to verify them but I’d rather not bother with that unless I have to. Also not interested in being told that I should pay them. I didn’t pay them originally because I didn’t believe I should have been charged the costs (long story whcih I will not relate here). I’m just wondering if creditors can extend the time negative items appear on a report indefinitely by re-reporting them every few years or if the original reporting date still holds for the 7 years.

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**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-lord-another-credit-report-question/129876/2 "2002-09-27T20:08:42Z")

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According to: [http://consumers.creditnet.com/cs/cr/faq/04.html](http://consumers.creditnet.com/cs/cr/faq/04.html)

> [@](#):
>
> Under the new FCRA, credit bureaus and creditors cannot arbitrarily choose when to start the cycle. In fact, the FCRA requires that the clock begin at the first negative remark that initiated the incident. For example, if you quit paying an account in March and miss all of your subsequent payments through October at which time the creditor sends the account to collections, the credit bureau would be required to begin its seven year period in March when you skipped your first payment

I’m not sure if this is eactly what you mean, but that site has a pretty extensive FAQs.