Washington Business Daily

How long do late credit card payments impact your credit report?

I checked my wife's credit report and she has 3 accounts with late payments from several years ago prior to us being married. One was past due 60 days, one was past due 30 days a few times, and one was past due 120 days. How long will her credit rating be impacted by these accounts? Is it 7 years from the time the account is closed?

Public Comments

1. If she was late on the payments, it will record for 7 years on her credit report. You don't say if she paid the debts off...if she just stopped paying the bills and they are still on her credit report, you can check the statue of limitations for your state @ www.bcsalliance.com This site will tell you the time frame of the SOL. If the debts are past the SOL, the creditors can't sue...doesn't mean she doesn't owe it, just means they can't sue and get a judgment against her. Good Luck!
2. If these are closed accounts, it's 7-1/2 years from the date of first deficiency. However, the older the item the less impact on the score. If these are still open accounts, 24 months of consistent, on time payments will improve her score. The longer the on time payment history the better the score. I've had good info about it here: http://credit-report-score.10001mb.com All the best to you.