One of the most often asked questions regarding credit reports is: “What is the expiration date of information on your credit report?” The answer depends on the type of details and whether it’s considered “positive” or “negative.”
A credit bureau can hold positive or negative information in your credit report. This contains details on payments that you should have made on time. The credit bureau keeps this data in your credit report for a certain period.
The exact time varies based on the following:
- the kind of financial information
- your province or territory
- the credit bureau that made the report
Positive information remains on your credit report indefinitely.
This can include information on the following:
- kind of loan
- length of the loan
- repayment score
- the initial amount of the loan
Your credit score improves when your credit report contains positive information.
The negative information on your credit report stays on your credit report for six years. However, some details might last for a shorter or longer period.
Negative information consists of the following:
- skipped payments on a debt
- charges that were sent to a collection agency
- earlier bankruptcies
Negative information on your credit report hurts your credit score.
A judgment is a debt owed to the court because of a lawsuit. If somebody sues you and you lose, the debt appears in your credit report. Generally, this information dwells in your credit report for six years. However, TransUnion keeps this data on file for seven years in certain provinces like New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador, Ontario, and Quebec.
A debt management plan is an informal proposal your credit counselor makes to your creditors on your behalf. Thus, you can make one affordable monthly payment by consolidating your debts. Your credit reports will be cleared of all records from a debt management plan two years after you have paid off your debts.
A consumer proposal is a legal agreement a Licensed Insolvency Trustee sets up. The LIT forms a proposal for your creditors where they consent to let you pay off a percentage of your debt. A consumer proposal is removed from your Equifax credit report three years after it has been paid off. TransUnion withdraws a consumer proposal from your credit report either three years after you pay off all the debts incorporated in the proposal or six years after you sign the proposal, whichever comes first.
Equifax and TransUnion typically remove a bankruptcy from your credit report six years after the date you’re discharged. If you declare bankruptcy more than once, the bankruptcy appears on your credit report for 14 years.
Be it a bankruptcy, consumer proposal, or debt management plan, if you need more information on these debt solutions or want to know more about your credit report, consult Dana MacRae, Licensed Insolvency Trustee, without any hesitation.