Can debt collectors re-age an old debt? 5 things to know now
Summary
Debt collectors are generally not allowed to change the original date when a debt first became overdue to make the debt look newer, a practice called "re-aging." Laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act protect consumers by ensuring debts are removed from credit reports after seven years and prevent collectors from making old debts seem legally collectible when they are not.Key Facts
- Re-aging means making an old debt appear newer to keep it longer on a credit report.
- Laws forbid debt collectors from changing the original delinquency date of a debt.
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that negative information be removed from credit reports after seven years.
- The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act bans collectors from pretending expired debts are still collectible.
- Debt often changes owners, but this does not reset the debt’s age.
- A common sign of re-aging is mismatched dates between the original creditor’s records and the current collector’s report.
- Sometimes collectors claim recent payments that never happened to reset the debt’s timeline.
- Violating these rules can lead to fines or legal penalties for debt collectors.
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