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Negative Credit Report Information. A Credit Report agency keeps negative Credit Report information for seven years. How-ever, there are certain exceptions: 1.Information about criminal convictions may be reported without any time limitation. 2.Bankruptcy information may be reported for 10 years. 3.Information reported in response to an application for a job with a salary of more than $75,000 has no time limit. 4.Information reported because of an application for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance has no time limit. 5. Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.
The information contained on your Credit Report, however, may be given only to people with a legitimate business need, as recognized by the Federal Credit Reporting Act. For example, a company is allowed to get your Credit Report if you apply for credit, insurance, employment, or to rent an apartment.
Note that creditors and insurers may use Credit Report information as a basis for sending you unsolicited offers. These offers must include a toll-free number for you to call if you want to remove your name and address from lists for two years; completing a form that the Credit Report agency provides for this purpose will keep your name off the lists per-manently.
Note also that you have a right to sue a Credit Report agency, a user or a provider of CRA data, in state or federal court for most violations of the Federal Credit Reporting Act. If you win, the defendant will have to pay damages and reimburse you for attorney fees to the extent ordered by the court.
Another important credit law is that if your credit application was denied, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires creditors to specify why, if you ask. For example, the creditor must tell you whether you were denied because you have "no credit file" with a Credit Report agency or because the Credit Report agency says you have "delinquent obliga-tions." The ECOA also requires creditors to consider additional information you might supply about your credit history. You may want to find out why the creditor denied your application before you contact the Credit Report agency.
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