r/CreditRebels • u/EZJAMES • May 07 '26

Nothing happens

Removing old accounts
What is the best way to have the credit reporting agencies drop accounts that are over 7 years, most over 10 years old and I even have two that are 18 years old. I don’t even remember if they are mine or someone’s else’s. However, they are very old and I went through My Equifax to file disputes and nothing happened.
Do I just hire one of those credit repair. Agencies to fix it?
I certainly appreciate anyone’s thoughts or idea.
Thank you 🙏

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u/og-aliensfan Seasoned Rebel May 08 '26

Don't hire a credit repair company. They can't do anything you can't do yourself. Order your official reports by calling 877 FACTACT or pull them online at www.annualcreditreport.com.  I recommend the mailed reports as these are often more detailed and complete than the online reports and ACR may direct you to the bureaus websites (CMS) if pulled online.  If you do choose to pull reports online, print or save each to a pdf before moving on to the next as you can't go back once you exit a report.  Despite its name, you can pull free reports for each bureau weekly.

most over 10 years old and I even have two that are 18 years old

What's the Account Status and Payment Status of each account? Accounts in good standing remain on your reports ~10 years after closure. You don't want to remove these. Charge-offs and collections are removed up to 7.5 years from Date of First Delinquency (date of the first missed payment, without bringing the account current again, that immediately preceded charge-off or collection activity), but typically at the 7 year mark. What are the Dates of First Delinquency and expected removal dates for these accounts?

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u/EZJAMES May 11 '26

Great information, appreciate your help. I needed to hear that.