Does debt go away after 7 years?

The seven-year mark is quite popular among debtors and creditors alike. Why? This is because many think that the debt you owe goes away after seven years. The good news for newbie creditors (and bad news for debtors) is that this is not entirely true.

Yes, debt goes away from your credit report after seven years. No, that doesn’t mean you can avoid paying your creditor after you hit the mark.

What does the seven-year mark imply?

Every individual has a credit report. You can treat it as a school report. Just like the latter details your information and doings in your academic life, the former is a detailed report about your financial activities and current financial standing. When you take a loan, it is highlighted as a negative item in your credit report, adversely affecting it and your credit score.

After seven years, a negative item like a loan will disappear from your credit report, regardless of whether you have cleared your dues with your creditor. Does this mean that the actual debt has been erased from existence? No. You still need to pay your creditor; they can use a commercial debt company or collector to collect your money. If you don’t make timely payments, creditors can resort to various legal channels and procedures. This includes sending your letter or cutting your wages. If the state’s statute of limitation expires, you might also get sued for non-repayment!

Benefits of the seven-year mark

While your debt doesn’t necessarily go away after seven years, three significant benefits are associated with this phenomenon. It includes the following:

Improved credit score

Let’s say you still owe your creditor money after seven years. One thing that it will do is reduce the chances of you getting new loans. This is because loans are negative items that reduce a person’s credit score. After the seven-year mark, your credit score will improve when the negative information vanishes from your report. This increases the chances of you being granted new loans. Make sure to treat this as a blessing and make repayments on time.

It doesn’t hold true for positive information.

While the seven-year mark helps eliminate negative information like unpaid debt from your credit report, it doesn’t do the same with positive accounts. Any positive item persists in the list indefinitely. Even if positive accounts that you have adequately closed and are in good standing will stay in your credit report. Again, this helps in giving you the best chance at a decent credit score.

It doesn’t start over.

Many people are afraid that one slipup will mean that their entire negative list will persist for another seven years, starting from the day the error is made. However, this is different from how the rule works. Instead, only your mistakes will stay for seven years, while the previous ones will be eliminated. For example, if you missed a repayment in 2010 by 60 days, this data will be removed from your account in 2017. However, let’s say you missed a refund in 2008; it will still be eliminated in 2015 regardless of your slip-up in 2010.

The statute of limitations: What you should know

For those of you concerned with making your debt go away, another term is important for you to know. And that is a statute of limitation. This is also a time limit. It may or may not be seven years old. The law of rules signifies the period after which debt is no longer collectible.

The period for the statute of limitations starts from the day of non-repayment rather than the day you take out the loan. For instance, if you took credit with seven years of statute of limitation and three years into it, you stopped paying your creditor. This is the day, seven years after which the statute of limitations will come into effect.

Conclusion

Never treat the statute of limitation as a “Get out of jail free card.” If you take a loan, make to repay it promptly. You wouldn’t want your creditor to send collectors and letters your way. After all, such statutes have a high limit. The seven-year mark isn’t a matter of days either. It’s quite a time to miss repayments and suffer the wrath of your collector. Rather than risking your reputation and credit score, plan out your repayments and only take a loan when you are confident you can return it.

Debt doesn’t really go away after seven years. Merely, the proof of your non-repayment does. So, keep making your repayments!