Your Money, Your Goals - A financial empowerment toolkit for social services programs.

file. Why? Because there is no time limit in terms of reporting information (positive or negative)
when you are:

 Applying for credit of $150,000 or more

 Applying for life insurance with a face value of $150,000 or more

 Applying for a job with an annual salary of $75,000 or more

Companies collect this information and sell it to other businesses, which use it to make decisions
about you. How do they use this information to make decisions? Businesses that use this
information believe that how you have handled credit in the past is a good predictor of how you
will handle credit in the future. If you have struggled with managing your credit in the past
(especially the recent past), they believe you are likely to struggle again.

Each of the three major credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—has its
own presentation format. Here is an example of a credit report that highlights the key sections
you will find in all three agencies’ credit reports.

Negative information

In general, negative information will be reported on your credit report for seven years. There are
exceptions including:

 Bankruptcy—Depending on the type of bankruptcy, up to 10 years

 Tax Liens—seven years from the time the liens are paid

 Account sent to collection or charged off —seven years plus 180 days from the

delinquency

 Criminal Convictions—Indefinite

There is no time limit to the reporting of negative information when you are:

 Applying for credit of $150,000 or more

 Applying for life insurance with a face value of $150,000 or more

 Applying for a job with an annual salary of $75,000 or more