I was first diagnosed with cancer over 15 years ago and my bad debts still show on my credit report?

Kare: I was first diagnosed with cancer over 15 years ago and my bad debts still show on my credit report?
I have had no dealings or contact in anyway with my creditors in over 15 years. I am not proud that I have been unable to pay my debts, however my income stopped when I became ill. I have not applied for or used credit of any kind in the last 15 years either? I was under the impression that by bad debts would “fall off” my credit report after 7 years.

I recently applied for a $ 500 credit card to rebuild my credit, but “I was told I was denied due to my bad credit history”. I have had no debts in the last 15 years.

Why are debts from 15 years still showing on my credit reports?
Thank you, I was wondering if they did not always fall off. Has anyone else ever had this happen?

Also, having no credit (as I was told by credit card company) is not a reason to deny when applying for a “low limit” credit card. Everyone starts off with no credit and one establishes it by applying for and managing low limit credit cards or loans.
Please note: I used to work as a loans officer at both a bank and Credit Union. My friend who still works there is the one who told me I have a “really bad” credit rating, and I do not have any judgements or have ever been sued. (She knows my medical situation, as I have known her for over 20 years) As an “employee” she has rules to abide by, and I know I do have to contact the 3 Credit Reporting Agencies to see the details.(For all I know it could be ID theft!) The credit union will issue me an unsecured credit card if I have NO credit history, but not with a terrible one. I do not know about the U.S. , but in Ontario Canada, a local Credit Union where you have held an account in good standing can and/or will issue low limit unsecured credit cards to members in good standing

I was more interested in the 7-year automatic drop off, which may not have in fact dropped off, and if other people have experienced this same problem.

THank you all for your input!

Answers and Views:

Answer by Toni
Sometimes the debts do not “fall off”.
Simply dispute them in all 3 of your credit reports by stating.
“over the statute of limitations – please remove”…

Answer by Caveat Emptor
Have you checked your credit reports to verify if those old debts show or don’t show? You may have been denied for having NO credit. To a lender, that’s pretty much the same as “bad” credit.

Answer by Pablo
I would suggest checking your credit report pronto. Some items (bankruptcy, liens, judgments) don’t fall off after 7 years. Some times creditors try to re-age the account by changing the dates so it stays longer on your report. Start checking your report, and if anything isn’t correct start disputing it with the companies listed. Take care.

Answer by bdancer222
You need to pull your credit report and see what shows (AnnualCreditReport.com). If defaulted accounts over 7 years old show, you need to dispute them as being beyond the reporting period.

If any of those defaulted accounts sued and won judgments, those judgments might still be showing. Judgments age off 7 years or the state statutory max, which ever is longer. Judgments in most states are good for 10 years, some states it’s 20.

It is very likely that you were turned down due to having no credit showing on your credit report. The credit card customer service person who told you that wasn’t a reason hasn’t a clue how credit applications are processed and reviewed. People are turned down due to lack of credit history all the time.

You may have to get a secured card — you pay a deposit which is held as collateral against the line of credit. Use the card and pay the balance in full every month. In about a year, you should qualify for a regular card and/or convert the secured card to a regular account.

Answer by StephenWeinstein
What you were told was wrong. No credit is now a very common reason to deny an applications for low limit credit cards. Almost no one has started off with no credit and establish it by applying for and receiving low limit credit cards in over a year. It used to be reasonably easy to do that until approximately 2008. Now, almost no one can get any credit card, except “secured” credit cards, until after they establish credit using a “secured” credit card.

Your best chance of getting a credit card is to get one while you still have this on your credit report. If everything now on your credit report gets removed, then it will be harder for you to get a credit card.

However, if you wish to have something removed anyway, even though its removal will make it harder to get a credit card, then get a copy of your credit report from https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp and dispute each item that you want removed, one at a time, giving its age as the reason why you dispute its inclusion in your credit report.

If the items are removed, then apply only for “secured” credit cards and not for any other type.

Answer by My Take on It
That is odd, that after 15 years it is still being reported. Unless you were sued, and a judgment was rendered against you, this should have died a natural death.

What you would need to do is dispute these items in order to get them removed.