 Car loan doesn't show on credit report
|
 Dear
Dr. Don,
I recently went through my credit report and noticed that while there are accounts on there from when I first got a credit card, my first auto loan, which I got after that, is not showing? I paid it off early and always on time so why doesn't it show when the other stuff does? I thought good information stayed indefinitely?
Thanks,
-- Denise Denouement
 Dear
Denise,
Positive information can stay on your credit report for much longer than negative information. Most negative information drops off your credit report after seven years, with a major exception being a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, which stays on your credit report for 10 long years.
Positive information on an open account remains on
your credit report indefinitely, while positive information on paid
accounts, such as a car loan, remains on your credit report for
10 years. A nice overview to the topic
is provided by Maxine Sweet, Experian's vice president of public
affairs, and author of the advice column, "Ask Max," on
Experian's Web site.
Another possibility is that you're looking at the
wrong credit report. Lenders don't necessarily report payment
history to all of the three major credit bureaus. The lender
decides on which bureau(s) it uses. It would be unusual for
a national credit card not to report to all three, but a regional
bank might not. If you just looked at one credit report, take
a look at the other two. The Bankrate feature, "Free
credit reports available to all," explains how often and
when you can request free credit reports under the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act.
To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the "Ask
the Experts" page and select one of these topics: "financing
a home," "saving & investing" or "money."
|
