Credit Reports

• According to federal law, the information that credit reporting companies include in a credit report must be accurate. This is because credit reports are a primary means by which lenders measure an individual's credit worthiness. This will directly affect whether an individual can receive a loan and the loan's rate of interest. All credit reporting agencies use slightly different formulas to determine what information is included on a credit report and how it affects a person's score.
  
  

Experian

• Experian, along with TransUnion and Equifax, is one of three main credit reporting agencies. As with the other two, Experian keeps its criteria for listing information on a credit report secret. This means that the exact date when Experian will remove negative information from a credit report is unknown. However, Experian must abide by federal laws, which regulate how long a negative piece of information can drag down a credit score.
  
  

Negative Items

• Under U.S. law, the longest period of time that a negative item -- one that causes a person's credit score to fall -- can be listed in a credit report is seven years. After seven years, the item must be removed and can no longer count against the person. If an item is not removed after seven years, the individual has a right to demand the credit reporting agency do so.
  
  

Bankruptcy

• The only exception to the 7-year rule for negative information is a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Although chapter 13 bankruptcies, which entail a reorganization of the debtor's finances, expire after seven years, chapter 7 bankruptcies, in which the debtor may have some of his assets liquidated, can last up 10 years. Experian may choose to delist the bankruptcy before that time has elapsed.