How do I get an 8 year old debt taken off my credit report?

Back in 1999 I had just turned 18 and got myself a cellphone. Being the irresponsible teenager that I was, I never paid the bill. Well they never shut my phone off, I became homeless and kept using it all the way up till it got stolen 5 months after I got it. Who know's how long it was still on after that. My bill got racked up to about $1,500 and I have never paid a dime, and never had contact with Verizon, or the collection agency. I recently got my credit report and it showed that Verizon reported the debt to them in 2005. A couple days after I got my credit report, I got a bill from a collection agency stating that I owed $2,500 and showed that I had incurred the debt in Dec. 1999. I have heard there is a statute of limitations on credit issues, and from what I've heard, it's 6 years in Oregon. I just need to know the right way to handle this before I start contacting people. Any advice is appreciated.

How do I get an 8 year old debt taken off my credit report?
The length of time a negative mark can stay on your credit report starts from the time you were late or the late payment went into collection, not from the last time you made a payment on the account. Some collection agencies update their reporting status on you to keep the account active with the bureaus to extend the time the account appears on your report. This is very deceiving of them, because most often the account is updated and the period of time the account is active appears to be extended. You will want to challenge this with the credit reporting agencies in writing. If you do, bureaus will correctly remove it 7 years from origination.
Reply:First call the phone company and negotiate payment terms. Maybe they will reverse all the excess interest. Then suck it up and pay your bill.





If you don't pay it ...the rest of us do through outrageous cell phone fees and charges.
Reply:you need to send a CEASE AND DESIST LETTER to the collection agencies. DO NOT CALL THEM. they know the laws but are HOPING THAT YOU DONT.


if you can send a debt validation letter it may force them to remove it...if it's over 7yr mark .





you can ALSO DISPUTE ONLINE which is free if you go through the annualcreditreport