How long do inquiries, other various negative delinquencies/etc, stay on your credit report?

Question

My recent credit report showed basically every card I opened and closed within the last 8 years, that's when I started obtaining credit to begin with, and I went bankrupt in 05, but it includes EVERYTHING, not just the bankrupcy, but all of my carrds that i included in the bankrupcy, how much I owed, if the accuont was late, etc etc, it includes every little detail,

and mycredit report looks SCARY.

My score is not as bad as it really should be it's around 640, which is actually pretty good considering that I went bankrupt and other things.

Answer 1

Usually 7 years is how long things stay on the report.

Answer 2

Your bankruptcy will stay on for 10 years (if it was chap 7 or 10) chap 13 stays on for 7 years. Items IIC (included in bankruptcy stay on for 7 years.)

Answer 3

You can use credit repair agency to fix your credit - for example this one - http://freecreditreport.sinfree.net - They can clean lots of bad stuff from your credit report - and do it much faster than yourself, so your credit will go up fast.

Answer 4

640 is really not that bad considering your bankruptcy.  It is possible that all those pre-bankruptcy items are not counting against your credit score (since they shouldn't because of the bankruptcy).  The bankruptcy will likely affect your credit for 7 years BUT you really aren't in that bad of a situation.

If you currently have credit cards, keep your balances low and pay your bill every month.  Don't apply for new credit any more than 2 times per year (1 would be better).  If you don't have any new positive credit raising your score, try to get some.  You can likely get an unsecured credit card and you can definitely get secured credit cards.  You can probably even get a car loan depending on who you apply for the loan with.  

Expect to pay higher interest rates in the short term.  If you have 2 or 3 positive accounts open that you pay EVERY month, I bet your credit could be at 700 within a year.  The bankruptcy will be a negative mark on your record for quite some time, but the more time passes the less impact it will have.

Answer 5

Inquires stay on for 2 years.  aBad debts stay on for a period that depends on when/if the debt was ultimately paid.