Clear up Bad debts:

Bad credit doesn’t have to last forever. If you take steps to improve your financial life, mistakes will disappear from your credit report over time.

How much time? For unpaid or delinquent accounts, the period is seven years. For Chapter 7 bankruptcies, it’s ten years.

To prevent mistakes, credit bureaus often err on the side of removing bad information a little early, says Norm Magnuson, vice president of public affairs for the Consumer Data Industry Association, a trade association for credit reporting companies.

Worried there may be mistakes on your credit report? Check it for free at Bankrate.

For delinquencies, “most of the (bureaus) are set up to automatically delete the data at six years, nine months or somewhere around there,” he says.

However, negative debts don’t always disappear on schedule. Misunderstandings or errors can result in a debt overstaying its welcome on your credit report.

Consolidate debt for lower interest rates

If the old debt is still haunting your credit report, you don’t have to live with it. Here are eight steps to get it off your credit report.

1. Verify the age

One of the biggest factors in fighting old debt is determining just how old it is.

“If it’s not falling off, then the credit reporting companies have not received the right date,” says Maxine Sweet, recently retired vice president of public education for credit bureau Experian.

With a court action (like judgment or bankruptcy), determining the date is easy. You count it the day it was filed.

Delinquency is more difficult. “The regulatory language on it is very complicated,” Sweet says. However, the date that you first became delinquent and after which never caught up is the date that should count, she says.

Her example: You miss a payment in January. Then you make it up and also pay in February. Then you miss March, and your bill eventually goes into default. Your delinquency date would be March.

The best thing to do in this solution is a work-out settlement with your creditors pay and get a good Credit Consulting company to Negotiating all your old debt that past due three years and get them to update your credit report with the evidence and documents to increase your credit –scores.