PRINT
EMAIL
COMMENT
BUZZ UP
DIGG THIS- Stock Watch - How Investors Can Bet on Rising Natural-Gas Prices
- Fund Watch - Going Abroad for Dividends
- Starting Out - Four Financial Rookie Mistakes
- Value Added - Buy Stocks Now -- and Hold Them
- Cash in Hand - Treasuries Are Still Worth Buying
- Money Smart Kids - Best Age for a Cell Phone
- Drive Time - The Payback on Diesels
- On the Job - Casting Your Lot With China
- Tax Tips - Tax Breaks for Heroes
- More
I know that I shouldn't close old credit accounts that are in good standing because they can help my credit history. But what happens if I close an account that wasn't in good standing? Will that information still appear on my credit record?
You can't erase the black mark just by closing the account. Closed accounts stay on your credit report for ten years, and any negative information will remain for seven years before it's purged.
And you're right to keep old accounts open if they're in good standing. A closed account "isn't quite as meaningful as an open account in predicting risk," says Maxine Sweet, of the credit bureau Experian, but it's still a positive. Even better, says Sweet, is to manage your current accounts well by not missing payments and keeping your balances well under your credit limit.
For more information, see Demystifying Your Credit Score.
Reprint Article
