 TITLE: Why Did My Credit Score Improve? CONTENT: Negative Information Fell Off Your Credit Report\n------------------------------------------------\nNegative marks on your credit report include late payments, bankruptcy, collections, foreclosure and student loan default. Each of these stay on your report for seven years, with the exception of Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which stays on your credit report for 10 years.\nEven if you end up paying off an account in full, past late payments on that account will remain on your credit report until that seven years is up. When a negative mark does eventually come off your report, your credit score will likely increase. It's not possible to pay a company to remove a negative item from your report early, despite the promises some services make.\nRehabilitating a defaulted student loan through the federal government's official program, though, will remove the default notation from your report. Previous late payments will stay for seven years. END