 TITLE: Can Credit Repair Companies Remove Late Payments? CONTENT: How Long Do Late Payments Stay on Your Credit Report?\n-----------------------------------------------------\nLate payments can remain on your credit reports for up to seven years from the date of the delinquency, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). If the account with the late payment remains open, just the late payment will be removed after this time period. If the account became late, was never brought current and subsequently was charged off as a loss and sold to a collection agency, all of the late payments, the charged-off account and the collection will be deleted seven years from the date of the first late payment. If you have paid off and closed the account, the late payment will be removed from your credit report seven years after it was first reported, but the account itself will remain 10 years from the closed date.\nOpen accounts that are in good standing and include no late payments may stay on your credit report indefinitely, depending on the individual credit bureau's policy. Experian, for example, will remove positive accounts up to 10 years after the account was closed. That means your credit history benefits from your clean payment record: It will reflect your positive payment history for an extra three years over accounts that have late payments. END