- Under the FCRA, a judgment can appear on a credit report for seven years.
- State statutes of limitations rules and the FCRA are separate and independent.
BILL'S ANSWER
The Massachusetts clerk quoted the wrong law to you. The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs the behavior of the credit reporting agencies. Allow me to quote the relevant portion of the FCRA to you.
“§ 605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports [15 U.S.C. §1681c]
(a) Information excluded from consumer reports. Except as authorized under subsection
(b) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information:
. . .
(2) Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period.”
Therefore, the correct answer to your credit report question is seven years.
The law the clerk was quoting you was Massachusetts Chapter 260: Section 20 concerning the Massachusetts statute of limitations on judgments. Under Massachusetts law, a judgment is presumed satisfied after 20 years. State statutes of limitations rules and the FCRA are separate rules covering different issues of law. It is unfortunate the clerk gave you the right answer to a question you did not ask, and thereby misinforming you.
Please see the Bills.com resource Massachusetts Collection Laws to learn more about your rights and liabilities in Massachusetts. See also the Bills.com resources How to Tell Which Statute of Limitations Applies to Your Situation and Statute of Limitations Laws by State to learn more.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.
Best,
Bill
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