• Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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    27 days ago

    If you don’t touch an account for 7 years, it disappears from your credit report. That means NO ACTIVITY at all. No usage of the card, no payments, no nothing.

    There are some debts that this does not apply to, like school loans, but I know it works on credit cards.

    Now, here’s the real world disclaimer. During those 7 years, your credit will TANK. You will have a hell of a time trying to finance a Happy Meal. If you have good credit, it will take another 5-7 years to get it back to where it was. But, if your credit is already trash, and you can’t afford to pay every bill, it is an option that could get you back within your means.

    Is it ethical? I figure the system itself isn’t ethical, so stealing back from the ones who take advantage of others doesn’t bother me one bit, but I totally understand if someone would disagree.

    • ivanafterall@lemmy.world
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      27 days ago

      You will have a hell of a time trying to finance a Happy Meal.

      I don’t know much about finance, but don’t do this!

    • czech@lemm.ee
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      27 days ago

      You sure about that? I have a friend who thought that too but found out 7 years later that only a bankruptcy will disappear after 7 years, not just idle delinquint accounts. He needed to actually file for bankrupcy to make it go away. This was in Usa, NY; maybe it’s different other places.

      As a second “data” point: I have some accounts on my credit report that have not been touched in a decade+ yet they are still there (they are not delinquent).

      • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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        27 days ago

        I don’t know why those situations didn’t work out, and without more details, I won’t bother to guess, but yes, I am sure because there’s a few utility bills and two credit cards with a couple thousand each from about 20 years ago that are no longer a problem for me.

    • AndrewZabar@lemmy.world
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      27 days ago

      The entire credit system is to keep undesirables from moving into “better” neighborhoods, to keep the po folk in their place - both geographically and socioeconomically.

    • tomkatt@lemmy.world
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      27 days ago

      Generally speaking, idle unpaid accounts like this are either sold by the creditors to a third party debt collector, resetting the clock, or they will sue you for the non-payment to get a judgment or lien, resetting the clock.

      The only sure bet is bankruptcy, which will drop off your report after a period of time that varies from state to state in the U.S. (generally from 7 to 10 years). Not sure is this applies outside the U.S.

    • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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      27 days ago

      The real financial tip is don’t listen to people like this guy. “Trust me bro, you can rack up a ton of debt and then just never pay it off!”