If I send a debt validation letter will it

[Brandi]

restart the time the debt can be reported on my credit report?

[Ghanaian Princess]

Yes...and very good question. I am a lender and deal with credit reports and the ramifications of file updates daily.I am assuming by your question that this is negative information you are talking about....a validation letter to update balances on an account in good standing will not hurt your scores...in fact it will usually improve them. Our scores are determined heavily by the payment history and THE TIME SINCE LAST LATE OR DEROGATORY INFO IS REPORTED. That is the key. The payment updates the record from an open collection over 2 years old...to a paid collection and shows last negative activity being the time you make that adjustment. This has a definite negative impact on the score...for how long nobody has the answer to...score rebounding depends on all other aspects of the credit profile in addition to aging of negative activity. The updated item will report the month the update happened as the date of last activity.Hope this helps.

[Studly]

GTO's answer above is excellent....and offers some very good advice...but it doesn't really answer your question. No, a debt validation leter does not do anything to hurt (or help) your credit report, unless the debt is deleted because they don't send proper validation information.The reporting time for debts is very specific, and is listed in the Fair Credit Reporting Act 605(c)(1) and 605(a)(4). It states that the period runs for 7 years, starting on the date you became delinquent. Please note that I've seen many responders say it begins 30 days after the due date. Wrong. Nor is it on the last transaction date, the last reporting date, the last time you contacted the creditor. It's very specific. If you owed a bill on January 1, 1998 and missed that payment, THAT is the start of the reporting period. On January 1, 2005 the report must be deleted.Hope this answers your question.