What Happens To Unpaid Credit Card Debt After 7 Years

Removing unpaid credit card debt and other types of debt from your credit report doesn’t require a magic act. What it sometimes requires is time (seven years). Even so, getting it off your credit report is not the same as getting it out of your life completely.

In most states, debt doesn't expire or disappear until you pay it.

How unpaid credit card debt affects you after 7 years

Your unpaid credit card debt is usually taken off your credit report after seven years and shouldn’t affect your credit score. You are still responsible for paying what you owe since the debt itself won’t go away. If the debt has gone to collections, you'll need to work with the collection agency on payment.

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Do you have to pay a debt after 7 years?

Unpaid credit card debt doesn’t go away after seven years, but it’s possible that no one can make you pay it.

Debt is legally yours forever, but state laws on collecting debt limit what creditors can legally do. After the statute of limitations expires, the creditor can no longer sue you for the debt, get a judgment against you, garnish your wages, or take any other legal action (though they might try). The statute of limitations ranges from three to six years in most states, but in Alaska, Rhode Island, and Missouri it’s 10 years; in New Hampshire, it’s 20 years.  

Those timelines can be reset if you make a partial payment. Suppose a debt collector comes to you with credit card debt that you haven’t paid for almost seven years, and asks for a small payment to show that you’re willing to pay off the debt. If you make a payment, then the clock starts again and the debt is legally collectible for another seven years. 

If you are sued for a debt after the statute of limitations has passed, then you can use that expired timeline as a defense to the lawsuit. It’s a violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practice Act for a debt collector to sue you if it knows the statute of limitations has passed.

Does unpaid credit card debt disappear after 7 years?

Unfortunately, unpaid credit card debt doesn't vanish, even if it disappears from your credit report after seven years. You’re still on the hook for the amount you owe to your credit card issuer. One exception is if you file bankruptcy and your credit card debt is discharged (forgiven). 

Can debt collectors still pursue payment after 7 years?

Debt collectors can pursue payment forever. However, all states have a statute of limitations for collecting debt. That means they have to sue you within a certain number of years or they lose the right to sue you. The statute of limitations ranges from two to seven years, and most are between three and six. In other words, debt collectors can ask you to pay, but they could lose in court if you can prove that the time limit has passed.

Can debt collectors call me after 7 years?

Debt collectors can call you after 7 years but they must follow state and federal laws. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collectors from calling you repeatedly or with intent to harass, oppress, or abuse you. A debt collector can’t call you about a particular debt:

• More than seven times within seven days.

• Within seven days after talking to you on the phone about the debt.

These only apply to calls placed by the debt collector to you. They don’t apply to text messages, emails, in-person interactions or social media, which may all have other protections.

Even if a debt falls off your credit report after seven years, debt collectors may still call you to try to get you to pay part of a debt by telling you that you have a moral obligation to. That’s between you and your conscience, but the statute of limitations in your state is the real rule you should be paying attention to.

Making a partial payment can reset the clock, putting the debt back on your credit report for seven years and giving a debt collector another chance to sue you for the debt.

Be careful. Even admitting that you owe the debt can restart the clock under some circumstances. Don’t talk to debt collectors at all. The way to deal with collection agencies is to get information from them, and then make a decision about the best thing to do.

Federal laws also limit when debt collectors can call you, and require that they stop contacting you when you tell them to. They can’t call at an unusual or inconvenient time, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. You can notify the debt collector in writing that you don’t want to receive any more calls, and they must comply.

How does unpaid credit card debt impact your credit after 7 years?

In most cases unpaid credit card debt won’t have an impact on your credit if it’s no longer on your credit report. That's not to say lenders checking your credit report won’t see other past issues. 

Even if the unpaid debt is taken off your credit report, you may not see a boost in your credit score, as there are many factors involved. If you’re working on improving your credit score, consider taking actions like making on-time payments and avoiding new loans if possible.