Why isn't an overdue payment removed from my credit file after I've paid the default?

Credit

Question: Why isn't an overdue payment removed from my credit file after I've paid the default?

Answer: The Privacy Act does not require a credit reporting agency to physically remove from your file information about an overdue payment (a default) when you've paid off the debt, as long as the default was correctly listed in the first place. The agency must however:

• if it has been advised by either you or the credit provider concerned that you are no longer in debt - attach a note to your credit file saying that you have paid off the debt
• after 5 years since the date on which the debt was reported, remove the debt from your file.

(Note that a credit reporting agency can keep information about you on file for 7 years if it is about a 'serious credit infringement'.)

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