How Long Does Information Stay on My Credit Report? A rundown of how long certain types of credit information will remain on your credit history: Credit Accounts Accounts paid as agreed generally remain on your credit file for up to ten years from the date of last activity (DLA). Accounts not paid as agreed generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date the account first became past due, leading to the current not-paid status. Late-payment history generally remains on your credit file for seven years. It’s important to note that accounts with current statuses, such as R1 (revolving debt) and I1 (installment debt), that reflect previously late payment history will remain on the credit file for up to ten years from the date of the last activity-only the late payment history is removed after seven years. Collection Accounts Collection accounts generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date the account first became past due, leading to the account’s placement with a collection agency. Public Records Judgments generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date filed, whether satisfied (paid) or not. Paid tax liens generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date released (paid). Unpaid tax liens generally remain on your credit file indefinitely. Bankruptcy A bankruptcy under chapter 7 or 11 or a non-discharged or dismissed chapter 13 bankruptcy generally remains on your credit file for ten years from the date filed. A discharged chapter 13 bankruptcy generally remains on your credit file for seven years from the date filed. Inquiries Inquiries are a record of companies and others who obtained a copy of your Equifax credit file. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that Equifax disclose to you who requested copies of your credit file. Depending on the reason your credit file was accessed, credit reporting agencies generally retain these for one to two years. Some types of inquiries you might see on your credit report are not reported to others or used in credit score calculations. Promotional inquiries, in which your name and address were provided to a person who made you a firm offer of credit or insurance, such as a pre-approved credit card offer, generally remains on your credit file for twelve months and does not affect your credit score. An account monitoring or account review inquiries happen when one of your creditors performs a periodic review of your credit file in connection with reviewing your account. These inquiries generally remain on your credit file for twelve months and do not affect your credit score. Remember, when you request your credit report, these inquiries will generally remain on your file for twenty-four months and do not affect your credit score. Some states, like New York and California have additional laws New York State Residents Only (must be current resident) Page 1 of 2

Satisfied judgments remain on your credit file for five years from the date filed. Paid collections remain on your credit file for five years from the date of last activity/date paid. All other deletion rules apply as noted above. California State Residents Only (must be current resident) Paid or released tax liens remain on your credit file for seven years from the date released or ten years from the date filed. Unpaid or unreleased tax liens remain on your credit file for ten years from the file date. Consumer Statements If you disputed an item and the investigation did not resolve the dispute, you have the right to file a brief statement with the consumer reporting agency, free of charge, explaining the nature of the event(s) that led to the negative information reporting on the Equifax credit report. How Long Does Information Stay on My Credit Report? (continued) Page 2 of 2 Why is good credit so important? By Erin Peterson Bankrate.com Today's economy runs on credit. If you want to get a mortgage loan for a house or a student loan to pay for college, or if you just want to put your lunch on a credit card, a company is extending credit to you. Your creditworthiness is defined by your three-digit credit score and is the key to your financial life. Good credit can be the make-or-break detail that determines whether you'll get a mortgage, car loan or student loan. On the other hand, bad credit will make it more difficult for you to get a credit card with a low interest rate and it will make it more expensive to borrow money for any purpose, says Liz Pulliam Weston, author of "Your Credit Score." But even if you're not in the market for a loan, good credit can have a major impact, Weston says. "Your credit information can be a factor in whether or not you can rent a nice apartment, how much you pay for insurance or whether or not you can get a job," she says. Landlords, insurers and employers frequently use credit information as a litmus test to see if the people they are dealing with are reliable and responsible. Bad credit can suggest you're a risky bet. While bad credit may only show the details of how you deal with debt, some will extrapolate the characteristics from your financial life to other situations and assume that your bad credit implies that you may be just as irresponsible driving a car, taking care of an apartment or showing up for a job, Weston notes. Good credit can signify that your financial situation -- and the rest of your life -- is on the right track.

Credit Scores – The Basics There are three main credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Each one has its own proprietary formula for computing your score, so it can vary among agencies ( but all three use software developed by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO). Your credit score can range from a low of 300 to a high of 850, and is a measure of your likelihood to pay debts on time, based on your past history. The higher your score, the better your credit history. The median credit score is about 700. The factors which determine your credit score and relative weighting (in parentheses) are: Payment history (35%). Do you pay your bills on time? Amount of outstanding credit (30%). How much of your available revolving credit (i.e. credit cards) are you using? Ideally, you are able to pay off your balance each month, but if not, the lower the balance the better. Length of credit history (15%). The longer your history, the better. Number of new credit cards you’ve applied for or opened recently (10%). Is it worth it to you to open a department store credit card to get a discount on purchases in exchange for a lower credit score? The mix of credit you have (mortgage, installment payments (i.e. car loan), credit cards) (10%). Having car loans or a mortgage, in addition to credit cards, is considered a positive. How Does Your Credit Score Measure Up? Even though the lowest possible FICO score is 300, scores less than 620 are problematic in terms of your ability to borrow money, as shown in this table. Why Your Credit Score Matters You can save significant amounts of money when you have a good credit score. This is because the better your credit score, the lower the interest rate you will be charged on loans. This holds true for mortgages, car loans, credit cards, etc. For example, if you get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for $500,000, the potential savings in interest payments over the life of the loan can differ by almost $170,000, depending on your credit score (See table below – these interest rates come from a credit report from April 2012). Importantly, you may have difficulty qualifying for a mortgage if your credit score is too low. Next Steps You can check your score at myfico.com, for less than $20. On this website there are specific recommendations for how to improve your score. A free credit report (not a score) can be obtained through annualcreditreport.com. Check your report for accuracy, including the payment history with each creditor.