I printed out my credit report and found that a lot of old debt is dating back over seven years and was being sold to other collection agencies. It looks like recent debts. I thought that a debt could only be claimed for seven years and that after that it would be removed from my credit report. How can I dispute this and have it removed from my credit report?

Depends on the type of debt and your state laws..

You are correct that a debt can only be claimed for seven years. According to the book "Credit Repair" from Nolo Press, accounts sent to collection may be reported for up to seven years, which begins 180 days after the delinquency. The time does not start over if the account is sold to another collection agency.

For information on how to dispute items in your credit report, see the ftc website, specifically at:
FTC Consumer Information - Credit Reports & Scoring (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit/reports.shtm)
How to Dispute Credit Report Errors (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.shtm)

Best of luck!
Rodrigo

I thought they took away the rights of the n00bs to give reddies. Actually, some debts may have shorter statutes of limitations and different states have different collection laws. You people..