Banks and other potential creditors who ask you questions that go beyond what’s available on a credit report should be illegal.  Let me explain my position . . .

There’s no reason for any bank to ask a question about anything that’s not on a credit report.  Credit reports remove all negative remarks/accounts after 7 years (actually 6 years, 9 months) unless it’s a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which remains for 10 years.  That in itself is a whole different argument as I feel nothing should go longer than 7 years period.  They also have a right to disclose info going back forever if the loan is more than $150,000, and that’s another problem I have that should be litigated. because they can see it’s on there — all they really need to do is confirm that it’s accurate.

The fact that the credit bureaus can’t report anything negative beyond 7 years (except Chapter 7) is because the Federal FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) says they can’t, and the reason that law exists is because our society has deemed 7 years as the look-back period for anyone, and that’s why you were originally allowed to file bankruptcy every 7 years (it’s now 8 years).  They picked 7 years because it comes from a biblical passage stating “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD’s release” (Deuteronomy 15:1-2).

So the fact that credit bureaus can’t divulge this info means that the Federal government was determined that no one should know anything beyond 7 years of your credit history.  So if a bank has a question on an application that states “Have you EVER filed bankruptcy” or anything that reaches beyond the 7-year period, that should be an illegal question to ask and I believe a good lawyer could make that case in court & also be able to beat the law on reporting Chapter 7 for 10 years & the forever look-back on large loans.

I personally have refused to answer questions that refer to any lookback period beyond 7 years and I’ve purposely crossed them out & put my explanation in the “Notes/Comments” section of applications that delve that far back, stating “I refuse to answer credit history questions beyond that which is reported on my credit report due to the Federal Statute of Limitations on reporting credit items per the FCRA.”  That usually scares them enough to forget about pursuing that line of questioning since my credit score is very good now, and it probably wouldn’t affect the outcome anyway, and by answering the way I did, I didn’t lie, and there’s no Federal law that says you have answer every question on an application — you just can’t lie about it.

I also have a problem with banks that claim they’re talking to you on a recorded line.  First off, I don’t believe them.  I believe they do that to scare people into not lying; however, my complaint is that they can’t keep hackers from getting data; what’s the stop them from getting the recordings?  The bank and the hackers can take the recordings & edit them to have it sound like you’re saying something else by moving the responses around any way they want.  I believe the best way to hold people accountable is to have them put it in writing; after all, the app is in writing.