Bad credit reporting and the 7 year law...

[PHXDWTN]

The Fair Credit law says that bad credit cannot be reported for longer than 7 year, correct?

My question is...when does that 7 years start? I believe I've read that it starts once the account is 90 days late (so from the date of the 90th day past due).
What if the account is sold to a collector, does that reset the 7 years? Could it then be reset indefinitely?

If it cannot be reset, how do you find out when that 7 year start day was if the account information is not on your credit report for the original account?

[PHXDWTN]

I was able to find an answer to one part of my question...

Federal law (US Code Title 15, §1681c) controls the behavior of credit reporting agencies. This law is known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under FCRA §605 (a) and (b), an account in collection will appear on a consumer's credit report for 7.5 years. The clock starts approximately 180 days after the date of first delinquency on the account. To learn when an account will be removed by the credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian and others), add 7.5 years to the date of first delinquency. Subsequent activity, such as resolving the debt, is irrelevant to the seven-year rule. However, if the debt is a tax lien, that can appear for seven years from the date of payment. A bankruptcy will appear for ten years from the date of the final order. Delinquent federal student loans can be reported indefinitely, i.e., for as long as they are delinquent.

Does "subsequent activity" include the account being sold to a debt collector?

And the other part of my original question, if anyone knows, how do you find out the date of the original first delinquency on the account?

[AngelinaCat]

According to what I found, it is 180 days after the date on which the payment falls due, and isn't paid:

"(1) In general. The 7-year period referred to in paragraphs (4) and (6) 3 of subsection

(a) shall begin, with respect to any delinquent account that is placed for collection (internally or by referral to a third party, whichever is earlier), charged to profit and loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the commencement of the delinquency which immediately preceded the collection activity, charge to profit and loss, or similar action. "

Here is the link to the pdf document. This quote is found on page 23:

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf