25. What happens to my credit report when I don't pay a debt?

Your creditor may report information about your account to a national credit bureau. Information about late payments, missed payments, or other defaults on your account may be reflected in your credit report. This information is reported by credit reporting agencies for seven years from the date of delinquency. If at a later date the debt is paid, partial or in full, your credit report will be updated to reflect the payment. It should be noted that paying in full will not result in the credit item being deleted.