Credit Card Glossary: Terms and Definitions

Re-aging, or re-age

Re-aging is a term that involves unpaid debt. If a consumer makes a payment, no matter how small, or even makes a verbal commitment to pay, on a debt that has exceeded or is approaching the end of the statute of limitations, the debt may be re-aged. Re-aging a debt means the clock starts anew on the statute of limitations, extending the time that a creditor may use the courts to collect that debt. Consumer advocates now advise debtors not to acknowledge old debts or debts they don’t recognize as their own to avoid inadvertently re-aging the debt, and resetting the clock on the statute of limitations. On rare occasions, a consumer might want to re-age a debt. For example, you may negotiate a deal with a lender to re-age a debt in exchange for removing late payment and/or collection activity from your credit record, which would improve your credit score.