Is there a staute of limitations to the amount of time an item can stay on your credit report?

Items can only remain on your credit report for 7 years from the date of last activity except in the case of bankruptcy or a judgment which can remain on the report for 10 years from the date of discharge or entry. What you need to look at is the date you made the last purchase or date you made the last payment. If it has been 7 years since either of those events then the account should no longer be reporting. It is not unusual for a debt buyer to report the date of last activity on an account as the date they purchased the account. That information is inaccurate and if you point that out and request from the creditor proof of the date of last activity once you can establish it has been more than 7 years, you can challenge the item and should be able to have it removed.