Removing a collection account - Discover how to Remove a collection account from your credit report
Collection accounts can remain on your credit report for 7 years from the date of the initial missed payment that led to the collection (the original delinquency date).
If you haven’t paid your collection account yet, negotiate with the collection agency. Let them know that you plan to pay them off. You can try to negotiate less than the full amount if you want. The important thing is getting them to agree to remove the item from your credit report. It’s wise to get this agreement in writing before submitting your payment.
If you’ve paid a collection account in full and the item remains on your report. You will want to dispute the item with the credit bureaus by mail. When a collection account is paid in full, it will be marked “paid collection” on the credit report. It is NOT removed from your report and is still considered a negative account. For this reason, you want to have the account removed from your credit report.
Always remember that the burden of proof is on the credit bureaus. You have nothing to prove to them. They have to prove to YOU that the account is yours. Simply dispute by stating something like “Please provide documentation that the following account belongs on my credit report and that my rights have not been violated; otherwise please delete this damaging data immediately.” That’s all you need to say. One line. The credit bureaus then must conduct an investigation; they have 30 days to do so. If the collection agency can’t verify the account (most of the time they can’t), then they must remove the collection account from your credit report.
Collection accounts on your credit report can cause chaos as you search for a new job, apply for personal loans, and/or purchase of a home. Today’s article will provide you with some basic steps to remove collection accounts on your credit report with proven strategies to ensure success. This task may seem challenging if you are doing it alone, but the process can become easier if you hire a reputable credit repair firm to manage your account effectively.
Retrieve Credit Report
Each credit bureau offers an annual credit report for free. You can request your personal information by phone, fax, or through an online service once per year. It is vital to review all 3 of your consumer reports to find the names of the collection agencies issuing negative marks on your file. With this information available, you can pass it along to your credit repair consultants or contact the agencies directly for verification of the debts.
Dispute Inaccuracies
If an account does not belong to you, you have the right to dispute the account through the credit bureaus. This takes approximately 30 days in order for the collection agency to verify the debt and provide documentation in relation to the accounts. If the accounts are reviewed and the debt does not belong to you, it is removed by the bureaus thus alleviating some negative marks on your consumer report.
Monitor Each Report Carefully
Collection agencies have a tendency to pull your credit report after an account has been removed. Be sure to monitor each credit report periodically during a credit repair process through a reputable firm. Ask that you are given all updates via email or snail mail correspondence as you pay off collection accounts. Be sure to make all payments by money order to keep documentation in case the collection agency does not follow through on repayment agreement.
Your credit repair consultant or firm can request that all paid accounts are removed from your report after the final settlement. If the company or creditor agrees to these terms, they will remove the accounts and send a signed agreement through your firm so you can forward the documentation to each credit bureau upon full payment. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion accept mailed or faxed letters recognizing the complete payments of collection accounts.
Summing up, get professional advise if you have the chance, it will save you time and money at the end of the day.
Mark Clayborne is a Certified Credit Consultant with ten years of experience assisting consumers with credit issues. If you liked this article, then please sign up to read the first chapter of The Credit Repair Book and get a Free Restore your Credit E-class at http://www.hiddencreditrepairsecrets.com This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its
Mark Clayborne is a Certified Credit Consultant with ten years of experience assisting consumers with credit issues. If you liked this article, then please sign up to read the first chapter of The Credit Repair Book and get a Free Restore your Credit E-class at http://www.hiddencreditrepairsecrets.com This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its
