There are multiple creditors who will send an account to the debt collector if you have let it unpaid for various months. It is then the job of the debt collector to pursue you for the payment by calling you and sending you letters. They are even making some efforts to offer settlement on the debt. Whenever the debt collector has been assigned or sold account, part of the said practice is to list account on credit report, showing that you have outstanding debt. As it helps in indicating severe delinquency, having a proper debt collection on credit report will definitely hurt the credit score.
Even when the collection might affect credit less as it might get older, the entry will always remain on credit report for a period of 7 years for future creditors and lenders just to see and the scrutinize. The primary option in this regard is to deal with the collection accounts to have them removed from the report.
Dispute in case it is not your collection:
If the matter is not your debt, you are not required to pay for it. So, the collectors are not even allowed to list the same on credit report. During such instances, you can always use a credit report dispute for having the credit bureaus remove the said debt from credit report for good and once and for all. You are always asked to provide copies of any possible evidence that you have to prove that this debt does not belong under your name. You can get some other values and understanding straight from debt settlement reviews now, after selecting it.
- Even if the debt just belongs to you that really do not mean that the collector is legally able to collect the money from your side.
- In case, the debt collector contacted you first within the past 30 days, you can always request one debt validation.
- This process will actually require a collector to provide proof that you are the one to owe this debt. In case, the collector fails to validate debt or does not respond to your said request, the deb needs to be removed straight from the credit report.
Holding on the dispute after seven years:
As per the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA, the past due accounts will only get to remain on your credit report for a period of 7 years right from the first delinquency date. There are some sneaky collectors, who might want to re-age any debt, just to make it look that the account becomes more delinquent later than it is actually. It will keep the debt on credit report for a longer period of time.
In case, the seven years of the reporting period is up, you can easily dispute debt from the credit report. Any form of proof associated with the first date of delinquency will help in strengthening the dispute to a great extent.
Disputes arising whenever the collectors sell:
It is true that collection agencies will mostly change hands within a period of every 6 months or so. Debts are then assigned and sold to some of the collectors just to address a strong possibility that the collection agency listed on credit report is not the agency that is collecting the debt as of now. Whenever this stage takes place, you can always have older collection removed by disputing the same with credit bureaus. In case, the debt collector fails to respond to the dispute, the credit bureau might remove the account as it has not been made verified.
Just pay for the delete:
If you cannot remove debt by just disputing it, you can always negotiate with a creditor to have the account removed from a credit report in exchange for a certain payment. For that, you need to send the collector one letter stating your current interest in just paying the account.
- You can even offer to make payment in case the collector agrees to just remove the entry from the credit report. In case, the collector agrees, ask for one signed copy of the letter to you for sealing down the agreement.
- In case, you negotiate to pay for delete over the phone, ensure that you get the agreement in writing before making payment. Avoid making any form of payment based on an oral agreement.
- Make sure to send all correspondence to debt collector through certified mail with return receipt requested. It will help you to get one proof that if there is ever a question about whether the debt collector received mail, you can show it now.
- Once you have paid the collection, make sure to check credit report for making sure the entry has well been deleted. In case, the answer is no, then dispute it and provide the proper credit bureau with a copy of the agreement with a debt collector and then payment proof.
You can always ask for one goodwill deletion:
It might prove to be a long shot, mainly with collection agencies. Then you have goodwill deletion request as another option for having debt collections removed from a credit report. Goodwill letter will always work with accounts that you have already paid for. In this said letter, you will mainly ask the collector to just show you some mercy as you fell on some hard times after major life change. Then they might remove the collection from the credit report.
Whenever everything fails:
In case, you fail to get collection account removed from the current credit report, just try to pay it anyway. A paid collection is always better than any of the unpaid one and will showcase some of the future lenders that you have taken proper care of the current financial responsibilities. Whenever you have paid collection, you just have to wait out credit reporting based time limit and then the account will fall right off the credit report.
Just be sure to get to all the available options and make your way for the right one matching your needs well. Once you have done that, things will definitely start working right in your favor.