Collection Agencies and Your Credit Report

Dealing with Collection Agencies

A collection, also known as a charge-off, is an old debt the original creditor has given up trying to collect. At the point your debt becomes a charge-off, it is sold to a third party collection agency. Collection agencies are hired because they are experts at getting you to pay.

Will My Credit Score Be Affected By a Collection?

The reporting of a collection will cause havoc with your credit report. Your credit score will decrease as a result of the charge-off and the individual credit entry will go from bad to very bad. Unpaid collection, collection – paid or settled for less, and paid collection are variations which a reported collection can take with regard to your credit report.

A collection ” even if paid ” alerts lenders or employers that you defaulted in the past. Lenders look for behavior like this as a prediction of future behavior and potential for default.

Can Collections Be Removed?

A charge-off DOES NOT need to remain on your credit report for 7 years. The fact is people are often successful in removing a charge-off from their credit report.

A collection can remain on your credit report for quite some time and credit bureaus and creditors have no reason to remove erroneous entries unless you dispute the information. As such, it remains up to you to contact and convince the relevant companies that they should erase the negative entry. Only you have a stake is cleaning up your credit.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to challenge any negative entries listed on your credit report. A copy of your credit report will need to be obtained in order to review the listed information and determine which collection agencies are present. You should not expect your credit reports to be the same as the credit bureaus maintain a separate file on your credit activities.

To begin the process, you should challenge each negative item on your credit report. Several negative items may well be removed by following this procedure alone.

If a Dispute Does Not Work, What Next?

If the bureau ignores your dispute or updates the negative item, you may need to try escalated dispute methods. A seasoned attorney can save you money and hours of frustration.

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