How to Remove Collection Accounts From Your Credit Report
When you’re trying to repair your credit, having one or more collections might make it difficult to bring your credit score back on track.
It’s not impossible to get a collection deleted from your credit record, but it’s not easy. Understanding how collection accounts influence your credit scores is the best approach to get started, so you know how to handle them.
When a debt goes into collections accounts, the three main credit bureaus—Experian, Transunion, and Equifax—are notified, and your credit score is harmed.
A collection item must be removed from your report once a specified time has passed. You may take many steps to eliminate it from your credit report sooner if you wish to or suspect it’s an error.
We’ll walk you through the three procedures that will tell you how to remove collection accounts from your credit report.
How Long Do Collections Stay On Credit Reports?
Collections can last up to seven years on your credit record. Even if you pay it off in full, it’s still a negative account that will appear on your credit report for as long as seven years as a paid collection account.
A collection account is distinct from a charge-off from the original lender, which will most likely appear on your credit report for 7 years.
Does a Collection Impact Your Credit Score?
When collections accounts appear on your credit record for the first time, your credit score might decrease between 50 to 100 points, based on how high it was. This is because your payment history has the greatest influence on your credit score.
Generally, the higher your credit score, the bigger the hit. The collection account will have less and less influence on your credit over time. The original creditor should send you the last notification before your account is moved to collections.
It’s important to establish payment plans at that time so that your credit score doesn’t suffer as much damage.
How To Remove Collection Accounts From Your Credit Score in 3 Easy Steps
Following three steps can help your remove collection accounts from your credit report in just 3 steps!
- Do Your Homework (Research).
- Check to see if the account is legitimate.
- Choose your strategy.
1. Do Your Homework (Research)
Examine all of your credit reports to learn more about your collection accounts. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to get started. In most cases, you are allowed to get 1 free copy of each report each year. However, until April 20, 2022, you may examine your credit reports for free from all three credit bureaus owing to the Covid-19 epidemic.
If the collection accounts is settled or outstanding, the sum you owe (if any) and the account’s delinquency dates should all be included in your credit report. If you don’t know who the original lender is and it isn’t included in your credit report, request that information from the collection agency.
After that, check the credit report’s collection information against your own records for the reported account. Log into the account listed to examine your payment history with the original creditor if you haven’t preserved any records.
2. Check To See If The Account Is Legitimate
Ensure the debt on your account belongs to you while analyzing the collections account displayed. If it does not belong to you or you have already timely paid it off, you can dispute the error to remove the collection accounts from your record.
If you believe a credit agency has made a mistake on your report — for example, if you don’t recognize the account or if a paid account appears as unpaid – gather evidence to back up your claim.
Then, using the credit bureau’s online method, by phone, or by letter, submit a dispute. The agency gets 30 days to reply to the request.
3. Choose Your Strategy
Following are three steps you may take to try to get the collection accounts off your report.
– Dispute errors or incomplete collections
The Fair Credit Reporting Act offers people the right to directly dispute erroneous or incomplete collection items on their credit report with credit bureaus or creditors. Using the dispute form, you may file a dispute on each credit bureau’s website. If you need help writing a disagreement letter, the Federal Trade Commission publishes example dispute letters on its website.
After submitting your dispute, a credit reporting firm has 30 days to investigate your claim. If the credit bureau considers the information accurate, the collection account will be erased from your credit report. However, the collection account will remain on your report for up to seven years if it is determined that the firm providing the information was true.
– Goodwill Deletion
You may simply contact the debt collector or original collector to remove a paid collection off your report if it is mentioned on your report. This normally entails submitting a goodwill deletion letter to the debt collector or collection agency, explaining your error, requesting forgiveness, and demonstrating how your payment history has improved.
If you choose this option, there’s no assurance that your collection will be deleted from your credit report, but it’s worth a shot. If you close the account, you may be able to get better terms on personal loans, mortgages, and credit cards.
– Wait Until The Debt Falls off Itself
If nothing else works, you will have no choice but to wait if the debt is valid and you can’t persuade the debt collector to remove it from your credit record. The collection should be removed from your credit record seven years after the account originally went overdue.
Although the collection will remain on your credit score, its effect will reduce with time.
Final Word
If you have a valid collection account on your credit report, it will most likely be there for up to seven years. You may seek a goodwill deletion to get the collection account off your credit record sooner, but there’s no assurance you’ll get forgiveness.
If you have an inaccurate or incomplete collection account on your credit report, dispute it with each credit agency that displays it. This will assist you in removing the account from your credit record. The pointers mentioned above will elaborate on how to remove collection accounts from your credit report.
If all of this seems too much for you to manage and you’re concerned about taking on a collection firm on your own, there is a whole business dedicated to credit restoration that can assist you.
Lexington Law, a professional credit restoration firm, can help you rebuild your credit in three to four months. They won’t do anything that you couldn’t do yourself. It will operate faster and more efficiently because credit repair is all they do.
