Did you know there are over 250 thousand debt collectors placing over ONE BILLION calls each year?
This is a huge number, but if you’ve ever had a collection on your credit report, you’re probably not surprised. Debt collectors relentlessly harass consumers day and night, and it feels like it’ll never end.
But I promise you, it will!
It might not be as easy as we’d all like, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Credit repair is the best way to get collections off credit reports, and in this post I will walk you through exactly how to do this. I’ll cover:
Whether it’s for you, or you’re helping a client, by the end of this article you will know everything you need to know about removing collections from credit reports.
Then, as an expert in collection removal, you can change lives by removing collections from credit reports.
Getting collections removed from a credit report can be an overwhelming task, which is why I developed a step-by-step process.
This simple but effective disputing method has proven invaluable to both debtors and credit repair professionals, and now I’m sharing it here so you can use it too.
Before you do anything else, you need to start by sending a verification request to dispute the collections.
A verification request is a formal process to confirm the accuracy of the information in a credit report. Essentially, you’re asking the credit reporting company and the company that first reported the information to verify the debt itself.
You provide specific details about the disputed information and request confirmation that the reported data is accurate.
You can make this even easier by using a credit repair software like Credit Repair Cloud to easily identify the collections, and get the information you need to send a verification request.
You might also be wondering ‘can credit bureaus remove collections from a credit report?’, and the answer is yes! Sending this verification letter is the first step in doing just that.
The Credit Bureaus have a legal obligation to verify your requests with the furnishers, and if they don’t respond within 30 days your collection will be automatically wiped from the report.
That would be awesome, but it’s only one of a few potential outcomes.
If the information is inaccurate or cannot be verified, the bureau is required to remove the disputed item from the credit report.
But if the debt collector is able to verify the accuracy of the reported information, the debt will be considered valid and remain on the credit report.
If that happens, you’ll need to keep the pressure on by challenging the response strongly and persistently. This can be done in a few ways:
If you do decide to file a complaint, there are a number of places to do so such as the CFPB, FTC, or State Attorney General. Or you can even bring in an FCRA attorney to take them to court if you really want to make a statement (more on that shortly).
Ready to rescue innocent people from bad credit? Put on your tights and cape and join the Credit Hero Challenge right now!
If you’ve been through the first two steps, and still haven’t been able to remove the collection from your report, don’t worry, you’re not out of options.
You can challenge the collection with the original creditor under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which regulates the way credit agencies collect, access, use, and share consumer data.
This is where the FCRA attorney can be a huge help. Their job is to understand this law, and help you to leverage it to remove the collection from your report.
You can also request validation from the debt collector directly using section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act. This act aims to improve the accuracy and integrity of information provided to reporting agencies, which is handy if you’re challenging the accuracy and integrity of data on your own credit report.
Just like with step two, the key here is to keep at them. Don’t take no for an answer, and don’t give them the room to ignore you.
Even if you’ve been through these steps and completely exhausted all your options with the bureaus and original creditor, you can still get the collection off your report.
You can do this by agreeing to a payment plan with the collection agency. There are two types to consider: pay-per-delete, and a settlement.
(I know, I know—this option doesn’t feel great. But it’s better than the collection staying on the credit report!)
The first type of payment plan you could go for is a pay-for-delete deal. This is where you offer either a full or partial payment in return for your collection being COMPLETELY DELETED.
Most debt collectors will agree to this, but it might take some negotiating to get them on board with a partial payment.
Download our free pay-for-delete letter to take the guesswork out of your request
Alternatively, you can propose a settlement—an agreement to consider the debt paid. Often the debt collectors will want the full amount, but sometimes they’ll agree to a fraction.
This will likely come down to how much you or your client can afford, and what they’re happy to accept.
Before you do this, though, you should make sure the collection account isn’t set to fall off the credit report soon. If you negotiate a settlement when you don’t need to, it can reset the collections clock, meaning it stays on the credit report for another seven years.
Once the collection is paid, you still need to kick that sucker off your credit report. This is a two-step process, with a very satisfying outcome.
1. Verify the Debt: Before you can get your paid collections removed, you need to verify that the debt has been paid. You just need to send a debt verification letter, and it’ll confirm the paid status.
2. Request a Goodwill Deletion: After verifying that the debt has been paid, you can request a goodwill deletion from the creditor or collection agency. A goodwill deletion is a request to the creditor or collection agency to remove a paid collection from your credit report as a gesture of goodwill.
While there is no guarantee that the collector will agree to this request, it's worth trying, especially if the debt has been paid in full.
Download our free goodwill deletion letter to speed up the process
If you’re reading this blog to learn how to fix credit scores by removing collections, you’ll probably want to know if it actually works.
And the answer is…probably.
If the debt collector accepts your goodwill deletion request and removes the debt, there is a good chance your credit score will improve.
But as you likely know already, a credit score depends on MANY factors. So I can’t make any guarantees.
What I can say is that removing collections is an important step in the larger debt repair process. Every win is going to have an impact, and the more you can fix, the better you or your client's credit score will be.
Collections on a credit report refer to accounts that have been turned over to a collection agency due to non-payment (or alleged non-payment). These collection accounts can have a significant negative impact on your credit score and can remain on your credit report for up to seven years from the date the non-payment was reported.
You can’t remove collections from your credit report without paying if the reported information is accurate. But there are other ways to remove the collection, such as goodwill deletion, disputing inaccuracies, and a pay-for-delete agreement.
After 7 years from the date the debt first became delinquent, the collection account should automatically be removed from your credit report.
This doesn’t mean the debt itself will go away, though. Creditors can still attempt to collect the debt even after it’s been removed from your credit report.
Here are three more ways we can help you to repair your credit, or help your clients repair theirs:
1. Want to see how Credit Repair Cloud helps you to improve your client's credit scores? Start your free trial today
2. Join the "Start Repairing Credit" Challenge to improve your credit score and discover how to earn extra income repairing credit for others
3. Check out the Credit Repair Cloud blog to learn more about credit repair techniques and strategies