Removing paid collection debt

Submitted by wendel34 on Mon, 09/29/2008 - 20:13
Forums

hello i am new here and this is my first post.

I have 10 bills on my credit report that were collection accounts (doctor bills, small debt under $100.00)

These debts were paid in full by me but still appear on my credit report as paid but was in collection which reflects negative on my credit score.

Can i ask to have these debt completely removed and if so what are the chances they will remove them.

the collection agencys are NCO, National recovery Agency, and Verizon Pennsylvania)

Hi wendel34
Normally once you pay off a debt, it cannot be generally removed from your credit report because the creditor has no incentive to do so. To remove any negative listing from your credit report, you need to make your creditor agree to pay for deletion agreement and get it in writing before paying off the debt in full. However, since the debts have already been paid off in full, it will stay in your credit report for seven years and 180 days from the date you first became delinquent.

Tue, 09/30/2008 - 08:40 Permalink

Even if you pay off the debt, it will reflect as negative in your credit report for seven years. You can definitely request your creditor or the collection agency to whom you paid back the debt to remove the listing from the credit report. But as Anthony said, the creditors generally do not remove it once you pay off the debt. However, you can definitely ask the creditor to change the status of the listing from "paid in full" to "paid as agreed" in your credit report. This will help you to improve your credit score.

Tue, 09/30/2008 - 08:45 Permalink

f you haven't paid your collection account or accounts yet, negotiate with the collection agency in writing. State that you want to enter into a written agreement that they will delete the collection entry upon receipt of payment.

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If you have paid, and the item remains on your report, dispute the entry - "to be deleted upon payment per agreement" is a good start. There is a good chance that the collection agency has purged your record, and therefore will not be able to verify a dispute investigation from the credit bureau.

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For New York State Residents:

According to Equifax: Paid collections remain 5 years from the date of last activity. You must be a current resident of the State of New York for this to apply.

As a side note, satisfied judgments remain 5 years from the date filed. Again, you must be a current resident of the State of New York.

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Remember: The idea here is not to get out paying debts you are responsible for - it's to level the playing field for all parties involved - a standard business practice.
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Tue, 08/11/2009 - 16:52 Permalink