Fix Credit Report – Repair Boost Score Ratings

trharvey36 asked:


I have printed my credit reports from the 3 credit agencies. There are many old medical bills showing on it. They range from $13 – $350. They are all from the same collection agency as they are all from the same creditor. After reading about debt validation – I am confused. #1 – Should I send a debt validation letter for each of these accounts, even though they were placed on my credit report in 2007? #2 – Should I do a pay and delete for the accounts under $100? #3 – What will it look like on my credit if I dispute the accounts with the credit reporting agencies and they do turn out to be valid? Will that look like I am trying to fraudulently dispute something? #4 – On my Experian report my name is misspelled 3 times, has the wrong middle initial 1 time, has my daughter’s Social Security number under “social security number variations” (she is 12 yrs old), and has 5 addresses that I never lived at – should I send a letter to Experian to correct these? I know these are some very detailed questions and that everyone’s situation is different. I live in Texas. Any help and clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Leon

Chane Steiner asked:




I believe that once you’ve paid a debt, it should be removed from your credit reports. However, the credit bureaus disagree. In fact, by law they are able to report it for up to 7 years from the date it was paid. But, here’s the good news: Also by law, you are permitted to dispute any account on your credit report that you choose.

Once you dispute an account on your credit report, the credit bureau contacts the creditor to verify the item. The creditor has 30 days to verify the account. More often than not, if the account is paid, the creditor will not bother verifying it and if the account is old, lots of times they don’t keep the records and are unable to verify it. If that happens, it must be removed from your credit reports immediately.

If the investigation results come back as “verified”, you have the right to request the credit bureau’s and collector’s method of verification. You should immediately send them a letter requesting verification. There is no limit to how many times you can dispute the account with the credit bureaus. Usually, if they are going to remove the account, they will do it with in the first couple disputes, but I’ve seen accounts be removed after up to 15 disputes. Sometimes you just have to keep on them.

You can also contact the creditor directly and ask them to remove the account. This should always be done BEFORE you pay the account. Offer to pay the account if they will promise to delete it from your credit report. Get the agreement in writing; especially if you’re dealing with a collection agency.

If you’ve already paid the account, you won’t have much negotiating power. But, it won’t hurt to ask the debt collector to properly validate the debt. Writing a debt validation letter is a great way to put pressure on the debt collector to remove an account from your credit report. Just because you’ve paid an account does not mean that you agree that the account is yours. And many times, if you have paid the debt, the debt collector will remove it from your report. All they wanted was their money. They really have no reason to leave it on your credit report and risk being sued.

Ronald