This article will explain a few tips on how to remove unpaid collections from your credit report. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and download and view all three credit reports: Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian.

The contact information (address and most times the phone number) should be on there for all collections.

Keep good notes when you contact a collection agency. Keep a notebook and use a new page for each collection. Write down the name of the collection agency, the person or people you talk to, the date and time of each call and a summary of the conversation. Keep this information FOREVER with your important papers (such as your tax documents).

When calling, the first thing you have to do is ask them to prove you owe that collection. Get as much information from them about the debt as possible but give the collection agency very little information about you. The more they know about you, the easier it will be for them to collect the debt from you.

If you get proof that the debt is yours and you agree to pay the bill, get it in WRITING from the collection agency that they will REMOVE THE COLLECTION from all 3 credit bureaus if you pay in full as agreed.

If they can’t show proof that it’s your debt, then dispute the item with the 3 credit bureaus yourself and by law that collection has to be removed from your report after 30 days of the dispute.

If they won’t remove the collection from your credit reports, or they say they will report it as PAID, then thank them for their time and tell them you are going to call the next collection on your credit report (whether you have more or not) and you are going to see if they are willing to work with you to remove the collection and that you will pay the ones that will do that first and if you have any money left when those collections are paid, then maybe you will call them back. They may transfer you to their manager or another collector, but your ultimate goal is TO GET THOSE COLLECTIONS REMOVED FROM YOUR CREDIT REPORT. If they get taken off, it’s like they were never there!

If you agree that it is a debt that you owe and if you do decide to pay, do not let them take the money out of your checking or savings account to pay the collection. Also do not pay by check or by debit or credit card. Pay them with a Cashier’s Check or Money Order and mail it to them certified with a signed signature receipt. This will let you know they got it and that it’s been processed.

 
After they receive the payment, follow up with them by calling them and verify that the payment is processed on your account, and that they will remove the collection from your credit report as agreed and per the letter you have from them.

You will probably need to get your credit pulled in 6-9 months AFTER all the collections have been paid / removed to verify with the credit bureaus that the debts have been removed. If they have not been removed or showed as PAID IN FULL or $0 balance, then mail the letter that you got from the collection agency showing that when you paid the collection in full, they would remove it from your report. Mail to the credit bureau(s) all proof you have that it’s paid including the letter, signed certified mail receipt, verification from the financial institution that the Check/Money Order has cleared, a copy of the Check/Money Order.

When you dispute with a credit bureau, they have 30 days once they receive it to get it to the collection agency for them to dispute or agree and then they have 30 days to make a decision. Once a decision has been made, you should get a letter from the Credit Bureau(s) telling you what the action was.

There are no guarantees that this will work 100% of the time. If you follow these few easy steps, you will be on your way to a better credit report, which may mean a higher credit score and lower rates on your loans, saving you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars over your lifetime.