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Removal of Debt Collections From Your Credit Report

There is no doubt that a collection on your credit report will harm your credit score! And although a collection will affect your score less with the passage of time, it will nevertheless remain on your credit report for 7 years!  This means that during this time, potential creditors and lenders will be aware of this negative entry and will take it into account when deciding whether to lend to you or not.  This is the reason why the best thing that you can do for your credit score is to facilitate the removal of collections from your report as soon as possible.

If it so happens that the debt does belong to you, you can still have it removed under certain circumstances. You can have the debt validated if the debt collector initially contacted you within the past 30 days.  Under the process of debt validation, the creditor is required to provide proof that you owe the debt. In the event that a creditor cannot validate the debt listed on your report or does not respond to your request, the debt will have to be removed from your  report.

Disputing After Seven Years

Past due accounts can only stay on your credit report for seven years from the initial date of delinquency, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Some collectors will try to re-age a debt and by doing so make it appear as if the account became delinquent later than it did. Such an unethical practice will keep the debt on your record longer.  If seven years has passed, you need to dispute the debt from your credit report.  If you have proof showing the initial date of delinquency, your dispute will be strengthened. 

Disputing After Collectors Sell

Collection accounts change hands very frequently. There is a strong possibility that the collection agency shown on your credit report is not the agency that is currently responsible for collecting on the debt, because debts are constantly assigned and sold to different collectors. If and when this happens to you, you can usually have the collection removed from your report by filing a dispute with the credit bureaus.