Removing old/bad accounts from credit reports?

[my.hero's.mrs]

DH has an account that was listed as "Sent to Collections" in 2004 that we recently paid in full.

Can we now request this to be removed from his report so that it does not show as bad credit?

What are the general "rules" to removing bad info from credit reports? DH's credit report is riddled with yucky things that we are paying off one at a time. We're scheduled to have it all cleaned up by 2010 but want him to have a clean report too to go along with his recent focus on the repayment of stuff.

TIA for your suggestions/advice.

[CristinaFaye]

We're dealing with this too. I was advised to contact the collector and ask them to forward proof of payment to the creditor (ie Equifax, etc.) We've done this a couple of times in the last few months and it stll hasn't been updated.
I'd love to know what others advise. Good luck!!!

[MadlyDeeplyTruly]

Usually things don't fall off for up to 7 years after the last activity. While it will reflect that the account is paid/closed, it will still also show it had a history of being delinquent until it falls off.

If he's still working on paying a lot of bad debt off and by bad I mean WAY the hell past due, ask the creditors about removing the listing off his credit report if you pay them in full. Usually, they are so desperate to get any money they are owed, they are willing to take far less to mark the debt as paid. You can sometimes negotiate for them to remove it completely if you pay them more than what they are expecting or pay in full.

Be sure to get their agreement in WRITING though, so if it isn't pulled off the report, you can go back with the written agreement if they don't honor it.

[morenita2106]

some companys will remove if you vcall thema nd talk to them...but normally its stuck on there til it falls off. next time do a pay for delete letter and send it off which is you agree to pay in full or a percentage of it and they will delete if they accept it... just google pay for delete letters

[Trey]

Originally Posted by MadlyDeeplyTruly Usually things don't fall off for up to 7 years after the last activity. While it will reflect that the account is paid/closed, it will still also show it had a history of being delinquent until it falls off. If he's still working on paying a lot of bad debt off and by bad I mean WAY the hell past due, ask the creditors about removing the listing off his credit report if you pay them in full. Usually, they are so desperate to get any money they are owed, they are willing to take far less to mark the debt as paid. You can sometimes negotiate for them to remove it completely if you pay them more than what they are expecting or pay in full. Be sure to get their agreement in WRITING though, so if it isn't pulled off the report, you can go back with the written agreement if they don't honor it.

DITTO. This is what did... I had a series of parking tickets on my record and I paid them all in full and all 6 were dumped (they all counted individually too, so it really helped. However, since you have paid, they may not be as inclined to negotiate.

[my.hero's.mrs]

I wish I would have asked you all before we paid. Oh well. Maybe I can still write to them and ask. Thank you all for your replies!

[CristinaFaye]

Originally Posted by my.hero's.mrs I wish I would have asked you all before we paid. Oh well. Maybe I can still write to them and ask. Thank you all for your replies!

Me too! We thought we were doing a good thing by paying off DH's debts.

[NDNatlGuardGF]

Thank you for all of your suggestions. We were just about to pay off DB's old debt, but I think we're going to send a letter first, to try to get it off his Credit Report asap. Thanks!

[rosebud*]

lots of times you can request a pay for deletion. but this only works with the original creditor NOT the collection agency. You can often times even negotiate a settlement since they will have already written off the amount you owe so any money collected will be full profit. kwim.

[Trey]

Originally Posted by my.hero's.mrs I wish I would have asked you all before we paid. Oh well. Maybe I can still write to them and ask. Thank you all for your replies!

I would still definitely call and ask! It can't hurt! And showing up on your report as "paid" will look much better than "unpaid". Just keep it in mind as a negotiation tool in the future! And be firm! They will tell you they "cannot legally do that" but that's bull****. It's legal, they can and it's been done.