Cleaning up credit report- taking names and numbers?

[Stash]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?OH I am in the process of cleaning up my credit report and paying debt. I have paid a few things that have gone to collection and they assured me that it had not gone to any reporting agency and I paid in time. Cool... Now I want to contact collection companies with debts listed on the big 3 credit reports. How do I make sure that it gets reported that the debt is paid or that I do not owe? In your experience, do most of the companies send the debtor a PAID letter at least and/or send a report of payment to the big 3?

[Debt Guy]

99% will automatically report the updated paid status to the the CRA. Occassionally, one will not -- in which case you can dispute the tradeline to the CRA as in error.

In most cases, the payment of an old charge off will not cause the tradeline to fall off your report. The collection agencies and creditors rarely agree to delete negative items. If that is your goal, make sure you have the agreement to delete the negative item in writing.

[Stash]

Thank you. So what is the proposed method for this? Call them and ask them to send a letter with an agreed payment amount and they in trurn will write the CRA's instructing them to delete info? Or do I draft that document and have them sign it, send it back and then mail them the check?

[Ladynred]

Call them and ask them to send a letter with an agreed payment amount and they in trurn will write the CRA's instructing them to delete info?

You don't EVER call them if you want any hope of getting anything out of them. Do EVERYTHING in writing only ! You can't INSTRUCT them to do anything, its not in their interest to do anything FOR you at all. You can ASK or you can withhold the money on condition that they agree in writing. A few will agree, most will take your money and renege leaving the skid marks on your reports. Most will just flat out refuse to delete.

You're asking a lot of credit repair questions that are better suited for either [url]www.creditboards.com[/url] or [url]www.creditinfocenter.com[/url]. Both places have lots and lots of people to help and have been thru the same situations - and they both include sample letters to use.