Medical bills reported on credit report

[BrokeAndTrying]

I live in Tennessee. I am trying to get my credit in good standing so I can get a home and be more stable. In collections, I have a lot of medical bills. That is really the only thing negative on my report. I was told that a TN Supreme Court Judge ruled that this was not allowed on credit reports since people do not choose to be ill. Does anyone know if this is true? Or what is a good place to start researching?

[Debt Guy]

I think someone is pulling your leg.

Credit reporting is governed by federal law -- specifically the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Data Furnishers (creditors and collection agencies) are governed in how they report to the Credit Reporting Agencies (Equifax, Transunion, Experian).

DFs are not required to report anything. But, anything the report must be accurate.

Many consumers will dispute errors on their report. Disputing an error is entirely legal. Once the CRA receives the dispute, they communicate electronically to the DF and ask the DF to confirm the accuracy of the data. As you might guess, the large majority of responses are affirmative.

The DF has a maximum of 30 days to respond. Failure of the DF to respond requires the CRA to delete the tradeline entirely.

There are other ways to improve your credit.

If these medical bills are paid, you can contact the creditor or collection agency and ask that they delete the tradeline. This is generally referred to a goodwill letter. As you might guess, polite and humble is the key to success with a goodwill letter.

If the medical bills are not paid, you can contact the creditor or collection agency and offer to pay in the amount in full if they will delete the tradeline. This is generally referred to as a Pay For Delete. Many creditors and CAs refuse to do PFDs. Some will. If one agrees, be sure to get the deal in writing.

As items on your credit report get older they have less negative effect. You want to add some new credit and then faithfully pay the balance the day you get the bill. This is rebuilding.

You can get free copies of your credit reports at [url]www.annualcreditreport.com[/url] -- the one you see on TV (freecreditreport.com) is not free. You can dispute to the CRAs online or via mail or by telephone. The annualcreditreport.com site has addresses and phone numbers for the CRAs.

Good luck. Wanna buy a bridge?