To remove a bad credit mark due to a debt going to collections you must dispute it. A dispute is filled directly with the credit bureaus.

A dispute letter must be sent to each bureau. In your letter you have to identify the mark you are disputing and why it is inaccurate and should be erased from your report.

You will have to send a copy of this letter to each credit bureau. Upon receipt of your letter the bureaus will conduct an investigation into the dispute.

It is common for investigations to result in the deletion of a mark. This is because most lenders and collection agencies are unwilling to spend the resources verifying uncollectible debts.

If the disputed item is verified then a credit repair service can be very helpful. This service will be able to use advanced dispute techniques such as; escalated dispute information requests, debt validation, and creditor direct intervention.

What is a collection?

A collection typically occurs after 6 months of delinquency. It is a last effort for lenders to collect payment for a debt.

Many lenders have an in house collection agency. In addition it is common for them to outsource their collection efforts or to outright sell your account to an agency.

These agencies will purchase your debt for a fraction of the balance or they will work together with a lender. This means they will collect on behalf of the lender and receive a percentage of all the money they collect.

An important tip to know is that if you get a collection on your credit report and just pay it, the negative mark will not be removed from your credit. Instead it will just change the status of the collection. The mark will remain and it will still be seen as a negative mark by potential lenders.

In sum you do not have to live with bad credit marks on your report. You can dispute them and have them removed by the credit bureaus.