This was a question asked on Yahoo answers, I thought it would benefit this website so I also posted it here.

How do I fix my credit? A Lender told me about some things that were in collections. That can't be right, I paid them off 2 yrs ago. How do I get rid of those old paid collections?

by sgrady68...
Member since:
November 12, 2006
Total points:
143 (Level 1)
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
Goto www.annualcreditreport.com. The first thing you need to do is find out where you stand. You said you've paid some things off...well if they are still showing a balance on your credit report (aka: cr) then you can dispute all those items directly with the credit bureaus. You can do that from the above website. You need to look at all three bureaus and dispute all derogatory items with all three. The bureaus are obligated by law to investigate and the creditors have 30 days to repsond whether or not you owe them. Print a copy of each report. Look for things you still owe, your cr will contain contact information for every creditor on your report. next step is to contact creditors you still owe and negotiate a settlement. I would recommend starting with 30% of the balance shown on the cr. If an item has been in collections at least 6 mos. they are more willing to negatiate a settlement. DO NOT send them any money without a written payment agreement or settlement agreement. Do your correspondance with cerified mail. After all that go to www.myfico.com and read about ways to build credit...you first need to stop the bleeding. Hope this helps!


Asker's Comment:
Thanks for the good advice.