You will have to dispute the collection to have the credit bureaus remove it from your credit report. You must file a dispute directly with the 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.
A copy of this letter needs to be sent to each credit bureau. When the bureaus get a valid dispute letter they must investigate the disputed mark.
Frequently investigations result in marks being removed from credit reports. Many lenders and collection agencies will not spend the man hours or money to verify disputed 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 is a lenders last resort to collect on a delinquent account. Typically your account will go to collections after 6 months of delinquency.
Most lenders have some form of in house collection. However many also will use an outside collection agency and/or sell your account.
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.
Be aware that if you just pay a collection it will remain on your credit report. It will change the status of the collection but paying it will not remove it from your report. Future lenders will still see the mark as a negative item even as a paid collection.
In sum you can remove collections from your credit report. You do not have to live with bad credit items for 7 years.
