How do I get something removed from my credit rating if it belongs there?

I had an account go into collections about a year ago. I paid less than the full balance. Basically it was my fault. Is it possible to call the collections agency and ask them to remove it? I know the length of time for something to stay on is 7 years from time of transaction. But, is it possible to get it removed earlier than that? Is it out of the collection agencies hands now? This may sound stupid, but I am only 23 and still learning about this very important crap. And I would say that I am learning it the hard way.

How do I get something removed from my credit rating if it belongs there?
Good grief, don't people that answer on here ever read the FCRA???? (edited to add - not talking about you in my mini rant OC1999)





The account CANNOT be re-aged !!!!!





If it was for a credit card, the SOL for reporting is 7 years and starts the first time you became 30 days late, with the original creditor, and never brought the account current leading to the charge off. A bank loan is 7 years from last activity.





It does not matter if you paid or you didn't pay, if you paid the original creditor or the collection agency.





Unless you make a "new contract" to pay the old debt - i.e. accepting a "new" credit card that carries the debt or a portion of the debt - that would not actually be re-aging the debt as it would be considered a new account





Just making a deal to pay a portion of the debt or settlement "is not" creating a "new" contract.





You can try to see if the collection agency will remove it, but since you had paid you have lost leverage.





If they won't delete, look over your reports for any inaccurate information they are reporting and dispute it.


Use reports from each CRA that you paid for - that way they only have 30 days to investigate versus the 45 days if you use the free reports. Don't use tri-merge reports because many times they are not totally accurate.
Reply:the 7 year deal works like this - a bad report says on your credit score 7 years AFTER the one you owe stops reporting it. In other words it can be on your report for 12 years if the company you owe reports the bad debt for 5 years then sells it off to a collection agency.





The only way to get it off is to contact the collections agency (if the debt has been sold already) or contact whoever you owe and try to make a deal with them to pay if off. Otherwise you're stuck with it.
Reply:It is going to stay on your credit report for up to 10 yrs. As the account gets older it will have less effect on your total credit score.
Reply:Improving Bad Credit Report: If you have a bad credit record, investigate the reason for this report. If the reason is late or non-payments on your behalf, start making payments to the lender and clear off the debt. A late payment can work against you later on. If you are unable to pay due to shortage of funds, limit your spending. Another solution is to take more credit from reputed lenders who offer you flexible payment schedule. By paying off your huge debt in small amounts quickly, you can impress your prospective lenders. Then finish off the investigation of your credit report conducted by the bureau.





Negotiation of Credit Report: Credit bureaus can also make mistakes. They store the ratings of many people and are manned by humans who can make mistakes. They can enter wrong details about you, leading to erroneous credit report. Hence get a copy from the bureau contacted by the lender who refused you credit. Read the information thoroughly and note down any errors. If they try to malign you, complain to the bureau. It is bureau’s duty to look into the matter, report the facts and send the corrected details to the lenders who have turned down your request for credit.
Reply:The negative items will remain on your credit report for 7 years from date of last activity, which is basically your last payment). So if you last payment was in January of 2005 and you do nothing since, it will be there until January of 2012.





Your only chance would have been to talk to the collection agency and offer them a percentage to settle the account and ask if they will also remove any negative information from your reports.





If this is after the fact where you settled, you can still ask them but there is really no incentive for them to remove the item now. But on the good side a paid off collection account looks a lot better than one that is still in collections.