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Many consumers are not aware that a collection mark is allowed to remain on your credit report for 7 years. The seven year period that a negative collection mark remains on your credit report actually begins at the date of your first missed payment. This can be very damaging to your credit and make getting loans, credit cards jobs or mortgages very difficult.

There are some very important facts that you should be aware of before you pay off any account that is in collections. If you plan to pay off a collection it is a very good idea to negotiate with your collection agency first. There are a couple very important items that you will want to work out with your collections agency when you intend to pay them off.

The first item that you will want to negotiate with a collection agency is paying a lower amount. Oftentimes the collection agency will agree to a lesser amount to be able to collect on, and close your account. This fact alone can save you hundreds of dollars. The next item that you will want to negotiate with your collections agency, as well as the most important item that you need to negotiate, is that the collection agency agree to remove the collection from your credit report. You will want to get this agreement in writing prior to submitting your payment to the collection agency, otherwise they may fail to follow through with your agreement.

In the event that you have paid off a collection account which continues to appear on your credit report, you will need to file a dispute with the credit bureau. The reason for this is that an account that has gone through a collection agency, will be noted on your credit report as a ‘Paid collection’, even after you have paid the account off. To lenders this is considered a negative account and is very damaging to your credit score. It is important for you to have the credit bureau remove this account from your credit report.

The key to having this information removed from your credit report, is to remember that the burden of proof lies on the credit bureau. The credit bureau is required by law to prove that the negative information they placed in your credit report is correct. You may dispute the negative collections information on your credit report by requesting that the credit bureau provide you with documentation that the account actually belongs on your credit report. When writing your dispute, you will want to request that if the credit bureau is unable to provide proof of the negative information that they placed in your credit file, that the negative information be removed from your your credit report. Once you initiate your dispute, the credit agencies will have thirty days to investigate your claim. Rest assured that most of the time the collection agencies are unable to verify the negative information and are then required to remove it from your credit.