If you are dealing with an account which has been placed in collections, you now have two negative listings (in most cases) appearing on your credit report – the collection and the original creditor. If the original creditor refuses to deal with you and sends you to the collection agency, it’s very difficult to get the original creditor to remove the negative mark. But impossible? No. You need to get the collection agency to agree to remove their listing entirely from your report and have the original creditor change the rating to “Paid As Agreed”. At the very minimum, you are within your legal rights to demand the removal of the collection account from your report.
If you did manage to settle with a collection agency – congrats! – you can tell the original creditor you settled the debt and you want this reflected on your account rating. The original creditor is obliged to report accurate information, and hey, “settled” is the true rating. A rating of “Settled” on your credit card listing is much easier on the credit score than “Charged off”.
Remember, though, not all collections result from credit cards. Doctor’s bills cannot appear on your report, but collections resulting from these accounts can.
