How to Negotiate with Creditors to Remove Negative Reports from Your Credit Reports

iEditorial Note: These blog posts represent the opinion of DoNotPay’s Writers, but each person’s situation and circumstances vary greatly. As a result, you should make sure to do your own independent research. Because everyone is unique, our self-help tools are never guaranteed to help with any specific situation. DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law. DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help.

How to Negotiate with Creditors to Remove Negative Reports from Your Credit Reports

It's important to keep a good credit history to qualify for loans and other financial products. However, it's not uncommon to end up with negative marks on your credit report for various reasons. If you're in this situation, there are ways to dispute and even negotiate with creditors to eliminate them from your credit report.

In this article, we will describe the types of negative marks that can affect your credit history and also . DoNotPay can assist you in this situation with their easy-to-follow process that saves you the time and aggravation of doing it yourself.

What Should I Look For on My Credit Report?

It's essential to periodically check your credit report from all three major credit reporting bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, EquiFax) to ensure the information is up-to-date and accurate.

A credit report will tell you what you've spent, where, and how much you have (or should have) paid off. It can help you calculate your credit score in case you need a loan or something. Here is what you'll find on a typical credit report

Personal information including your name, address, social security number, date of birth, and employment information.Your first and last name:

This could also include any variations or misspellings of your name if you've entered them on any credit card applications.

Your address:

This may also include past addresses where you've received credit reports before.

Your employer:

If you've provided employment information to any creditors, it will be included in the report.

Revolving accountsThese are credit card accounts or lines of credit you can regularly borrow from.
Installment loansIf you have a set loan for a car, your college tuition expenses, or a mortgage, this monthly payment information will appear on your credit report.
Open and closed accountsIf you have a bad account that was closed seven years ago, this will be deleted from your report. Accounts closed in good standing will remain on your report for at least ten years.
Your payment historyThis is a history of payments for all accounts except those mentioned above that are deleted from your report.
Recent inquiriesA list of everyone who has accessed your credit report within the last two years. These include hard inquiries such as those generated for credit requests and soft inquiries done when lenders send you pre-approved credit offers. Lenders only see your hard inquiries.
Collection accountsIf you have any unpaid debts that were sent to a collection agency, they will appear here.
Public recordsThese include any information on bankruptcy, foreclosures, or other events that may have affected your credit history.

If any of the above is in error, you should notify the credit agency immediately.

How to Dispute Errors in Your Credit Report

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) grants you the right to dispute incorrect or inaccurate information in your credit report. If, after carefully reviewing your credit report, you find an error, you can dispute it with either the furnishing company or the bureau itself.

  • You can report the error directly to the company that provided the information and ask them to correct it with the bureau. However, if it is an identity-related error made by the bureau, contact them directly to correct it.
  • For any other errors, notify the credit bureau in writing and include applicable supporting documentation, such as receipts or billing statements. Be sure to retain copies of everything you send, as well as the bureau's responses. If you are sending your inquiry through the post office, use certified mail with a return receipt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recommends that you also notify the company that provided the inaccurate information to the credit bureau.
  • The credit bureau has 30 days after receipt of your dispute to investigate and verify information with the furnishing company. The credit bureau will provide you with their findings in writing. If the furnishing company refuses to acknowledge that the information is incorrect, you can ask the credit bureau to include a statement in your file explaining the dispute.

Negotiating with Creditors to Remove Negative Reports

What if your credit report is correct but still contains negative information about your current or past debts? Negotiating a debt settlement can help you get this information removed from your report. Here's what you should know about .

  1. Creditors are not required to report information to the credit bureaus. As a result, if you can negotiate a debt settlement, you can ask them to remove the information from your credit file. The original creditor, and not a collection agency, would have this authority.
  2. Explain that you are in the process of repaying the debt and clearing up your record. Emphasize any obstacles you've had including illness, accident, job layoffs, owing back taxes, and other setbacks to state your case.
  3. Obtain written confirmation of the agreement that the negative report will be removed from your credit history. After 30 days, rerun the credit report to ensure they have removed the negative mark as agreed.
  4. Regardless of the outcome, in seven years, the negative information can be deleted. The FCRA grants consumers the right to remove this outdated, negative information.

Sue for an Unresolved Negative Report Adjustment

If the credit bureau or reporting company wrongly refuses to remove the negative report, you can consider legal action against them through small claims court. DoNotPay features guides that can assist you in filing a lawsuit in small claims court to receive compensation for an unresolved credit report issue.

Remove Negative Reports from Your Credit History with Donotpay

If you want to clean up your credit report but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 3 easy steps:

  1. Search Clean Credit Report on DoNotPay.

  2. Prepare a recent copy of your credit report that you can use as reference.

  3. Let us guide you through the 4 potential options:
  1. If you've already paid off your debt, we'll help you file a Goodwill Removal Request to get it removed.

  2. If you notice any errors in your report (we have a list of common errors you can use!), we'll help you file a credit dispute to the creditor or major credit bureaus.

  3. If there are no errors, we'll check if you're still eligible to file a debt validation request. If they can't validate your debt, they're required to remove it from your report and they can't collect it!

  4. Lastly, if none of the above options work, we'll help you file a pay-to-delete negotiation letter. You can customize the amount you are willing to pay in exchange for getting the item removed.

DoNotPay Can Help with Other Credit Issues

The following are additional credit issues DoNotPay can assist you with:

DoNotPay Works across All Companies, Entities, and Groups

Not only can DoNotPay assist you with credit matters, but they also offer assistance in many other situations, including the following:

DoNotPay is an innovative company that simplifies the way we resolve problems in our day-to-day lives. They have a web-based platform where users can find answers to any issue, no matter how complicated it seems.

Want your issue solved now?