It is important to know how collections agencies think regarding accounts.

They hate when an account is disputed so BEFORE you dispute them, take note of a different strategy. If you have never heard from this collection account before, it can benefit you greatly if you DO NOT dispute the account without reaching out to them first. Here is why.

Say you have a medical collection account and it is $300. If you haven’t heard from the collection company before and it is paid off, they will remove it from your account if they have not spoken to you before. Therefore, pay them off and they will send a letter to remove the account from the credit bureaus.

If you already paid it off, all you have to do is find out the collection agency inquiry department fax number or mailing address. Send them a letter stating that you never knew anything about the account and paid it off in full and request if they can send a letter to remove it since you never was aware of the account. We have seen them remove this 98% of the time when it was done directly with them instead of the credit bureau.

 Now here is what you should consider:

•  How much is the collection?
• How old is the collection? If is it three years old or less, they will start back collecting once the account is disputed. Often time they will become even more aggressive from a disputed account.
• Was the collection paid already?
• Have the client had any previous contact with the collection agency.

Therefore here is the strategy:

Collection accounts are best when settle and paid off in full to have it remove. Not just disputing.

If the collection company is very small, they may not respond and you could get the account remove after 3 years but is often comes right back if they are place as pending with the credit bureau. Many large companies have the response computerized to e-Oscar and they will respond every time.

Most collection agency will NOT remove an account that is not paid in full or less than 20% of the original amount. Therefore collections account have become more difficult to remove on a technically unless you can discover a violation on their part. Negotiate if the client is able.

Therefore if your client can afford to pay it off, it is best to settle before thinking about disputing.  Disputing can hurt the process.