No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
I am in the process of rebuilding my credit so my husband and I can purchase a house in about a year and half. I have one collection item reporting only on my Transunion report. I paid it in full about 2 years ago. It is from Brighthouse Networks. My question is should I reach out to the collection agency to see if they will remove it? I saw a previous post where credit portfolio will remove collection items that are paid but my concern is that it is only reporting to one CB that if I ask for the removal somehow they will try and remove it from the other two CB's or add it to them. My TU mortgage score is the lowest of the two at 592, and my Equifax mortgage score is 635 and my Experian mortgage score is 609. So I really don't want a letter to affect those other two scores.
Any advice on this?
@marylandgurl9988 wrote:I am in the process of rebuilding my credit so my husband and I can purchase a house in about a year and half. I have one collection item reporting only on my Transunion report. I paid it in full about 2 years ago. It is from Brighthouse Networks. My question is should I reach out to the collection agency to see if they will remove it? I saw a previous post where credit portfolio will remove collection items that are paid but my concern is that it is only reporting to one CB that if I ask for the removal somehow they will try and remove it from the other two CB's or add it to them. My TU mortgage score is the lowest of the two at 592, and my Equifax mortgage score is 635 and my Experian mortgage score is 609. So I really don't want a letter to affect those other two scores.
Why not? You can send a goodwill letter for early exclusion. When is it scheduled to drop?
Not until 2023 which would be after the timeframe we want to try and buy a house. So I guess I'll give it a try. Also is it normal for the collection agency to only report to one CB?
@marylandgurl9988 wrote:Not until 2023 which would be after the timeframe we want to try and buy a house. So I guess I'll give it a try. Also is it normal for the collection agency to only report to one CB?
What you don't want to do is dispute. But you can request to them directly to have an early exclusion. If it were me, I'd send something like this:
CA Name
CA Address
Re: Account Number XXXXXX
To Whom It May Concern:
Several years ago I had a very difficult financial time and I had a few late payments on one of my accounts that was consequently handled by your office. We paid this collection off a few years ago and now we are really trying to push for the best interest rate for a new home purchase. A small credit bump would get me over that new target rate. This account is scheduled to fall off in a few years but I was hoping I didn’t have to wait until then to purchase.
I paid this account off to show my willingness to cause minimum financial impact to your company. I know the Fair Credit Report Act requires the information being reported to be accurate. The FCRA, however, also dictates that is not mandatory to report any information at all and reporting is at the full discretion of the furnisher of information.
I know the account is being reported accurately and I'm not disputing that, instead, in the interest of customer service and goodwill, would it be possible to request an early exclusion and extend a one-time courtesy to remove this account early from my credit before the full 7 years have passed? This is in full compliance with the Federal Credit Reporting Act as reporting is solely at the discretion of creditors.
Is that something you can help with? I appreciate any help.
Thank you very much.
@Anonymous wrote:
@marylandgurl9988 wrote:Not until 2023 which would be after the timeframe we want to try and buy a house. So I guess I'll give it a try. Also is it normal for the collection agency to only report to one CB?
What you don't want to do is dispute. But you can request to them directly to have an early exclusion. If it were me, I'd send something like this:
CA Name
CA Address
Re: Account Number XXXXXX
To Whom It May Concern:
Several years ago I had a very difficult financial time and I had a few late payments on one of my accounts that was consequently handled by your office. We paid this collection off a few years ago and now we are really trying to push for the best interest rate for a new home purchase. A small credit bump would get me over that new target rate. This account is scheduled to fall off in a few years but I was hoping I didn’t have to wait until then to purchase.
I paid this account off to show my willingness to cause minimum financial impact to your company. I know the Fair Credit Report Act requires the information being reported to be accurate. The FCRA, however, also dictates that is not mandatory to report any information at all and reporting is at the full discretion of the furnisher of information.
I know the account is being reported accurately and I'm not disputing that, instead, in the interest of customer service and goodwill, would it be possible to request an early exclusion and extend a one-time courtesy to remove this account early from my credit before the full 7 years have passed? This is in full compliance with the Federal Credit Reporting Act as reporting is solely at the discretion of creditors.
Is that something you can help with? I appreciate any help.
Thank you very much.
I'd send it off every two weeks until they remove it.
Thank you so much for the help and sample letter. I appreciate it. I will give it a try.