need help.... need to delete negaive information

[shivanibr]

Hello everyone,
Just a year ago, i received a bill from a hospital of about 51 dollars for some xrays they took of mine. i called the hospital to pay the bill and hence gave my credit card information to them. after about 15 days to 3 weeks, i received the same bill again. so i called them again to assure that i have paid the bill. they checked my file and told me that they have our credit card information and that i dont need to worry about the bill. after a month, i started getting calls from a collection agency regrading the same amount. i told them that i have already paid the bill and even filed a dispute. however apparently the case was still on file and in jan of 2009, they called again and left me a voice mail saying tht i still owe them the 51 dollars. so i told them that i have already paid the bill. they asked me to send them proof of payment. thats when i started looking for the transaction in my credit card statments and didnt find it. so i called them and made the payment. however, i realisedd that this is seen in my credit report and because of this, my credit score has gone down drastically. i have always had a clean history and have always taken every effort to keep a good credit score. i called the collection agency and the hospital to see if they can delete this of my credit report and they said, there is nothing they can do. is this true. is there anything i can do to delete this of my report. its really hurting me. please any help or advice in this matter will be highly highly appreciated.Thank you.

[cjain]

To remove it from your credit report, do the following steps:
1. Make a Copy of the payment reciept (Credit card or Check)
2. Write a letter to the credit agency who is contacting you( Check the forms for the format). Mention the name of the person who is calling. Attach the reciept and mail it.
3. When you mail it , get the confirmation of your mail reached.

Usually it takes 3-4 months for them to remove the charge but they will remove it.

[Trish]

Originally Posted by cjain

To remove it from your credit report, do the following steps:
1. Make a Copy of the payment reciept (Credit card or Check)
2. Write a letter to the credit agency who is contacting you( Check the forms for the format). Mention the name of the person who is calling. Attach the reciept and mail it.
3. When you mail it , get the confirmation of your mail reached.

Usually it takes 3-4 months for them to remove the charge but they will remove it.

Sorry.......but this whole post is confusing to me.

[Trish]

Shivan,
Who did you pay? The CA or the healthcare provider?

[shivanibr]

i paid the CA.

[Trish]

Just for future reference (I know you didn't know.....so it's understandable).......but try to avoid paying a CA. Most of them are scum and cannot be trusted. And NEVER give them your bank or credit card info. If at all possible deal with the OC........and for a medical bill you should always pay the healthcare provider.


You should dispute this with the CRAs. If it comes back verified, then you may have to deal directly with the CA to try and get it removed (hopefully it won't come down to that).

[shivanibr]

Thank you. this negative record has been reported only to equifax and experian and not to Transunion. should i still file a dispute with transunion? i know its a dumb question, but just making sure.

[Trish]

Nah......if it's not being reported to TU, don't worry about them. Just send the disputes to EX and EQ.

[shivanibr]

Thank you so much TRISH. you have been of great help . hopefully the matter will be solved with the CRA's and i wont have to worry about the CA. one last question... If the matter does get solved and they delete the record of my report, how long does it normally take for the score to bump up again?

[Trish]

You're very welcome. I hope that's all it takes too.
If you get a deletion, your score should go up as soon as the acct is removed......so you should see an improvement immediately.


Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.