How to Dispute Paid Off Accounts on a Credit Report

Unfortunately, paying a credit card charge-off or collection account does not cause the account to be removed from your credit report. It will merely update as paid. The derogatory account will then continue to appear within your credit history until the seven year reporting period set by the Fair Credit Reporting Act expires. The FCRA states, however, that paying a debt is not an admission of guilt. If you paid a debt and now are not positive that you actually owed the debt or the account is reporting inaccurately on your credit report, you have the right to dispute the paid off account with the credit bureaus.

Instructions

1

Pull your credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to find out which credit bureaus are currently reporting the debt. Debts do not always appear on all three of your credit reports.

2

Evaluate the notation for any inaccuracies. Each account on your credit report appears within a trade line. This trade line contains information about the debt such as the creditor to whom the debt was owed, the date the debt was accrued, the contact information for the creditor and the payment status of the debt. If any of these items is incorrect or missing, you have the right to dispute the account.

3

Write a letter to the credit bureaus whose reports reflect the paid off account. Explain the inaccuracies within the accounts trade line and request that each credit bureau delete the inaccurate information. The credit bureaus are required to oblige your request and provide you with the results of the investigation within 30 days.

4

Print out your credit reports and highlight the account in question on each of them.

5

Send each credit bureau a copy of your letter and a copy of its credit report with the disputed account highlighted.