HsBC charge off

You don't call and ask for a "pay for delete" letter, you type one up yourself and send it to them. And I assume you meant "via email instead of snail mail". I wouldn't. Always communicate via certified mail with a return receipt requested. That way you have proof that they got your letter.

When was the last time you paid on the debt? Understand that pay-for-delete rarely works, and creditors / collection agencies have NO obligation to accept them.

 

It's more serious than that. Deleting a paid account is illegal (FCRA and eOSCAR reporting guidelines).

You have to word your letter carefully so that the creditor has a legal justification to remove the account. Just paying it off makes your account a valid and paid account (which is how it will be reported); not a non-existent account. It's assumed valid because you paid it (why would you pay an invalid account? You would dispute that, right?) The law says that companie that furnish information to a credit bureau must furnish ACCURATE information, so that is why they are legally compelled to report a paid collection as a paid collection and not just delete it.

That said, typically, the most common reason for removing the account from your credit report is when the account was reported in error. So, in your letter, you have to assert that this entry is in error and should be deleted on those grounds (not that it's paid and should now be deleted).

Unfortunately, in many cases, the best thing for your credit report is to NOT pay it. That's a little messed up for everyone, IMO, when no good deed goes unpunished.

 

If it is illegal to remove a valid account then why do the credit bureaus and debt collectors do it any time they happen to want to do it?[/quote]

 

I guess they must have been invalid because we KNOW they would never violate the law

 

You would probably be amazed at how fast they can remove an item from the credit reports of someone who has sued them in federal court. Makes no difference if it is a valid debt or not. (LOL)