I wrote a payment to delete letter to a collection agency for a hospital bill from 1997 for my husband. He doesn't know what this is from, but we will pay to get it deleted since we are trying to get a mortgage loan. The bill is for $280. Here is the letter I wrote. It has come to my attention that you contend that I have an outstanding balance for $280 with Professional EM. Although I cannot acknowledge the validity of this claim, in order to resolve this matter expediently and amicably, I am willing to pay you $140 so long as you remove or revise to "paid, never late" all tradeline notations associated with the account with the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). This offer to settle should not be construed as an acknowledgment that I ever incurred any obligation with your or your client, since I do not believe that such obligation ever existed. If you agree to the terms of this settlement, please send signed and specific notification outlining the terms of such an agreement to the address below. Does this look sufficient enough?
In your letter of settlement, you agreed to accept a "paid, never late" status. You really don't want ANY TRADELINE from a collection agency showing up on your CRA profile. I'd suggest that you offer payment (even full payment) in exchange for DELETION only. Greg
If you are trying to get a mortgage in the next couple of months, you may have to just pay it and move on in order to get that home. But if you have 3 months or more, I would go through the validation and verifciation process using a different letter writing technique. If this collection is a couple of years old, it is not affecting you score that much anyway. It is the fact that it is still in collection that is killing your score. If you have the time to wait, I would definatley wait until your credit is in better shape by beginning this letter writing process. It will pay off with a better interest rate for your mortgage. It may be hard to put off this type of desire, but it is worth it. I did it and I qualified for a 30 year fixed for under 7 percent with 5 percent down. It was exhilarating....
