My credit report says there is a â??potential negative- closed accountâ? â?? what does this mean? Account type is - Collection Dept/Agency/Attorney. It says balance of $78.00. Since it says closed, does it still effect my credit score? I signed up with one of those credit score tracking websites and it shows that my credit score was lowered by 87 points. I don't remember anything about that account. All my other credit cards and car loan are in good standing. Can I contact them and pay them off to get it off my credit report? If I do not recognize this transaction, how can I dispute it? Any information on this matter is highly appreciated. Thank you.
It's still hurting your credit scores, even though the account is closed. If you think the account is a mistake, dispute it through the CRAs before doing anything else.
Thank you Joshua. Should I order credit reports for all three credit agencies before I start the dispute process? This negative account is shown in Experian report.
It's always good to have the actual credit reports, as the online and tri-reports could alter the data presented slightly (the online report from the CRA itself should be similar enough)...