Spyguyjim....you say to wait about 6mo-1 year after paying off a collection(because it does start the clock over again), what do you tell the CRA's when you ask to dispute it on your credit report but why...I mean just because I don't want it on there is not significant is it? Needless to say before i found this site I had about 10 charge offs on my credit report and I just recently paid them off when they were from 96... so there goes another 7 years right? So to dispute them what should I do in about a year? Thanks again for all your help....
RE: spyguyjim or anyone else t Try searching the board under the word "disputing." There are lots of posts that touch on this. You can try disputing on the basis of date of last activity, never late, or "not mine" (keep in mind this is illegal if you know it to be false). I would seriously consider using a credit repair service that has experience in dealing with the CRA's. One poorly worded letter to them and you could be deemed a person attempting credit repair. While it might still be possible to dispute items after that, it becomes much harder. If you want, I can refer you to one I've found has helped many people locally restore their credit. A large bank in town refers people to them before selling them houses. Send me an e-mail and I'll give you the contact info. I'm not about to post it here..
