How to Remove Activate Financial from Your Credit Report
Whenever someone defaults on their debt obligation, their creditors may decide to sell their debt to debt collection agencies. Instances like these are more common than you may think and are not a good look on the borrower. You may want to remove activate financial from your credit report once this happens. If a debt collection agency receives your debt, this information goes to the 3 main credit bureaus, which are Equifax, Transunion and Experian. Of course, this affects your credit score negatively.
After some time, a certain collection amount goes away from your report. In case you think the amount present on your report is an error, or you want to remove it earlier, there are certain actions you can take to address this issue.
In this piece, we will talk about the important steps you can follow to remove activate financial from your report.
Go through each Credit Report in Detail
You must thoroughly go through your credit reports for getting details about your collections account. Websites such as Annual Credit Report are free resources to help you do that. Usually, the website offers a single copy per report each year.
Your report must mention if the collection is unpaid or paid, the delinquency date of your account and overall balance. If you are not aware of the original creditor’s identity and your report does not mention them, you can request the collection agency to provide you the information.
After this, you can compare every collection detail mentioned on the report with your reported account’s records. In case you did not maintain records, consider logging into the account for checking your payment history.
Determining the Legitimacy of your Account
While going through the collection mentioned on your account, you must ensure the debt is yours. If it is not, and you made timely payments for paying it off, consider disputing it to ensure your report is clear.
Create an Actionable Plan
Mentioned below are some steps that can help you do away with the collection accounts from your report.
Request Deletion of Goodwill
If you made on time payments for the collection mentioned on the report you have, simply request the original collector or debt collector to take the collection out from the report. Generally, this will involve sending the collection agency or debt collector a letter of goodwill deletion that explains your mistake. The letter will also ask for forgiveness while showing the agency improvements in your payment history.
While there is no guarantee that the agency will remove the collection from your report, but it is worth trying. If they do remove the account, it will increase your chances of qualifying for favorable terms on credit cards, mortgages and personal loans.
Disputing Incomplete or Inaccurate Collection Accounts
Those who have incomplete or inaccurate collection accounts present on their credit reports can always dispute it. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can dispute information like this directly with creditors or credit bureaus. Every credit bureau website has a form, which you can use for disputing the information. You can also make use of the sample dispute letters offered by the Federal Trade Commission’s website if you are new to this.
Credit reporting companies have one month for investigating your claim after you file a dispute letter. The bureau will remove the collection account from your report if your information is correct. However, your report will still show the account for around seven years if the bureau learns that the information reported by the company was correct.
Wait it Out
If your debt is indeed legitimate, debt collection agencies will most likely not remove it from your report. In situations like this, waiting is the only option you have. As mentioned earlier, it takes about seven years for the collection to vanish from your report. After which your slate will be relatively clean.
How Long Will Your Report Have the Collection Accounts
Unpaid or paid collection accounts legally remain on credit reports for around seven years. This period starts from when your account initially got delinquent. After reaching the 7 year limit, credit companies will delete the account from your report.
Does Credit Score Increase after Your Remove Activate Financial
Your payment history makes up thirty five percent of your FICO score. There is a chance that your score increases if the collection account goes away from your report. That said, there are certain factors that determine how much the amount could increase. For instance, if your report only had a single negative account and the credit institution removes it, your score will see a massive boost. On the other hand, your score may not improve greatly if your report had multiple collection accounts.
Collection Reports and their Impact on Your Score
While collection reports often result in a great deal of harm to your score, there are certain factors that determine the overall impact. For instance the credit scoring model you are calculating your score with dictates how big of a hit your score will take. Paid and unpaid collections also determine what your score will be.
That said, this model for credit scoring was quite different initially, as its earlier versions did not take paid collection accounts into consideration. So, if lenders use earlier variants for assessing the chances of you repaying your loan, there is a high chance that they will see a low score.
Is Paying Activate Financial an Option
The last thing you want to do is call a collection agency’s representative and have detailed discussions with them. Many people think it is best to reset the clock by offering payments for the collection account. However, this does not work all the time and could make things more difficult. There are certain situations in which paying the collection account is the best option, particularly when it is new.
When taking steps like these acting on your own may not be ideal and you could even make things worse. Instead, it would be better to get help from a reputable credit repair service. These services know the ins and outs of how to remove activate financial and can help you effectively.
Does Activate Financial Sue People?
There is always a likelihood of activate financial sewing you. However, if you have a reputable credit repair company and lawyer by your side, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. They will help you file a dispute properly, making sure it goes away from your report. There is also a high likelihood that you may not deal with or hear from Activate Financial once you clear your report properly.
Is there a Chance of Wage Garnishment
Many people with credit report problems fear wage garnishment. It is worth keeping in mind that wage garnishment laws vary, depending on each state. Debt collection agencies cannot garnish your wage if you live in a state that does not allow it. If they do so, it will be illegal and you can take legal action against the agency.
What’s more, Activate Financial cannot make any claims if they will not or cannot follow through on them. They cannot threaten foreclosure or suing you as it is illegal.
The Impact of Collection on Your Credit
Your credit score could take a massive hit if you failed to pay for several months. If your credit report has a collection account, your may not be able to get approval for more credit. Debt collection agencies often sell and buy debt, which can result in multiple collections appearing on your report. These collections could be for a single account and you must dispute them right away. Failing to do so can greatly harm your credit score.
Remember Your Rights to Eliminate Confusion
While you may be in a rush to remove Activate Financial from your credit report, knowing your rights is vital. The United States has strict regulations regarding debt collections and collectors must follow them to a T. For instance, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ensures that no debt collection agency uses deceptive or abusive tactics when collecting a debt. What’s more, the FDCPA offers several rights for making sure that agencies do not harass or take advantage of defaulters:
- Activate Financial cannot report incomplete or inaccurate information on credit reports as it violates the federal law
- You are well within your rights to ask for debt validation for alleged debts. You can send a validation letter to the agency to learn the root of the problem. Collection agencies have a month to prove that the debt is legitimate and there are no inaccuracies in the total amount
- As mentioned earlier, Activate Financial does not have the right to harass, threaten swear, make repeated calls to you
- Activate financial cannot publish lists of debtors publically as it is illegal
- Activate financial officials do not have the right to threaten defaulters with arrest or legal action, unless they follow through
- Officials from Activate financial have to maintain complete transparency when it comes their intentions and identity. They must inform you in writing and orally, that they are a debt collection agency
Complaints Regarding Activate Financial
More often than not, collection agencies tend to have multiple complaints. Thousands of people file these complaints with the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) along with the BBB (Better Business Bureau). In most cases, the complaints are regarding harassment, failure to verify debts, or inaccurate reporting. It would be best to file a complaint if a debt collection agency harasses you.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act and the FDCPA has several rights to protect people from unlawful and unethical practices followed by debt collectors.
Tips to Deal with Activate Financial Effectively
While learning to remove activate financial from a credit report is important, you must also know how to deal with them effectively. Mentioned below, are some tried and tested tips to help you deal with the debt collection agency.
Record their Calls
Whenever dealing with debt collectors on the phone, recording them would be a wise choice. The District of Columbia, along with thirty five states allows people to legally record phone conversations in secret.
In the remaining fifteen states, you have to get recording permission from the other party. If you inform the collector that you will record, after which they continue talking, it means that you have their permission. If they do not consent, they will hang up.
Remember the Statute of Limitations for Your State
Every state has statute of limitations regarding debts. Your debt will become a zombie debt after reaching a particular age, which means you will have not have to pay it. Each state has a different age limit for zombie debts, which is usually around four to six years.
That said, debt collectors are still within their rights to contact you regarding these debts. However, they cannot sue you and you don’t have to pay them.
Do Not Hide Money
If you owe a collections agency, hiding your assets or money from them is illegal. But, make sure you avoid offering them information regarding your credit card or bank account.
Do not Use the Phone
Talking to debt collectors on a call is the last thing you want to do. You must make sure they do not know too much about you. It would be best to inform Activate Financial that you would prefer every conversation in writing. If you receive a call from the collector, ask them for a letter containing information regarding the original debt and hang up. You can send them a cease and desist letter if they continue to call.
Final Thoughts
While there are plenty of ways to remove activate financial from your credit report, the tips we discussed are arguably the most effective. If you want to learn more about how credit reports work, the experts at Credit Follows can help you. These experts have years of experience and can effectively guide you, ensuring your credit report is close to perfect.
