Finding a collection organization like United Collection Bureau on your credit report becomes a nightmare. Negative additions like this to your credit history will ruin your financial future and ability to secure loans, credit cards, or even a place to live. In case UCB appears on your credit report, it will be followed by the question on how to get it removed. However, there are ways to rectify the errors and get better credit report results.
CreditSage is your trusted partner for dealing with a holistic dispute process—specifically, how to remove negative markings left there and emerge back in the credit game on the right footing. This article gives a broad how-to on removal of United Collection Bureau from your report with special consideration of dispute resolution and reinstating your credit position.
Understanding How UCB Impact Your Credit Score
The United Collection Bureau is a third-party collection agency that collects debts on behalf of other creditors. Your account was referred to UCB for collection because you missed a payment or defaulted on a loan. In most cases, the agency will report the debt to one of the three main credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Credit scores drop for up to seven years once a collection account has been reported against one. Such an account by UCB would make one unable to qualify for loans, credit cards, or even rental applications. However, before taking steps to remove UCB from a credit report, one must first understand how an account in collections would adversely affect one's credit.
Credit Health
It indicates a failure to pay a debt. In other words, the lender might view you as a high-risk borrower. Since that negative report decreases the chances of you qualifying for new credit, the collection will have a downward effect on your credit score.
Time Effect
Generally, the time frame the collections will remain on your credit report is up to seven years unless removed by the credit bureau. With age, collection accounts seem to lose their positive ratings, yet they will still appear to creditors.
Validation of Debt
You are entitled to dispute the collection account if United Collection Bureau is reporting a debt you believe is wrong. Removal may pertain only if they made some errors or present documents missing. It is important to understand how UCB could be affecting your credit score prior to removing them from your credit report. If any errors are involved, then working with CreditSage will take you through the steps of contesting errors for the debiting account and put you on track for a healthier credit profile.
Ensure You Check Your Credit Report for Errors
The first step in dispute with the United Collection Bureau is to look through the credit report. Errors occur due to a variety of reasons such as inaccurate information or accounts being reported after the statute of limitations. Hence, review those credit reports with utmost caution for any incorrect statements or issues that may be actionable.
The first step was to correct discrepancies. From there, enough scrutiny must ensue upon the generated credit reports. You can acquire a free credit report from either Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. AnnualCreditReport. com allows you one copy from these bureaus free every 12 months.
Errors worth reviewing include:
Incorrect Personal Information
Make sure the personal information on your credit report—such as your name, address and Social Security Number—is correct. Sometimes you will find that collection accounts are inadvertently associated with someone else's information. A dispute may be filed, based on an inaccuracy in the personal information, with the credit bureaus that, in turn, will delete the incorrect collection account.
Inaccurate Information on Accounts
The United Collection Bureau account on your credit report will have to be checked for accuracy; this includes verifying the debt amount, account number, and the dates relevant to the account. Incorrect information may include a balance greater than you owe or an old date—all of which can be treated under the removal process.
Expired Debt
Usually, collection accounts stay on their credit reports for seven years. Old debts are usually not valid for reporting; hence, if the debt with UCB has passed this threshold, it cannot be reported. This is particularly true of debts that have gone through statute limitations in your state. If that collection account has aged beyond seven years, make a request for its removal.
Review of your credit report in detail will assist in pointing out discrepancies that may lead to the removal of United Collection Bureau from your credit report. CreditSage does find errors and assist with disputes whic hmay lead to an immense improvement in your credit standing.
Dispute United Collection Bureau on Your Own
After finding the errors on your report, now you can process the dispute. You have the right to dispute any wrong entries to the bureaus, and each is obliged by law to perform some kind of an investigation into your claim.
Here is how to dispute United Collection Bureau by yourself:
Collect Documentation
The first thing is to gather all documentation that supports your claim. In case you believe that it is an erroneous claim, you may gather evidence of payment or bank statements, together with letters from the creditor verifying that payment had been made. While they're verifying the debt, United Collection Bureau has to stop all collection attempts for the said debt.
Dispute with the Credit Bureaus Directly
Disputing errors directly with the three major credit bureaus is the way to go. Each credit bureau allows disputes to be filed online, by phone, or by mail. Online disputes will generally be the quickest option, though for those disputing multiple errors or including documentation, the mail will work best. Clearly state the reason for the dispute on the collection account, attach evidence supporting the claim, and request that the account be deleted from your report.
Verify the Debt
If the debt's legitimacy is being disputed, you can request validation from the United Collection Bureau. They can validate the legitimacy of either the debt you owe or the debt they have the right to collect. If they fail to verify, they must treat such debt as uncollectible and delete it from your credit report.
Investigation Procedure
The credit bureaus will have thirty days to investigate and respond once they receive notification of your dispute. They will remove the account from your report if they determine that it is incorrect or unverified. On the other hand, they may retain the account on your report if they are able validate it.
Disputing a report is effective but time-consuming and quite complicated. If you have a more extensive account to dispute, you may save yourself some time by working with a company like CreditSage. We will answer all aspects of this dispute process for you.
Negotiate a Pay for Delete Agreement
An alternative way to remove United Collection Bureau from your credit report is to negotiate a "pay for delete" agreement. A "pay for delete" deal is basically paying the original debt in return for removing the collection account. Although not all collection agencies agree to these types of terms, it's worth a try, provided you can pay the debt.
Here is how to negotiate a pay-for-delete agreement:
Contact the United Collection Bureau
Start by contacting United Collection Bureau either by phone or in writing and make it clear that you would like to settle the debt, but would like to have the entire account removed from your credit report upon payment.
Get Your Agreement in Writing
If UCB agrees to pull the account from credit reports when you settle the debt, get that agreement in writing before you make any payment. Without written confirmation, it is possible that they may not keep the promise.
Adhering to the Pay-For-Delete Agreement
After UCB has signed the pay-for-delete agreement with you, it is time for you to pay the creditor the amount that you agreed to. Make sure you hold on to proof of payment and all correspondence with UCB.
Follow Up
A few days after you have made your payment, check with UCB and make sure that they have updated your credit report to reflect that they have removed the collection account. You also want to check your reports to verify that the account has really been deleted. Suppose you want to let someone professionally handle negotiations with collection agencies on your behalf, touching base with credit repair companies such as CreditSage will be a sound decision—especially for arranging for negotiations plus step-by-step advice from the experts.
Consider Working with a Credit Repair Company
If you feel hopeless and end up failing at disputing, refer to credit repair companies like CreditSage. They deal with fixing errors on your credit report and take care of everything for you. They employ experts who know how to handle credit bureaus and collection agencies tactfully and effectively.
CreditSage can assist with:
- Disputing Errors: We handle dispute processes for inaccuracies appearing on your credit report; in the case of inaccuracies linked to United Collection Bureau, we handle them on your behalf.
- Negotiating with Creditors: Where necessary, we assist you in negotiating pay for delete arrangements or settlements to remove negative entries from your report.
- Ongoing Support: Even After the Dispute is Completed: You will receive continuous support throughout this process, so at least you could actually keep track of your credit rebuilding process and see an improvement in your credit health.
Employing a credit repair service takes the headache out of getting black entries off your credit report. At CreditSage, we are working round the clock on your credit to get issues like United Collection Bureau off your report.
Teaming Up with Professionals—CreditSage
You can have the United Collection Bureau removed from your report—whether you do it yourself through disputes, pay-for-delete agreements, or enlist the help of a credit repair company. The steps are outlined properly in this article, and you just need to put in the effort to begin the process. Take control of your credit today, and begin restoring your financial health.
If you are in the process of filing a dispute and need assistance in removing those collection accounts from your report, you may want to consider teaming up with CreditSage. We will take it from there and let you concentrate on how you can build an impeccable credit profile. Let us get you going down the road to greater financial freedom.