Delray Beach, FL asked in Collections and Consumer Law for Florida

Q: How do I get medical collections bill off credit report?

had a medical bill of $3,200 back in December 2015. Set up a payment plan as I was unable to pay it in full. Paid 2 payments (on time) and it was never deducted off of the total (never marked as received although the $400 was taken out of my bank account and I have proof) and it ended up going to collections. I just got my credit report and saw that is affecting it greatly. How do I get this off of my credit report?

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3 Lawyer Answers
Andy Wayne Williamson
Andy Wayne Williamson
Answered
  • MIramar Beach, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: From you post, you state you owed $3,200.00 agreed to make payments and made only two payments and then apparently failed to pay and went to collections. Unless there is more details, your credit report correctly reflects that you owe the debt. If you are wanting the credit report to show that you owe $400.00 less than the original $3,200.00 honestly such a change will not help your credit. Also, a credit report is a history of your credit. Both good and bad events go on their. so to my knowledge you cannot get an event removed, the best you could hope for is a change from having a debt to it showing that you paid it. Your credit history would still show that you once owed the money.

Hope this helps and good luck,

Barry W. Kaufman
Barry W. Kaufman
Answered
  • Consumer Law Lawyer
  • Jacksonville, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: The short answer is: you don't. If you can show the credit reporting agency that the entry is factually incorrect, the agency is obligated to correct the error, if you report the error to the bureaus within a certain time after you become aware of the error.. But the fact that the bill went to collection is not an error - you admitted that you couldn't pay it and the bill went to collections. The credit reporting agency cannot remove factual entries because an entry is negative. If the error is the difference between $3200 and $2800 as being owed on the credit report, I'm not sure that small of a difference is actually making much difference to your credit score.

James  Turner
James Turner
Answered
  • Consumer Law Lawyer
  • Orlando, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: You must write letters and to the Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA) and dispute the debt. They are required by law to contact the furnisher of the information and investigate you dispute. If it it not corrected, you can bring an action against the furnisher and the CRA's.

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