Cavalry Portfolio Services is one of the largest debt collectors in the United States. If you received a phone call or letter from them, it’s important to act fast. They’ve likely already reported the collection they think they have on you to the credit bureaus and collections hurt credit scores significantly.
Fortunately, there are several ways to remove Cavalry Portfolio Services from your credit report. Keep reading to learn how.
Who Does Cavalry Portfolio Services Collect For?
Cavalry Portfolio Services collects for large banks like Chase and Bank of America, but they collect for almost any other creditors and vendors too.
Here’s how it works.
If you default on a debt and your creditor can’t collect on it any longer (usually 90 to 180 days), they will send your account to a collection agency. This means they sell the debt to Cavalry or another agency. Cavalry usually buys the debt for pennies on the dollar and tries to collect the full amount of the debt from you.
While it’s important to pay the debt you owe when you can, the collection shouldn’t sit on your credit report.
Here’s how to remove Cavalry Portfolio Services from your credit report.
Ask for Debt Validation
The easiest way is to ask Cavalry Portfolio Services to validate the debt. Do this in writing so you have proof of when you sent it. This trick only works within 30 days of Cavalry contacting you initially, so you must work fast.
In your letter, ask Cavalry to validate as many details as possible about the debt including:
- The name and address on the debt
- The account number
- The amount of the debt
- The date of the last payment
- The name of the original creditor
Any information you can think to ask for, do it. Cavalry must be able to provide proof for every question you ask. If they can’t, by law they must remove the tradeline from your credit report.
Dispute the Debt
If you miss your chance to validate the debt, you can still dispute it with the credit bureau. It’s kind of the same process, except you’re writing to the credit bureau reporting the debt. The credit bureau has 30 days to connect with Cavalry to determine the legitimacy of what you stated.
It’s important to know which credit bureau is reporting the debt. If you aren’t sure, pull your free credit reports here and see if it’s Trans Union, Equifax, or Experian reporting it. Sometimes only one bureau reports collections and sometimes all three report it.
Pay the Debt – Ask for a Pay-for-Delete
No matter the outcome above, you will have to pay the debt. Like we said earlier, though, Cavalry bought your debt for less than it’s worth. You can negotiate a settlement to satisfy the debt.
This may take some back and forth. Cavalry typically doesn’t take the first offer consumers send. You can negotiate the settlement over the phone, but once you agree, make sure you get it in writing. We suggest bidding low, knowing that Cavalry will counteroffer.
Now, if you were unsuccessful in removing Cavalry from your credit report up to this point, include a pay-for-delete agreement in your negotiations. This means once you pay the agreed-upon amount, Cavalry agrees to delete the debt from your credit report.
This is what’s most important. If they don’t delete it, but you pay the debt, the collection stays on your credit report for 7 years. That’s 7 years of creditors seeing that you had an account that went to collections. If it’s a credit card debt or another bank loan, it looks especially bad and could make it difficult to secure credit in the future.
Have a Professional Remove the Collection
Lastly, if you’re the type of person who would rather have a professional handle it and just be done with the whole thing, I suggest you check out Lexington Law Credit Repair. They’ll take care of you, and honestly they usually get negative items removed quicker than if you try to do it yourself. Give them a call at 1-844-331-6062 or Check out our review of their service.