Have you been receiving calls from EOS CCA? This means you have a collection with them, aka a defaulted bill that a creditor charged off. EOS CCA probably also reported your collection to the credit bureaus, which means future lenders will see you defaulted on your debt.
It’s important to know how to remove EOS CCA from your credit report or it could make your financial life harder for the next 7 years.
It’s not as hard as it sounds. Use these simple steps to remove it.
Validate the Debt
Before you do anything with EOS CCA, ask them to validate the debt. This ensures the debt is yours (accidents happen) and that EOS CCA may legally collect on your debt. They are a legitimate company, but this step can get the tradeline removed from your credit report if it’s not legit, for example, if it’s not your debt or it was reported in error.
Here’s how.
Write a letter asking for validation. State you want proof they may collect on the debt. This includes the right to operate in your state.
Also, ask these questions:
- Who is the creditor?
- How much is the debt?
- When was your last payment made?
- When did they charge it off?
Ask as many questions as you can. If EOS CCA can’t validate the debt, you can dispute it with the credit bureau (details below) and the credit bureau will remove it from your credit report.
Dispute the Debt
If EOS CCA validates the debt, you can still dispute it with the credit bureau. If they can’t validate it, though, you have simple grounds to dispute it.
Here’s how.
Write a letter to the credit bureau reporting the debt. Check your credit reports for free, pulling all three to see which reports have it. If more than one reports it, write a separate letter to each.
In the letter dispute, any incorrect information reported, such as a misspelled name, wrong account number, wrong balance, or incorrect payment details. Any detail (no matter how small) that isn’t right should be disputed.
The credit bureau has 30 days to review and respond to the dispute. If EOS CCA and/or the credit bureau can’t prove otherwise, they must remove the debt from the credit report.
Arrange a Pay-for-Delete
Finally, you’ll have to pay the debt even if you get it removed from your credit report (if it’s legit). If the above methods didn’t work, negotiate with EOS CCA, asking for a pay-for-delete.
This simply means you agree to pay the debt (a negotiated amount), in exchange for EOS CCA deleting it from your credit report.
Before you negotiate, think about how much you can afford to pay. Remember, EOS CCA bought the debt for pennies on the dollar, so there’s room for negotiation. They will likely counter your offer, so offer a amount lower than what you can pay so they don’t counter with an amount you can’t afford.
In your negotiations ask for a pay-for-delete. This means you want them to agree to delete the collection from your credit report after you pay the balance in full. Get the agreement in writing so they have to follow through. If they don’t, you can follow the steps above to dispute the debt with the credit bureau.
Work on your Credit
Once you work out a plan with EOS CCA, it’s time to work on your credit. Having a collection on your report hurts your credit score considerably, but credit scores change every month and with good credit habits, you can increase your credit score.
At the least, try:
- Paying your bills on time
- Don’t charge more than 30% of your credit line
- Don’t open new credit unless it’s necessary
- Avoid any new collections
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.