If you’ve found Nationwide Recovery Service on your credit report or you’ve received phone calls from them, you must act fast.
Nationwide Recovery Service is a debt collection agency. They collect on debts in a variety of industries including medical, utilities, and credit cards. If Nationwide calls you, they likely reported the debt to the credit bureaus which hurts your credit score and your chances of securing future credit.
Collections sit on your credit report for 7 years, which is another reason it’s important to act fast, taking steps to remove Nationwide Recovery Service from your credit report.
Here’s how.
Determine if you Can Validate the Debt
Your first step should be to determine if you can validate the debt. Validating means you ask Nationwide to prove you owe the debt. Here’s the kicker.
You have 30 days from the date they first contact you to do this. If you miss this window, move onto the next step (disputing the debt). If you catch it within the first 30 days, though, write to Nationwide Recovery Service and ask for details about the debt.
Here’s what you can ask:
- What’s the name on the account?
- What’s the account number?
- When was the last payment made?
- What date did the account default?
- When did Nationwide take over the debt?
- Does Nationwide have the right to collect in your state?
Nationwide must provide proof of all the answers they provide. If they can’t prove the answers, they must remove the debt from your credit report. This doesn’t mean you don’t owe the debt, you still might, but they can’t keep the tradeline on your credit report.
Dispute the Debt if Necessary
If you can’t prove the debt isn’t valid or you miss your window, you can use the same process, but with the credit bureaus.
To do this, you must know which credit bureaus reported the debt. If you aren’t sure, pull your free credit reports here.
Once you see which bureaus reported the collection, write a dispute letter to them, sending it in the mail. In your letter, describe why you’re disputing the debt. Some common reasons include:
- The debt doesn’t belong to you
- You paid the debt
- Your name, account number, or account balance are incorrect
- The creditor is incorrect
Any information you claim is inaccurate or unfair and that the credit bureau can’t prove otherwise, must be removed from your credit report.
Make a Payment Arrangement
Even if you get Nationwide Recovery Service removed from your credit report, you still owe the debt (in most cases). You’ll need to create a payment arrangement or at least a settlement amount with them if this is the case.
But, if you could not remove Nationwide from your credit report using the above steps, you can include a pay for delete arrangement in your settlement when working with Nationwide.
Here’s how it works.
First, decide how much you can afford to pay. Since the debt went to collections, you likely can’t pay the full balance and you may not have to. Nationwide bought the debt for less than it’s worth so you have room to negotiate.
Once you have an amount in mind, negotiate with Nationwide, but start your offer at an amount lower than you can afford. They will likely counteroffer your suggestion, so don’t go in at the full amount.
If you were unsuccessful at removing Nationwide Recovery Services from your credit report in the earlier steps, include a condition that Nationwide removes their tradeline from your credit report after you pay the debt.
This means they erase the collection, making it as if it never existed. If they didn’t and they reported it ‘paid as agreed’ the collection would sit on your credit report for 7 years. While it may not hurt your credit score for that long, it will make future lenders unsure about lending to you, since they know you have debts that went to a collection agency.
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.