Have you reviewed your credit report recently only to find Palisades Collection LLC on it? Do you wonder who they are and why they’re on your credit report?
It’s not uncommon to find Palisades Collection LLC (also known as ASTA Funding) on a credit report as they are a large medical bill collector. If you have one or more medical bills you overlooked or didn’t pay, your medical provider may have sold the debt to Palisades Collection.
If this happened, it’s important to get to the bottom of the situation and remove Palisades Collection LLC from your credit report.
Find out Why Palisades Collection LLC is on your Credit Report
Your first step is to discover why Palisades Collection is on your credit report. Do this by validating the debt. Write a letter to Palisades Collection asking for details about the account.
Ask:
- Who is the provider?
- What are the charges for?
- How much are the charges?
- What were the dates of service?
- When was your last payment?
Mail your letter via certified mail to:
Palisades Collection LLC
210 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632
Palisades Collection has 30 days to respond to your debt validation request. If they validate it, take the steps below. If they don’t validate it, dispute the debt with the credit bureaus reporting the debt, showing that you asked for debt validation and they never responded or couldn’t validate the debt.
Create a Pay-for-Delete Agreement
If you owe the debt, you’re going to have to pay it, but the good news is, you may not have to pay the full amount.
When a medical provider sells your debt to a collection agency like Palisades Collection, they do so for pennies on the dollar. This leaves you room for negotiation. If you don’t have the full amount to pay, but can pay a lesser amount, you can negotiate with Palisades Collection.
In your negotiations, you’ll focus on the dollar amount, only offering what you can afford. But you’ll also ask for a pay-for-delete agreement. This means you agree to pay the specified amount and Palisades Collection agrees to delete the account from your credit report.
This is a common way to remove Palisades Collection LLC/ASTA Funding from your credit report, but get the agreement in writing. If you don’t, nothing is holding them to the agreement.
Dispute the Debt with the Credit Bureaus
If you review the Palisades Collection debt on your credit report only to find errors or unfair information reported, you may dispute it.
A credit dispute isn’t as overwhelming as it sounds. You simply write a letter to the credit bureau reporting the information (write to each individually), disputing the information. In your letter include as much information as possible regarding the dispute.
If you have proof of why you say the information is incorrect or unfair, include it in your letter. In the letter, request that they remove the debt from your credit report.
Like debt validation, the credit bureau and Palisades Collection has 30 days to respond to the request. If Palisades Collection can’t prove otherwise within that time, the credit bureau must remove it from your credit report.
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.
Bottom Line
Don’t let a Palisades Collection debt on your credit report ruin your credit history. If they are on your credit report, it’s easy to remove them if you do the legwork.
You have 30 days from the first day they contact you to ask for debt validation. Don’t wait. If you miss the 30-day window, you’ll have to stick to disputing the debt or asking for a pay-for-delete agreement.
No matter what you decide, get everything in writing and always follow up. If Palisades Collection doesn’t follow through on their promise, submit the proof to the credit bureau so Palisades Collection follows through or the credit bureau acts on your behalf.