How to Get Rid of Delinquencies on a Credit Report

There are few options for removing delinquencies from a credit report. Delinquencies include negative credit information such as late payments, charge offs, settlements, collection accounts, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Federal laws allow major credit bureaus to report delinquencies for seven years. So-called credit repair agencies boast they can remove delinquencies in just a few months, but the Federal Trade Commission reports that's not legally or ethically possible for delinquencies that are current and accurate. The Fair Credit Reporting Act does allow for removal of wrong or outdated information. There are also some other legal methods for removing delinquencies.

Instructions

1

Get a copy of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com. The Federal Trade Commission points out that the website is the only site authorized to offer free credit reports under the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law. Visit the site to view and print your credit report from major credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

2

Read the credit report to identify delinquencies. Look for late payments of more than 30 days, and other delinquent information such as collection accounts. A collection account is an account that was closed by the creditor because of nonpayment and sold or assigned to a debt collector. Some creditors maintain their own internal debt collection departments.

3

Check the date of the most recent activity on each specific delinquency. Note if more than seven years has passed since the most recent activity.

4

Remove outdated delinquencies by contacting the respective credit bureaus to enter a dispute. Send a letter to the credit bureau at its address listed on the credit report, or follow instructions on the report to enter disputes by phone or online. Credit bureaus are required by law to respond to disputes within 30 days. They must remove outdated delinquencies.

5

Dispute and possibly remove other delinquencies that include wrong information. Federal law gives you the right to challenge any information on your report as inaccurate. The credit bureaus must confirm the information through an investigation, correct the errors or delete the information entirely. However, the credit bureau can allow the information to remain if it deems your disputes frivolous.

6

Contact creditors or debt collectors on collection accounts. Offer to pay the full amount due in exchange for the removal of the delinquencies from all of your credit reports. The tactic, which is legal, is called "pay for delete." Not all creditors or debt collectors participate in the agreements, however.

7

Call current creditors to ask for removal of 30-day late payment delinquencies. Some creditors may agree if you have been a long-time customer and you explain that the late payment was an oversight.