Sample letter to collection agency to remove from credit report

This content is slightly modified from Carreon and Associates. See Chapter Three for information about medical debt.

Request to Validate Medical Debt

[Your name]

[Your address]

[Address of collection agency]

[Date]

Amount of debt: [ ]

Date of Service: [ ]

Provider of Service: [ ]

Dear collection agent,

I received a bill from you on [date] and as allowed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), I am requesting that you allow me to validate the alleged debt. I am aware that there is a debt from [name of hospital/doctor], but I am unaware of the amount due and your bill does not include a breakdown of any fees.

Additionally, I am allowed under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to protect my privacy and medical records from third parties. I do not recall giving permission to [name of provider] for them to release my medical information to a third party. I am aware that the HIPAA does allow for limited information about me but anything more is to only be revealed with the patient’s authorization. Therefore my request is twofold—validation of debt and HIPAA authorization.

• Please provide breakdown of fees including any collection costs and medical charges.
• Provide a copy of my signature with the provider of service to release my medical information to you.
• Cease any credit bureau reporting until the debt has been validated by me.

Please send this information to my address listed above and accept this letter, sent certified mail, as my formal debt validation request, which I am allowed under the FDCPA. Please note that withholding the information you received from any medical provider in an attempt to be HIPAA compliant can be a violation of the FDCPA because you will be deceiving me after my written request. I request full documentation of what you received from the provider of service in connection with this alleged debt.

Additionally, any reporting of this debt to the credit bureaus prior to allowing me to validate it may be a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which can allow me to seek damages from a collection agent. I will await your reply with above requested proof. Upon receiving it, I will correspond back by certified mail.

Sincerely,

[Your Signature]

[Your Printed Name]

Certified mail No: [ ]

Are you tired of searching for free sample Pay-For-Delete letters only to end up reading a bunch of nonsense and not getting what you were after?  I was too! 

After much testing, we have written a sample letter that you can use to get started. 

A Pay-for-Delete letter is not guaranteed to work every time, but it does work quite often, and it’s free. If you succeed you can do your credit score a substantial favor. 

Free Pay For Delete Template

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If you write one that succeeds, please email it to us. We’d love to hear what worked for you!

⚠️ Please Read Before Using This Template!

This template must be customized to fit your circumstances. You will see instructions for the information that you will need to insert. These instructions are indicated by ____ text.

Be sure that you fill in all required information and delete the ____ text before you send the letter.

Your letter will be less effective if our instructions are still visible!

Why You Need An Agreement

Having a collection on your credit report is a credit score killer, but you may get it removed with a successful Pay-for-Delete letter. You offer to pay a settlement if the collection agency agrees to delete the negative collection record from your credit records. 

What Is A Pay for Delete Letter?

It’s exactly what it sounds like. You offer to settle a debt. If the collection company agrees to what you proposed in your letter, then they will delete the negative collection record from your credit report upon receiving payment. 

👉 A Pay-For-Delete letter is sent to a creditor or collection company that you owe money to and has filed a negative record against your credit. 

You must use specific language when making an offer on an open collection account because the letter could be used against you in a lawsuit. If the collection company accepts your offer, be sure to get an agreement in writing or email. Once you have paid the agreed-upon amount, the collection company will then delete the negative collection records.

Strategies To Include

In most cases when a pay to delete letter is appropriate it involves an outstanding debt that is in collections. 

The company attempting to collect this debt will usually have legal remedies available such as a civil lawsuit. 

So if you send them a letter admitting that you owe the debt they could use that as evidence in a lawsuit against you. 

As you write a letter keep in mind that you must choose your words carefully. 

Because if you don’t, the following things could happen…

1. You could mistakenly ratify the amount claimed
2. You could extend the legal statute of limitations
3. You could extend the amount of time the collection could be on your credit report
4. You could inadvertently open yourself up to a lawsuit

If you’re not sure how to do it, you can speak with one of our top rated credit repair companies about preparing a letter for you. The credit repair business has earned a bad reputation and scams are rampant, but there are some reputable companies and we’ve identified several for you.

Are Pay For Delete Letters Illegal Or Unethical? 

Some people have a problem with these arrangements because they say it is unethical to deny a debt that was yours. 

If you are still dealing with the original creditor you may feel obligated to pay the full amount of your debt. If you are dealing with a collection agency the party you owe is no longer in the picture. The collection agency bought the debt for an average of 4 cents for every dollar.

They can settle with you for much less than you owe and still make a tidy profit.

There is a more serious question. Credit bureaus are legally obligated to provide an accurate report of your credit history. Deleting a collection account could interfere with a subsequent creditor’s ability to evaluate your credit record.

For that reason, credit bureaus frown on pay-for-delete agreements. Some collectors won’t offer them because they are afraid of repercussions from the credit bureaus.

Collection Companies Addresses

Portfolio Recovery

4330 La Jolla Village Dr, San Diego, CA 92122

Portfolio Recovery Associates

4330 La Jolla Village Dr, San Diego, CA 92122

Enhanced Recovery Company

8014 Bayberry Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Diversified Consultants

10550 Deerwood Park Blvd #309, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Jefferson Capital Systems

16 McLeland Rd, St Cloud, MN 56303

IC Systems

444 Hwy 96 E, St Paul, MN 55127

Stellar Recovery

4500 Salisbury Rd, Ste 105, Jacksonville, FL 32216

Phoenix Financial Services

PO Box 361450, Indianapolis, IN 46236

Convergent Outsourcing  

PO Box 9004, Renton, WA 98057-9004

National Credit Systems

P.O. Box 312125, Atlanta, GA 31131

Hunter Warfield

4620 Woodland Corporate Blvd, Tampa, FL 33614

Cavalry Portfolio Services

4050 E Cotton Center Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85040

Pinnacle Credit Services

7900 MN-7, St Louis Park, MN 55426

Ad Astra Recovery Services

7330 W 33rd St, Wichita, KS 67205

GLA Collections

2630 Gleeson Ln, Louisville, KY 40299

Capital One

P.O. Box 30279, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0279

Midland Funding

350 Camino De La Reina, San Diego, CA 92108

IQ Data International

P.O. Box 340, Bothell, WA 98041-0340

The Thomas Agency

PO Box 6759, Portland, ME 04103

Southwest Credit Systems

4120 International Pkwy #1100, Carrollton, TX 75007

Caine And Weiner

5805 Sepulveda Blvd 4th floor, Sherman Oaks, CA 91411

EOS CCA

700 Longwater Dr, Norwell, MA 02061

What To Do If Your Settlement Letter Does Not Work

If your pay for delete letter does not work you should offer a settlement even without a pay for delete agreement. The account will still be on your credit record, but once it’s paid its impact on your credit score will diminish.

More important, you’ll get the debt collector off your back, resolve the account, and make sure you won’t face a lawsuit. Remember that collection agencies pay an average of 4 cents for every dollar of debt they buy. They can afford to settle for much less than you owe and still earn a profit. Start low, negotiate up, and make the best deal you can!

🔎 Additional Credit Repair Resources

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