How Long Are Collections On Your Credit Report?

Defaulting on debt obligations will compel your original creditor sometimes to sell your debt to a debt collector. The three central credit bureaus also receive adverse information after your debt is in the collection.

After some time, they must remove the collection amount from your report. If you want to remove the collection earlier or believe it is an error, there are many ways to find remove it from your credit report.

This article focuses on helping you through the steps to take before removing collection accounts from your credit report.

How to Get Collections of Your Credit Report?

Research And Check All Credit Reports

To receive information on your collection account, review all your credit reports. Annualcreditreport.com can help you achieve your goal and provide a free report copy annually. However, the coronavirus pandemic also has its benefits because it allows you to check all your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus free of charge until April 20, 2022.

Any collections paid or unpaid will be listed in your credit report, including the balances you owe. In addition, the due dates of the accounts delinquency will also be recorded. If you are unaware of the original creditor or if it is not listed on your report, you can request the collection agency to provide the information.

After receiving the report, compare the collection details listed against the records in your possession. If you don’t have any documents, view your payment history with the original creditor by logging into the account listed.

Ascertain The Accounts Legitimacy

When reviewing the collection listed against your name, ensure the debt belongs to you. If it doesn’t, or you made payments on time, dispute the error to remove it from the collection on your report.

Choose An Action Plan

Below are three action plans you can try to remove collections listed on your report.

  1. Dispute Incorrect or Incomplete Collection Accounts: If you notice incorrect or incomplete collection figures on your credit report, you have the power to dispute the information directly with the credit bureaus or the creditor. The fair credit reporting act provides you the freedom to do so. You can argue the collection using dispute forms on the credit bureau’s website. However, if you find it challenging, you can utilize the services of a debt collection attorney near you for help.
  2. After disputing the collection, the credit reporting agency has a month to investigate your claim. If they determine your information is incorrect, they take the collection amount from your report. However, if the reverse is true, the collection amount remains on your account for up to seven years.
  3. Request for Goodwill Deletions: If you find a paid collection on your report, you can merely ask the debt collector or original creditor to remove the collection. The request generally entails sending the debt collector or collection agency a goodwill deletion letter detailing your mistake, asking for forgiveness, and showing improvements in your payment history.
  4. A goodwill deletion letter does not guarantee the removal of the collection for your credit report. However, if the collector removes the account, it helps you qualify for better terms on credit cards, mortgages, and personal loans.
  5. Wait for the Debt to Fall off: If the legitimacy of the debt is undisputed and you can’t convince the debt collector to remove it from your report, the only alternative available is to hire the services of a business lawyer attorney in Tulsa or to wait until the debt falls off. After seven years of its delinquency, the collection amount should fall off your report. Unfortunately, the collection remains on your account and impacts your overall credit score. However, its impact lessens as time passes.

Paid or unpaid collections legally remain on your credit report for seven years after they initially became delinquent. Collection reports can cause severe damage to your credit score. However, how much it impacts depends on the credit scoring model you use for the calculation and whether the account is paid or unpaid.

If you are confused with how credit scoring models work or are unaware of how to proceed to remove the collections from your report, Aaron Bruner law can provide you expert guidance to overcome the challenges confronted and get your credit report back on track.

How Do Company Acquisitions Work? What does a Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyer do?

If you are starting a business, an acquisition could begin something exciting for your business. Your business is doing well and has gained enough traction to attract someone bigger and more successful. On the other hand, companies choose to pursue a merger or acquisition to achieve economies of scale, transfer resources, diversify, or sell a service or product to an existing customer.

For whatever reasons you choose to undergo the process of mergers and acquisitions, you will need a business acquisition to help you get through the process.

The potential benefit of combining two business entities is usually greater than the sum of the individual businesses. That’s why you will need to be careful and get your facts straight not to get carried away in the potential financial benefit.

Read along to understand more about business acquisition law and the working procedure.

The Working Procedure When a Company Acquires Another One

The mergers and acquisition deal process can be challenging if you don’t know the technicalities. The business and law jargon can easily throw you off, and you might find yourself getting the short end of the stick.

Here’s the 10-step working procedure:

  • Develop the Acquisition Strategy

Developing an acquisition strategy needs careful thinking to avoid unnecessary business acquisition that doesn’t meet your goals. So, you need to be clear about what your business is about, what you stand to gain, and the purpose of acquiring the target company.

  • Set the Merger and Acquisitions Search Criteria

The next step is determining the method to sift the various businesses to land the one that will meet your needs. So, you will need to keep some key issues in mind, such as management, location, treasury, elimination of competition, etc.

  • Look for Potential Acquisition Targets

At this stage, you will use the search criteria that you have developed to seek out the business or businesses that fit the bill.

  • Commence Acquisition Planning

Now you can contact the companies that meet your search criteria. You can check if they appear to offer good value. A conversation with the target company is necessary since it will help you get more information and see if the company is worth it.

  • Perform Valuation Analysis

If the initial conversation goes as planned, the acquirer will ask the target company to provide the necessary information, such as financials. The information is vital since it will help you evaluate the business as a suitable acquisition target and as a business on its own.

  • Negotiations

After you have made the valuation models and are happy with the prospects, you can come up with a good offer. Once the initial offer is on the table, the two businesses can negotiate.

  • Due Diligence

Due diligence is a process that begins when the offer has been accepted. It is an exhaustive process that aims to confirm or correct the target company’s value assessment. It involves checking every aspect of the company’s operations.

  • Purchase and Sale Contract

If you complete the due diligence process without any major issues, you can proceed to the next step. The companies will decide on the purchase agreement, whether it will be a share purchase or an asset purchase.

  • Financing Strategy

Before beginning the acquisition process, you must have figured out or explored where the financing will come from. However, the financing details will come together after signing the purchase and sale agreement.

  • Closing and Integration

This is the end of the deal and the beginning of a new chapter. So, the management teams will work together on the process of merging the two firms.

The Responsibility of a Business Acquisition Lawyer in the Merger and Acquisition Process

Mergers and acquisitions are complex, so the process needs to be done over months and even years to ensure that it is done properly. So, you will need the services of our business acquisition lawyer in Tulsa, who plays the following roles:

  • Adviser
  • Mediators
  • Negotiator
  • Drafter
If you need to have a smooth process, you can contact us at Aaron Bruner Law, and we would love to help you.
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