Collections on your report: medical, paid, and re-aged.

Collection accounts are some of the most disputed items, partly because they so often contain errors. A few categories deserve special attention.

Medical collections

Medical debt has extra protections, and reporting practices have changed in recent years. If insurance should have paid, the amount is wrong, or the same bill appears twice, those are accuracy problems worth raising. Keep your Explanation of Benefits and any insurance payment records.

Paid or settled collections

Paying a collection does not always update the report correctly. A paid or settled collection should not still show a balance or a past-due amount. If it does, the reporting—not the payment—is the problem.

Re-aged debt

The Date of First Delinquency controls the seven-year clock. When a debt is sold or transferred, that date sometimes appears to “restart,” making old debt look newer than it is. That is improper re-aging, and the date should reflect the original delinquency.

Bring the dates and documents into your portal and your consultant can pinpoint which angle fits each collection.