Now, you should not panic.
Collection accounts are actually uncollected debts that are now being handled by a collection agency instead of your won creditor.
To verify this, you should first obtain a copy of your latest credit report.
This is possible easily online.
As soon as you have the report in front of you, check whether the collection account entry is actually correct.
If the entry shows an amount and a creditor that you have dealt with in the past, you should try to contact them at once to clarify this collection account.
If you are lucky, they would have your file archived in their database.
If not, you simply ask them which collection agency handles your account.
Speaking with the collection agency will not be as pleasant.
They will, of course demand payment in full.
You should try to explain to them that you are sorting out the records in case there were mistakes.
Promising to get back to them as soon as possible, you hang up the phone and make sense of your financial situation.
The best thing to do is look for old credit reports that could show the exact date the delinquency was reported before it was sold to the collection agency.
It is not unheard of that some collection agencies would reset the date to the time when they received or purchased the collection account.
If you have finally traced the original debt and found it to be fully paid, you must report to the credit bureau at once as well as contact the collection agency.
On the other hand, if the debt really does exist, then you should at least make sure that the date is correct.
Collection accounts stay for seven years in your credit report and you should not allow the date to be reset by the collection agency.
You should always keep your credit reports so that situations like this can be avoided in the future.
It is also important that you keep track of all your debts including that date you paid them and the amounts you paid.
Although it may sound like a lot of work, organizing your financial life and keeping track of all relevant documents, it will certainly pay off in the future.
Collection accounts are actually uncollected debts that are now being handled by a collection agency instead of your won creditor.
To verify this, you should first obtain a copy of your latest credit report.
This is possible easily online.
As soon as you have the report in front of you, check whether the collection account entry is actually correct.
If the entry shows an amount and a creditor that you have dealt with in the past, you should try to contact them at once to clarify this collection account.
If you are lucky, they would have your file archived in their database.
If not, you simply ask them which collection agency handles your account.
Speaking with the collection agency will not be as pleasant.
They will, of course demand payment in full.
You should try to explain to them that you are sorting out the records in case there were mistakes.
Promising to get back to them as soon as possible, you hang up the phone and make sense of your financial situation.
The best thing to do is look for old credit reports that could show the exact date the delinquency was reported before it was sold to the collection agency.
It is not unheard of that some collection agencies would reset the date to the time when they received or purchased the collection account.
If you have finally traced the original debt and found it to be fully paid, you must report to the credit bureau at once as well as contact the collection agency.
On the other hand, if the debt really does exist, then you should at least make sure that the date is correct.
Collection accounts stay for seven years in your credit report and you should not allow the date to be reset by the collection agency.
You should always keep your credit reports so that situations like this can be avoided in the future.
It is also important that you keep track of all your debts including that date you paid them and the amounts you paid.
Although it may sound like a lot of work, organizing your financial life and keeping track of all relevant documents, it will certainly pay off in the future.