Can I dispute an negative item that is marked "paid, closed" on my credit report?

Credit Dispute I viewed my credit report online and there is a negative item listed. My question is ..Can I dispute an negative item that is marked paid, closed on my credit report? Did I make the mistake of not disputing it first before paying the collection agency? Is there a small chance by any reason that I could get the item removed from my credit report by disputing it at this point?

Public Comments

1. I'm no expert but I know disputes are mainly for items that ARE NOT true. From what you said, it IS true that you paid it off and closed it. Like you, I thought for a long time that paying the card off completely then closing it was the right thing to do. That was always my goal. Today, I now know that closing the card is the wrong thing to do. Paying them off is great but don't close them. If you think they'll be too much of a temptation to use, then simply put them all in a place you don't access regularly, like a kitchen drawer or something but not in your wallet! The reason it's a negative is because when you close that account, it lowers the amount of credit showing you have available to you. For instance, it's always better for credit companies to see you have $10,000 available to you that you may not be using but it's available rather than say $2,000. So, lesson learned: when you pay off balances don't close the card. in fact, the best way to make credit work for you is to charge just like $20 on that card once a month so you can pay it off every month. That way,the card company is still reporting that you paid on time.
2. If this item was not yours, you should have disputed it with the credit bureau. Since you paid it, it sounds like you believed it was your debt. You will just have to wait out the reporting period for the item to drop off (7-1/2 years from the date of first deficiency).
3. What's there to dispute? You can only dispute items that aren't correct or don't belong to you. It sounds like you just want this removed but it sounds accurate to me, you had a collection it was paid and closed. The only way you could dispute it was if it was never in collections or still showed a balance. They won't remove it.
4. If the information is valid there is no legal requirement that it must be removed. The only requirement by the FCRA is that what is being reported is correct. Which in your case it sounds as if this is a valid listing. Now, this does not mean that you can not dispute the item. Sometimes a Collection Agency will not validate a debt that is paid. So if you send in a dispute and they do not respond to the CRA(TransUnion, Experian, Equifax) then the CRA will remove it. I am not saying that this will work in your case with the debt you paid. However, it is something you can try. The worst that would happen is that the Collection Agency responds and the item remains. The good news on this that even if it does remain, over time it will have less and less of an effect on your credit report and score.
5. If it's inaccurate, it can be disputed. If it's accurate but unflattering, it stays.
6. BDancer is incorrect (part of me wonders if she is a collection agent) because, as OC said, you CAN dispute ANY listing on your report. Also, the reporting period is only 7 years, not 7.5. You have a couple steps you can take as well as disputing the listing with the credit bureaus, like OC like mentioned. - You can send a demand to validate letter to the collection agency. Usually they will just delete the listing and not bother. - You can send a "goodwill letter" to the collection agency asking them to remove the listing.