go to they have the correct form to send to dispute. they will also show you step by step how to get negative marks deleted. I tried them and within 30 days negative marks were deleted off my file and it’s only $15.00. This is way better than spending money on a high price credit repair agency.

If you have not made any payments since 1999, those debts should fall off of your credit reports soon. Both the original creditor and the collection agencys cannot report longer than allowed, which is 7 years for credit cards. The collection agencys “must” go by the original default date that you had with the original creditor.

As far as the collection agencys and actual collecting, that would depend on your states statute of limitations (SOL).
If it has been since 1999, depending on your states statutes, you may be out of SOL for them to legally collect. If you are past the SOL for your state, the collection agencys can continue to try to collect but they cannot legally sue you. If you are out of SOL, all the collection agencys can legally do is just pester you. But, there are ways to handle that too.

You need to find the SOL for your state.

After you find out if you are out of SOL or still in it and you still want to pay, you need to first send them a debt validation letter. It’s not uncommon for collectors to bump up the amount of the debt and even try to collect on a debt that they may have once owned but had sold.

After you have received validation and you know you are out of SOL, you have every legal right to send them a SOL letter that basically tells them they are out of luck and to go away.

If you still want to pay, be sure to send a pay for delete letter.
Request in that letter to pay a percentage of the debt. (if it has been this long, more than likely a junk debt buyer has it and probably paid less than $20 for it)
Request in the letter that they will delete anything they have placed on your reports.
Request that they will not continue to collect the debt or the remaining portion if you have an agreement to pay less.
Request that they will not sell the debt or the remaining portion after payment.

Do everything in writing and send it certified mail return receipt.

If you have nothing in writing concerning what I listed for the pay for delete letter, you may find that they will either continue to try to collect, sell the debt and another collector will start sending letters (even though you had paid it) And they will mark your reports as paid negatives.

You might go to the “free” site I’ve listed. Do some reading in the newbie forum and the credit forum. You will be able to find links to your states SOL and also learn how to write the letters I’ve mentioned.

Just pay your collections off as soon as possible. Definitely call and set up a payment plan so that the collection agency doesn’t add more interest to it. Some collection agencies will remove the account once you pay them the full amount if you request, while others like to be jerks and refuse to remove it. Even if they don’t remove it, if you pay the accounts, it will be reported as paid on your credit report. This shows lenders that you made some mistakes, but are now turning your life around in regards to financial responsibilty. Apply for a small card for bad credit( a good company is First Premier). You will have to pay outrageous fees, but if you make your payment on time each month ,you will be able to prove your ability to pay and raise your credit score in return.

you can’t fix old stuff. you can only change it by adding good new stuff & not adding bad new stuff.

by paying off the balances, the collection firms will stop reporting the debts to the credit bureaus (& stop hurting your credit). THen, over time, the existing bad stuff will fall off- but only over time. After a while, creditors will begin taking chances on you. As long as you pay according to your agreements, they will add new good stuff (which will help your credit.