removing OLD collections

[Simon]

when i was younger i was careless and ruined my credit, i had collections from everybody. I got used to not having good credit and have done okay without it, but now i want to start building credit. the collections on my credit report are very old--the youngest is probably around 8 years. They are all past the statute of limitations but they are still on my report. what should i do to have them removed (if thats possible)?

[Mangie]

Hi Simon,

If you have collections that are over 7 years old they should not be on you credit report. You will want to send out dispute letters to the credit bureaus asking that they invesitage the accounts that are in question, you will want to dispute the fact that they are past the federal statute of limitations and ask that they be removed. If the result is not satisfactory, I would then dispute with the collection agency by sending them a debt validation letter.

[goraiders]

Mangie,

I got myself confused. A debt validation letter goes to collection companies right? It's never going to go to the original creditor?

I think I know the answer but for some reason it's just getting all jumbled in my head.