text: what is the fastest way to remove a collection from equifax credit report? im in the process of getting a mortgage and all of a sudden this(collections) pops up on my equifax credit file.  i know it will hurt my score already.  i need to know the best way to go about getting it removed.  i heard even if you pay it off it will remain as a negative. any good advice? let me warn you of something.  if you were to pay off this bill, and if the creditor notifies the credit bureau, your account is changed to "paid".  however, it will still show that you had late payments, or that the account was in collections.  this is still a negative item on your report, and it will still hurt your score.  does it make sense to pay off your bill and still have bad credit?  the problem is that the only way you can get a negative item removed is for the creditor to tell them to remove it.  there is no other way (except to go through the dispute process and hope the creditor does not respond to the investigation).   what i advise people to do is negotiate with the creditor.  tell them that in exchange for paying off the bill, they must agree in writing to remove all negative information from your credit report.    see the link below for more info.