 TITLE: Can I Get a Paid Collection Removed From My Credit File? CONTENT: How to Improve Your Credit When You Have Collections\n----------------------------------------------------\nIf you have legitimate collection accounts on your credit reports, there's nothing you can do to get them removed before their expiration dates. But you can take steps immediately to start rebuilding your credit and reversing the damage those collections have done to your credit score:\n*   **Consider paying any unpaid collection accounts.** Lenders aren't fans of any collection entry on your credit reports, but they're likely to view collections with a \"paid\" status more positively than those left unpaid.\n*   **Pay your bills on time.** Lenders are very interested in how reliably you pay your bills. Because they consider past payment history a good predictor of future behavior, lenders view late and missed payments as red flags. And since payment history is the biggest factor in your credit scores, reliably paying bills can help you there as well.\n*   **Consider getting credit for timely utility and cellphone payments.** If you've been keeping current on your utility and cellphone payments, you might be able to improve your Experian credit scores by enrolling in a free program called Experian Boost™† . You provide Experian access to your utility and telecom payment history and confirm you want the accounts added to your Experian credit file, and your FICO® Score based on Experian data will update instantly.\n*   **Keep credit card balances relatively low.** Your credit utilization ratio—your current credit card debt compared with your total credit limit—is an important factor in credit score calculations. Lenders typically like to see utilization ratios under 30%, and people with the best credit scores often have credit utilization ratios in the low single digits.\n*   **Apply for and open new credit accounts only as needed.** Taking on unnecessary credit can harm your credit score in multiple ways, from causing too many hard inquiries on your credit report to tempting you to overspend and drive up your debt.\n*   **Avoid closing unused credit cards.** As long as they're not costing you money in fees, it's smart to keep unused credit cards open. That's because closing unused accounts when you have other accounts with outstanding balances increases your credit utilization ratio.\n*   **Dispute inaccuracies on your credit reports.** Check your credit reports at all three credit bureaus for any inaccuracies. Incorrect information, including paid collection accounts erroneously marked unpaid, can lower your credit scores. If you see errors on your credit reports, dispute the information and get it corrected right away.\nWhen it comes to accurate collection entries on your credit reports, there's nothing you can do to get rid of them except wait for their inevitable expiration date. So don't fret over past mistakes; instead, try to avoid future missteps, improve your credit habits and rebuild your credit in the process. END