Credit Disputes and Credit Repair - are these same?

Most likely disputing these negative entries won't help. Because you recently were discussing with the CA the debt (and arrived at a settlement), they will be able to validate the entry when the CRU contacts them. This evidenced by the fact they updated it after your talked to them.

It is important to remember that verifiable negative information remains on your credit report for 7 years from date of last activity (i.e payment). In some states the act of discussing the debt will re-start the clock for the Statute of Limitations, you would need to find out if that would be the case in your state.

It is also important to remember that disputing an entry will not necessarily remove a negative mark from your credit report. A negative report is only deleated after a dispute if the company making the report can not validate the entry. Even then, if they are able later to validate the entry, the entry can be returned. A great source of information on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the FTC's FCRA home page which can be found at https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/fair-credit-reporting-act

Thank you for your helpful insight. The items going off in the next 2-3 years were a small (under $100) medical bill that went into collections, or small (under $300) credit cards that went the same way. I DID pay these off just after they went to collections, and I paid in FULL! In fact one was a card that originally belonged to hubby, but since I needed to talk to the credit card companies about payments, my name needed to be added to discuss the bills. Since these are paid in full, and 4-5 years old, would it be risky to dispute it?
P.S. The $600 disputed item talked about earlier was settled, and not PIF.
I know I sound like a broken record, but I am trying to do anything to raise my credit score up (even a little) to get a house!

Hi there,

Since these accounts are paid already, there really isn't any way to have them removed from the report since they were validated and paid. The only thing you can do is wait for them to come off at the 7 year mark. A loan company will see that you have done your best to pay the collection accounts and that will help you. Your score has probably already been raised a bit just from paying them. I will send you a PM for a bit more information.

~Mary

I understand that few negative marks are there in your report and hurting your credit. However a good credit habit can lift your score high. You are going to buy home next year, right? You can follow these steps mentioned by Roxette, Hope it will help you at this stage-

http://forums.debtcc.com/forums/credit-check.html