No business is perfect. We’ve all had times where we were either unable to make a payment or unable to make it on time. Having a collection on your credit report can really hurt your credit score and negatively impact your credit history, especially if the item was made in error. Even though the blemish will becomes less significant over time and eventually gone after seven years, it can greatly hurt your chances of obtaining financing, which in turn can really impair the future of your business. Fortunately, there are some techniques available for removing these from your credit history.

There are many online credit services that can provide you with your business’s credit report, such as Equifax, Experian, Transunion, etc. Check every little detail on the report including account numbers, balances, statuses, limits, etc. Be sure that any blemishes that appear on the report are correct and not erroneously reported.

If the item on your credit history is incorrect, tell the credit reporting company what information is incorrect and provide supporting documents defending your position. Your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or corrected. Credit reporting agencies usually investigate the dispute within 30 days before forwarding the information to the original creditor. The original creditor must provide documentation supporting their claim, or the item will be removed from your credit report.

Some creditors are willing to overlook a missed or late payment in exchange for something that may benefit their business or prevent another missed payment from occurring. Recently some creditors have offered automatic payments to prevent debtors from missing future payments. Both parties win since the debtor has the item removed from their credit history, while the creditor gains the benefit of never having a missed payment.

A goodwill adjustment is a letter you send to a creditor to have them remove or stop reporting negative information on your credit report. A majority of the time, a creditor will be happy to remove an item if you are in good standing and have shown a recent history of on-time payments. Simply, state which account you need updated, mention your good payment history, describe what caused you to miss those payments, and ask that your credit report be updated as a courtesy.

Some creditors will not just accept a letter of goodwill, but will be more receptive to your cries for a small fee. Send the collector a letter stating your interest in paying the account and offer to make payment if the collector agrees to remove the entry from your credit report. Just make sure to have this done in writing before sending payment.