5 Ways to Deal with Medical Bills on Your Credit Report

A serious injury or illness can disrupt your life and take a toll on your finances. Medical bills left unpaid may affect your credit score, which can suffer for many years. Before you call professional credit repair in Dallas, you can try doing some things to deal with the medical bills on your credit.

 

For example, if the bills end up in collections because of an error and they are negatively affecting your credit score, you may be able to remove them. Also, if a bill is not older than 180 days or your insurance paid it, you can dispute that with the credit bureau.

 

There’s no guarantee that the bureau will remove the error from your report, but it’s a good idea to try anyway because a poor credit score will make it more difficult for you to borrow money. Here are some tips to help you succeed in saving your credit:

 

1. Get enough evidence – Gather as much documentation as possible to prove that the bill has already been paid. Get payment records from your physician’s office, acquire copies of canceled checks, or find your credit card statements.

 

2. File the dispute – Check credit reports from all three credit bureaus to determine which of them are reporting the error.

 

3. Follow-up – Credit bureaus are required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act to follow up on every credit reporting error dispute. So, stay in touch with them to check on your dispute’s status and be ready to provide additional documentation when necessary.

 

4. Remain consistent with your other credit habits – If your insurance won’t or did not pay this could damage your credit score. However, it depends on the scoring model and the version applied by the creditor checking your creditworthiness. You can rebound your score by being consistent with paying other bills and retaining low credit card balances.

 

5. Work with an expert – If you find yourself overwhelmed, you can always consider credit repair in Dallas.