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How to Remove Sprint Collections From Your Credit Report

Jaron Pak

If you’re reviewing your free annual credit report, you may see an item titled “sprint collections” or “11 Sprint”. In most cases, this means you owe money to the phone company by the same name.

When a phone bill becomes overdue for an extended period of time, it might be sent to collections as a final effort to recover the missing funds. At times this requires selling the debt to a third-party collection agency. However, in this case, the bill is simply turned over to the in-house collections department at Sprint.

The idea of having a “collection agency” hounding you can be alarming at first. However, while the situation does require attention, it’s equally important to remain calm.

Review this rundown on how to address the situation with the goal of confirming, responding to, and ultimately removing the Sprint Collections mark from your credit report.

Table of Contents

Is Sprint Collections a Real Company?

As with all collection agency-related matters, it’s important to start by confirming the legitimacy of the company requesting your hard-earned income. In the case of Sprint Collections, it is, indeed, a real company. Technically speaking, it’s a portion of a company — that is part of another company.

In April 2020, Sprint officially completed a merger with fellow telecommunications giant T-Mobile. Even as part of this new business entity, Sprint’s collections efforts have operated as an in-house element of its larger business operation.

When you get an item on your report explaining that you owe a payment to “Sprint Collections,” it’s an internal part of the same organization that you pay for your phone on a monthly basis.

BBB Complaints About Sprint Collections

While Sprint Collections does not have its own Better Business Bureau page, its parent company does.

The organization has a 1.06 out of five-star rating. It has received 6,398 complaints in the last three years and 6,136 complaints have been closed in the last 12 months. Of the existing objections, 764 of them have to do with billing and collections.

What to Do if You See Sprint Collections on Your Credit Reports

If you find yourself in the unenviable situation where Sprint Collections has popped up on your credit report, it’s important to act quickly.

Left unaddressed, a collection agency that appears on your report will remain for seven years, dragging down your credit score and alerting potential lenders to the fact that you failed to pay a past debt. In some cases, a collection agency may even be able to repossess the asset that was purchased with the unpaid funds.

With that said, once you find this mark on your report, it’s important to have a timely response. Here are a few initial actions you can take.

Verify That It’s Legitimate

The first thing to do is verify the situation is legitimate. While Sprint Collections may be a real entity, the debt that it is claiming you owe may not be.

This is why you should start the process by sending a debt validation letter. As a legitimate collections agency, Sprint Collections should have no problem communicating with you via snail mail — the official way that collections agencies interact. It should also be willing to provide further information regarding the owed debt.

Real debt collectors aren’t interested in trapping or tricking you. They want to work together to find an amicable solution to the issue. If a collector is threatening you or withholding information, that is always a sign of fraudulent activity.

Pay Off Your Debt

If you find that you do, indeed, owe the debt, the next step is to pay it off. When you go to do so, make sure to review whatever options Sprint gives you.

Since you’re working with an agency that is part of the original company where the debt was created, there’s a chance you can find a more lenient solution to the problem. At the least, you may be able to find an option where they immediately forgive your tardy payment and remove it from your report once it’s paid.

Consult With a Credit Counselor

If you find that verifying and paying the debt is too overwhelming, you may want to seek additional help from a credit counselor or credit repair company.

Organizations of this nature can help you remove existing claims on your report, create a debt management plan, and help you work toward building better credit.

How to Remove Sprint Collections From Your Credit Reports

There are two ways to try to remove a Sprint Collections mark from your credit report. If you discover that the claim is fake or even that it has incorrect information, you can send a dispute letter to the three credit bureaus asking to have it removed.

If the debt is legitimate, you must try a different approach. Once you’ve paid off the owed money, send a good-faith letter asking if the item can be deleted from your accounts now that it has been resolved.

Will You Be Sued by Sprint Collections?

As a final item to put your mind to rest, there’s little chance that you’ll be sued by Sprint Collections. Though it’s technically possible, it’s highly unlikely that the agency will take the time and resources required to recover an unpaid phone bill.

However, this shouldn’t be motivation to ignore the situation, as the implications on your credit will continue to linger for years to come.


Image Source: https://depositphotos.com/

 

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