Pay-for-delete promises to erase collection debt from your credit report, but the results of this strategy can vary.

WalletHub collected data from the end of 2025 and ranked the states with the most and least debt collection accounts.

Disputing collections debt can protect your credit, but only if you know when it actually makes sense to do so.

In April 2025, Freedom Debt Relief reviewed data from tens of thousands of people actively looking for help with their debt. The numbers might be surprising. About one in four has at least one account ...

Jerry Brown is a personal finance writer based in Baton Rouge, La. He's been writing about personal finance for three years. Financial products he enjoys covering include credit cards, personal loans, ...

A debt can be sold to a collection agency if you miss several payments on an account. A collection account stays on your credit report for approximately seven years. Collection accounts decrease your ...

A recent study examined which states have the highest number of collection accounts and found Florida ranks seventh, suggesting residents of the Sunshine State may be struggling to pay their bills.

Garland, Texas ranked as the top city for the highest debt collection accounts in the nation. Eight Texas cities, including Dallas and Houston, were in the top 10 locations with the most collection ...

Collection Debt by the Numbers: The National Picture In April 2025, about one in four people looking for debt relief had at least one account in collections. The average collection balance is $3,027, ...