Pay for Delete Letter in Texas

An offer to pay a collection account in exchange for the collector asking the credit bureaus to remove it. Collectors are not required to agree; get any agreement in writing before you pay, and check your state's rules on whether a payment restarts the time limit to sue (below).

What Texas law says

Can a payment restart the clock?	An acknowledgment of a debt that appears time-barred counts only if it is in writing and signed by the debtor. For consumer debt owned by a debt buyer, once the 4-year period has run the debt buyer may not sue or arbitrate, and the claim is not revived by a payment, an oral or written reaffirmation, or any other activity on the debt. Acknowledgment rule: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/CP/htm/CP.16.htm Source: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.065; Tex. Fin. Code 392.307(c)-(d)
Time limit for credit cards and open accounts	4 years, the same as other debts, whether the agreement is written or oral. Source: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.004(a)(3)

Can a payment restart the clock?

An acknowledgment of a debt that appears time-barred counts only if it is in writing and signed by the debtor. For consumer debt owned by a debt buyer, once the 4-year period has run the debt buyer may not sue or arbitrate, and the claim is not revived by a payment, an oral or written reaffirmation, or any other activity on the debt.

Acknowledgment rule: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/CP/htm/CP.16.htm

Source: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.065; Tex. Fin. Code 392.307(c)-(d)

Time limit for credit cards and open accounts

4 years, the same as other debts, whether the agreement is written or oral.

Source: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.004(a)(3)

Fill it in

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[today's date]

To: [collection agency name and address]

Re: Account [account number]

I am willing to pay $[amount offered] to resolve this account in full, on the condition that you ask each credit bureau to remove the account from my credit reports.

If you agree, please confirm these terms in writing on your letterhead before I send payment.

This letter is not an acknowledgment that I owe the debt.

[your name], [your address]

Pay for Delete Letter for other states · Texas tenant rights

General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.