First: determine who owns the debt
Before you file any dispute, you need to know whether Bank of America still owns the collection or whether they sold it to a third-party debt buyer. This changes who you're dealing with and what's on your credit report.
If BofA retained the account: it will appear under Bank of America's name with a status of "charged off" or "collection."
If BofA sold the account: the original BofA account may still appear as a charge-off, and a separate account from the purchasing collector (Midland Credit Management, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LVNV Funding, or others) will appear as a collection account.
Both accounts can legally appear on your report. Both count against your score. Understanding this upfront prevents you from disputing the wrong item.
Common errors on Bank of America collection accounts
Wrong balance: BofA may report the balance at time of charge-off, but some consumers see inflated amounts that include post-charge-off fees or interest that doesn't reflect the actual balance.
Incorrect date of first delinquency: This date controls the 7-year removal timeline. BofA may report the charge-off date rather than the first delinquency date, which can artificially extend how long the item stays on your report.
Account not yours: Mixed files and identity theft can cause BofA accounts to appear on the wrong credit file. If the account number doesn't match anything in your history, this is worth pursuing.
Duplicate reporting: If BofA sold the account and the buyer is collecting, you should not have the same balance appearing on both the BofA original account and the collection account. One should show $0 or be closed.
Payments not applied: If you made payments before the account went to collections, those payments should be reflected in the balance history.
Disputing with the credit bureaus
File your dispute with the bureaus where the BofA account appears. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion each have their own dispute portals and mailing addresses. Use certified mail for a paper trail or file online for speed.
Your dispute letter should specify:
- The exact account name: "Bank of America" and the last four digits of the account number
- What is incorrect and why
- What you're requesting (correction or deletion)
- Any supporting documentation
The bureau forwards your dispute to BofA's credit reporting compliance team. BofA must investigate and respond within the investigation window.
Disputing directly with Bank of America
BofA has an internal credit bureau dispute process. Send a written dispute to:
Bank of America Attn: Credit Bureau Services P.O. Box 982238 El Paso, TX 79998
Include your full name, address, Social Security number, account number, description of the error, and copies of any supporting documents. This is a direct dispute under FCRA Section 623 and triggers BofA's own investigation obligations, separate from the bureau process.
If the account was sold and a collector now owns it, BofA is no longer the furnisher for the collection account — the collector is. You'd need to dispute the collection separately with that collector.
When the debt was sold to a collector
If Portfolio Recovery, Midland, or another collector is reporting separately, dispute that account with the collector directly and with the bureaus. Common errors with sold debts:
- The debt has been sold multiple times and each buyer reported it, creating duplicate collection accounts for the same original debt
- The balance the collector reports doesn't match what BofA charged off
- The date of first delinquency was re-aged (reset to a newer date) by the collector — this is illegal under the FCRA
Requesting debt validation
If the BofA debt has been sold and a collector is actively collecting, you have the right under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to send a debt validation letter within 30 days of first contact. The collector must verify the debt before continuing collection efforts. A proper validation letter doesn't make the debt disappear, but it forces the collector to document what they're collecting and why.
Your next step
Pull your credit reports from all three bureaus. Locate any Bank of America account in collections. Record the date of first delinquency, the reported balance, and who is currently listed as the furnisher. If there's an error in any of those fields, file your dispute with the relevant bureau and send a parallel direct dispute to BofA or the collector as appropriate. Keep copies of everything.