$13 medical bill driving down EQ 75-100 points

[rober864]

My wife and I are both 26 years old, we have been employed full time for 3.5 years and have a combined gross income of $145,000.

We were running our credit reports in preparation for our first mortgage which we will be appying for sometime this year (when we find the house that we like).

My TU and EX came back at 745 and 770, respectively, but by EQ came back at 666. It had a $13 collection for a medical bill on it, and I am assuming that this is why the  EQ score is suffering. I called the collection agency and asked for a Pay for Delete letter, is this the right thing to do? Should I dispute the collection with Equifax? I do not understand why this one $13 collection is dragging my EQ score down almost 100 points. My wife's credit scores came back very high, and I do not want to miss out of the best rates because of this silly medical bill. 

[guiness56]

First question, are those scores from a mortgage lender?

If those are your FICO scores and it is only reporting on EQ, yes, it is very possible that one collection is dragging down your score.

Did they agree to the PFD?

Welcome to the forums.

[HoldingOntoHope]

And if those scores are from a mortgage lenders pulls then no need to get overly worried about 1 bad score. The lenders will almost always pull all three and use the middle score for qualifying and setting rates. It would still be a good idea to try and get rid of this blemish just for your own peace of mind and to avoid having to write a letter of explanation for such a minor amount.

[takeshi74]

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@rober864 wrote:

I called the collection agency and asked for a Pay for Delete letter, is this the right thing to do?

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Have you visited the rebuilding subforum?  Here's a thread linked in one of its stickies:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/What-Steps-Do-I-Take-Do-I-DV-PFD/td-p/337142

My understanding (and I how I handled one of my derogs) is that you send the PFD letter to the CA versus requesting that the CA provide the PFD letter.

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@rober864 wrote:

Should I dispute the collection with Equifax?

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Do you have a solid basis for dispute?

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@rober864 wrote:

I do not understand why this one $13 collection is dragging my EQ score down almost 100 points. 

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It's a collection.

[G_kwr]

If $13 is the high balance of that debt then it should not be listed on your CR at all. If it was higher at one time then you should use a pay for delete startegy.

[guiness56]

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@G_kwr wrote:

If $13 is the high balance of that debt then it should not be listed on your CR at all. If it was higher at one time then you should use a pay for delete startegy.

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What do you mean it should not be listed?  It is a collection account.

[Repo-ed]

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@G_kwr wrote:

If $13 is the high balance of that debt then it should not be listed on your CR at all. If it was higher at one time then you should use a pay for delete startegy.

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?????????

[Shogun]

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@Repo-ed wrote:

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@G_kwr wrote:

If $13 is the high balance of that debt then it should not be listed on your CR at all. If it was higher at one time then you should use a pay for delete startegy.

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?????????

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I think what they are getting at is some of the new scoring models don't factor in medical debts less than $100.  It doesn't mean they can't be reported.

[guiness56]

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@Shogun wrote:

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@Repo-ed wrote:

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@G_kwr wrote:

If $13 is the high balance of that debt then it should not be listed on your CR at all. If it was higher at one time then you should use a pay for delete startegy.

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?????????

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I think what they are getting at is some of the new scoring models don't factor in medical debts less than $100.  It doesn't mean they can't be reported.

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That is what I thought he meant but wanted to make sure.