A few collections questions...

[RW771]

Hi everyone,

I just have a few quick questions I've been wondering regarding collections: All of the collections that show up on my CR are paid.

1. How long do collections actually affect you after they are paid?

2. I'm having a tough time getting some collections (mostly medical) removed via GW letter...would there really be much impact on my score having these paid collections removed?

3. I've read a little from others here on the forum that deleting an old CO can hurt you more (since it removes all the history you've had), but what is the case when the CO was turned over to a CA? Does it still hurt in that instance?

Sorry if these questions are a little confusing...my credit is so limited and everything is paid off (including collections). I'm trying to get as many points as I can having these paid collections removed but have pretty much gotten as far as I can...for now at least!

[llecs]

1) They'll impact your score for as long as they report.

2) If you have paid CAs reporting, then keep trying with the GWs. FICO ignores the balance owed on collections. It doesn't matter if you owe $0 or $10,000, the impact is equal. The weight of the impact will vary based on what is on your CR right now. YMMV as we say. It could be 10, it could be 100 (on a very clean report).

3) Like with CAs, FICO still dings for COs. One thing going for it, and unlike CAs, your length of history and AAoA is impacted by COs. DW had a CapOne CO disappear last year off all 3 due to the CRTP. It was her oldest revolving at the time and older than her AAoA by about 4-5 years. It was at least her second oldest TL. It also reported as $0 because they sold it to a CA. On EQ, it reported roughly 80 lates that were 90-days or worse, and reported as a CO. On TU is had no lates but reported as a CO. Her TU FICO increased by 30 or so points when removed. Her EQ FICO dropped by 10 or so, IIRC, when it fell off. In other words, it hurt her TU but helped her EQ.