A few questions about closed accounts.

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone!

I am 26 years old and I've been out of college for about 3 years now.

I played basketball in college and I did not have medical insurance. I've had various injuries that have led me to the emergency room and has costed a lot of money that I couldn't afford to pay.

Today, I have about 6 medical accounts that are now closed totalling about $3200. All of these DOFD's happened between 2004-2006.  These are my debts and I am wondering should I pay them back now? Would it increase my score if I paid them in full?  Should I just let them fall off of my account?

Looking at my Equifax ScoreWatch, the only good thing I have going for me is my credit card usage. I have paid all of my bills on time for the last 3 years (including an auto loan). I have about $2500 in revolving accounts with a balance of around $600. I know I have to pay that off and that could possibly get up me up to about 630-640. Once I reach that point, I will have plateaued. 

What is my best course of action here?

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions. God bless!

[guiness56]

Just paying them will not increase your score.  FICO looks at paid and unpaid collections the same. 

You have a couple of options.  You can use the HIPAA process which may or may not work.  You can contact the OC and find out if they will accept payment and recall the account from the CA.  Or you can DV the CA, providing you can pay in full, and if they validate ask for a pay for delete.

If the DoFDs are between 04 and 06 these will not come off until some in or after 2011 and 2013.