How to go about getting collections paid/removed?

[liesierre]

Hi

I'm new. I notice I have 2 things in my "Collections" section of the report that I could pay off pretty easily. My problem is that I haven't gotten any mail or info for them and don't even know who to contact to pay them off and get them off my report.

How do I find out who to contact to pay an old collection account in full and get it off my record? I'm totally new to this and I'm not sure what to do. I have the means to pay them both off in full, but I have no idea how to do that? This is all the info I have, really. Any advice?

Collection on debt to: At T Mobility

The collection agency "284YC00207" was hired to collect a debt of $392 originally owed to "At T Mobility" on account number "XXXXXXX".

Collection agency [?]Original balance [?]Current balance [?]Date assigned [?]Original lender [?]Account number [?]Account holder [?]

284YC00207

$392

$596

Mar, 2010

At T Mobility

XXXXXXX

Individual

Collection on debt to: Comcast Cable C

The collection agency "496YC05418" was hired to collect a debt of $128 originally owed to "Comcast Cable C" on account number "XXXXX1161".

Collection agency [?]Original balance [?]Current balance [?]Date assigned [?]Original lender [?]Account number [?]Account holder [?]

496YC05418

$128

$128

May, 2012

Comcast Cable C

XXXXX1161

Individual

[Shogun]

Welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations
What Steps do I take, DV, PFD or GW
Credit Scoring 101


This will give you an idea of where to start. Good Luck!

    Start with pulling your FREE CR's from (ACR) annualcreditreport.com . they tend to have more info on them, then ones from a 3rd   party.   The CR's from ACR, come directly from each of the CRA's. You can pull 1 Free CR from TU,EQ and EX every 12 months.

   Save your money and Don't Buy the Scores, they are what we call FAKO's.

[liesierre]

Okay so I did the free annual report thing for all 3....

The only one that gave me drop-off dates is TransUnion. These are the baddies I have and when they're supposed to drop off according to TransUnion

FORECLOSURE DROP OFF: 05/2013

BANKRUPTCY DROP OFF: 01/2014

AT&T DROP OFF: 09/2014 — MAYBE PAY THIS ONE $392 / $596 

CASHCALL DROP OFF: 06/2015

COMCAST DROP OFF: 03/2018 — PAY THIS ONE $128

I'm looking to buy a house sometime in the next 18 months to 2 years.... maybe I should wait until the Cashcall thing drops off because thats the only one I cant really pay and its not *that* long until it drops off.

So according to this, should I only pay off the Comcast one? Its low dollar and easy to pay off.

I could pay off the AT&T one also. I found addresses and phone numbers on the reports for them. What do I do? Do I call them and say I wanna pay it off? Do I need to send a letter or something instead? PFD?

[liesierre]

Now I'm really confused.

Should I bother paying them off (the small $128) collections? What would be best for my credit score?

Just be as good as possible moving forward or do I try to pay one or both of the smaller ones off? This credit stuff has me so lost.

[llecs]

It's always your call as to whether or not to pay a debt. Just keep in mind your state's SOL Even after it drops off due to the 7-7.5 yr CRTP, in some states they can still sue for the debt. Also, I prefer to have a clean report over not paying a debt if you know what I mean. In other words, a clean report is certainly worth the money I owed to begin with.

If I had the account you have, I would send a DV each to the CAs reporting the AT&T debt and the Comcast debt. If they verified and if I agreed, then I'd send a PFD. If they agree in writing, then I'd pay it and they'd delete. With a few exceptions, I wouldn't pay unless they agreed in writing to delete first. Per FICO scoring, a $0 balance CA is equally as bad as one with a $10,000 balance.

Never call a CA.

I'd do nothing with the foreclosure or the BK.

I'd send a PFD to Cashcall if they are reporting it. If a CA is reporting on their behalf, then I'd send a DV to the CA followed by a PFD if I agreed with their response.

[liesierre]

I think I'm gonna let the Cashcall one age off. Its enough of a balance to where I would have to decide between putting money away for a down payment (which i'm going to need pretty bad) or paying them.

I'm in California, so I think the SOL is 4 years. 

Alright, so send a DV to the CA's for AT&T and Comcast....then PFD's.

[Shogun]

Sounds good to me!