Sending a GW after a dispute?

[Anonymous]

Long story short, I discovered that I had a bill from a medical place from 2004 for $38 that I never received. (We moved during that time and I don't know if it didn't forward or what. I didn't know about it because I thought our insurance covered it all.) ANYWAY, I discovered it at the beginning of 2010 when I pulled my head out and decided that I wanted to increase my credit score. I called, figured out what it was about and paid it. It is still showing on my credit report as a baddie, though. I filed a dispute in January 2011 when I saw it still on my credit report and they said that it was a valid collection, etc., etc. Should I attempt to send a GW or should I not even bother at this point or will it continue to stay on there even though I paid it off? It is my only "baddie" on my account, but it's definitely considered a negative, regardless of the price or the fact that it's been paid.

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Long story short, I discovered that I had a bill from a medical place from 2004 for $38 that I never received. (We moved during that time and I don't know if it didn't forward or what. I didn't know about it because I thought our insurance covered it all.) ANYWAY, I discovered it at the beginning of 2010 when I pulled my head out and decided that I wanted to increase my credit score. I called, figured out what it was about and paid it. It is still showing on my credit report as a baddie, though. I filed a dispute in January 2011 when I saw it still on my credit report and they said that it was a valid collection, etc., etc. Should I attempt to send a GW or should I not even bother at this point or will it continue to stay on there even though I paid it off? It is my only "baddie" on my account, but it's definitely considered a negative, regardless of the price or the fact that it's been paid.

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Hi ASHER78,

Paying a collection will not help your score and now that it's paid your only route is to try GW letters. Otherwise it can report for up to 7.5 years from the DoFD (Date of First Delinquency) on the OC (Original Creditor) account that led to the collection.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Anonymous]

Ugh, so I basically restarted the time when I paid it? Blargh. Thanks! :-)

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Ugh, so I basically restarted the time when I paid it? Blargh. Thanks! :-)

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No you didn't re-start it. The DoFD cannot be changed by anyone. Paying this collection would not have any affect on the CRTP (Credit Reporting Time Period). So whether paid or unpaid the collection will still report for that 7-7.5 years from the DoFD unless removed early by GW's.

One good thing about paying this though is that you don't have to worry about be hounded by the CA. 

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[guiness56]

Generally, the date of service is the DoFD if you don't pay or the month after.  At any rate, if this was in 2004, it should be coming off your report soon. 

Do you when this happened in 04?