Paid collections affect the score pretty much like unpaid collections, though paying them can prevent some additional nastiness, such as lawsuits, garnished wages and having the unpaid collection sold to another agency that then adds another unpaid collection to your credit report. Both paid and unpaid collections will remain on your credit report for about/roughly 6.5 years from the assign date date of first delinquency, or 6 years from the assign date, and will diminish in impact with the passage of time. Unfortunately, the score isn't helped by paying them.
ETA: emphasis/correction in red. (getting rusty in my old age) 
@Anonymous wrote:
@Barry wrote:Paid collections affect the score pretty much like unpaid collections, though paying them can prevent some additional nastiness, such as lawsuits, garnished wages and having the unpaid collection sold to another agency that then adds another unpaid collection to your credit report. Both paid and unpaid collections will remain on your credit report for about/roughly 6.5 years from the
assign datedate of first delinquency, or 6 years from the assign date, and will diminish in impact with the passage of time. Unfortunately, the score isn't helped by paying them.
ETA: emphasis/correction in red. (getting rusty in my old age)
Just to clarify, DoFD is the actual determining date for the time it will show on your report. While *most* of the time collections are assigned about a year past DoFD, the assigned date can be anywhere from a few months after DoFD to 5+ years after DoFD.
Thanks for clarifying, NormanFH, making me reread and correcting my mistake, as noted above. What you point out is a very gray area in the retention period for collections. Specifically, it's 180 days + 6 years from the DoFD. Where it gets fuzzy is that often the DoFD isn't known by the credit bureau when determining the length of time the collection remains. As you say, it can be anywhere from a few months - or even days in some cases - to years before the debt is assigned to the collection agency that places it on the report. But regardless, it's always typically going to be 6 months from that assign date. Right? (more coffee, please!) 
ETA: updated the corrected quote and generally made a mess. What was the question again?
@Barry wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Barry wrote:Paid collections affect the score pretty much like unpaid collections, though paying them can prevent some additional nastiness, such as lawsuits, garnished wages and having the unpaid collection sold to another agency that then adds another unpaid collection to your credit report. Both paid and unpaid collections will remain on your credit report for about/roughly 6.5 years from the
assign datedate of first delinquency, or 6 years from the assign date, and will diminish in impact with the passage of time. Unfortunately, the score isn't helped by paying them.
ETA: emphasis/correction in red. (getting rusty in my old age)
Just to clarify, DoFD is the actual determining date for the time it will show on your report. While *most* of the time collections are assigned about a year past DoFD, the assigned date can be anywhere from a few months after DoFD to 5+ years after DoFD.
Thanks for clarifying, NormanFH, making me reread and correcting my mistake, as noted above. What you point out is a very gray area in the retention period for collections. Specifically, it's 180 days + 6 years from the DoFD. Where it gets fuzzy is that often the DoFD isn't known by the credit bureau when determining the length of time the collection remains. As you say, it can be anywhere from a few months - or even days in some cases - to years before the debt is assigned to the collection agency that places it on the report. But regardless, it's
alwaystypically going to be 6 months from that assign date. Right? (more coffee, please!)
ETA: updated the corrected quote and generally made a mess. What was the question again?
LOL - there was a question?
Yeah, typically its 6-12 months after the DoFD that a CA gets it, though I have heard at least one person here say they had a medical debt hit a CA at 30 days from date of service! Ouch. Thats like, within MINUTES of the DoFD
@Anonymous wrote:
@Barry wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Barry wrote:Paid collections affect the score pretty much like unpaid collections, though paying them can prevent some additional nastiness, such as lawsuits, garnished wages and having the unpaid collection sold to another agency that then adds another unpaid collection to your credit report. Both paid and unpaid collections will remain on your credit report for about/roughly 6.5 years from the
assign datedate of first delinquency, or 6 years from the assign date, and will diminish in impact with the passage of time. Unfortunately, the score isn't helped by paying them.
ETA: emphasis/correction in red. (getting rusty in my old age)
Just to clarify, DoFD is the actual determining date for the time it will show on your report. While *most* of the time collections are assigned about a year past DoFD, the assigned date can be anywhere from a few months after DoFD to 5+ years after DoFD.
Thanks for clarifying, NormanFH, making me reread and correcting my mistake, as noted above. What you point out is a very gray area in the retention period for collections. Specifically, it's 180 days + 6 years from the DoFD. Where it gets fuzzy is that often the DoFD isn't known by the credit bureau when determining the length of time the collection remains. As you say, it can be anywhere from a few months - or even days in some cases - to years before the debt is assigned to the collection agency that places it on the report. But regardless, it's
alwaystypically going to be 6 months from that assign date. Right? (more coffee, please!)
ETA: updated the corrected quote and generally made a mess. What was the question again?
LOL - there was a question?
Yeah, typically its 6-12 months after the DoFD that a CA gets it, though I have heard at least one person here say they had a medical debt hit a CA at 30 days from date of service! Ouch. Thats like, within MINUTES of the DoFD
Medical OCs usually dont fool around with sending an item to collections. My sister has dealt with a hospital that sent an entire ER visit to a collector before her insurance company even had time to pay the bill. I personally took care of the accounts manager on that one. LOL.
@Anonymous wrote:By "take care of" you mean "beat with a 2x4" - correct?
LOL.....