Effect of medical collections on Fico

[valley_man0505]

I have a series of medical collections on my CR that are killing my TU score.  Most of these accounts are from my ex-wife's medical bills from when we will still married (still don't think it is fair that I am responsible for those, but that is a whole different issue that has already been discussed on another board).  Anyway, is it hurting me that there are multiple small accounts listed rather than one listing for the full amount owed?  In other words is it the number of collections accounts or the total amount of collection accounts that has a larger effect on the score? 

Also, I often mention these medical collections if ever applying for credit, and the response I usually get is "don't worry about that, we don't really care if there are medical accounts".    That doesn't really make sense since they typically look at the Fico score, which is influenced by the accounts.  Do medical accounts effect the Fico differently than other accounts?

[Anonymous]

FICO doesn't really see the amount for the collections, it scores on the number of them. But medical collections, from what I understand ARE scored differently than say, a credit card charge off.

Think of it this way: If you were a lender, what would find easier to overlook in granting credit? A few medical bills that slipped through the cracks OR a credit card that went belly up (bearing in mind that you're asking them to GIVE you credit)!?

In the case of lenders, I think their major concern is how you treat CREDIT. So if you've treated credit shoddily in the past, they'll be more leery of you.

At least, that's my understanding.

[fused]

Wonderin wrote:

FICO doesn't really see the amount for the collections, it scores on the number of them. But medical collections, from what I understand ARE scored differently than say, a credit card charge off.

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While it is true that the current FICO scoring models do not take into account the dollar amounts with collections, they treat all collections the same. Medical collections are just bad as any other collection. As for COs, the scoring is a little different. You take the hit for the CO itself, and if there is any balance, that is factor in scoring as well. The higher the balance, the worse.