Understanding FICO® Scoring

[casandra10]

Will my fico score budge if I pay some old collection accounts (4 yrs old), and if not how does a creditor know if it's paid or not if their just pulling credit and going off the score?

Just concerned because I applied for a apt and they ran my credit and it came back declined. They never actually saw the report manager say's it's based off the score.

[chasmith]

Paying old collections can be a two-edged sword.  The balance has to update to 0, but the status date may update to make it appear more recent.  But if they are really hitting your score after 4 years the CA may be updating regularly to keep them from aging.  If you have the money to pay in full you could try offering PFD to get them off your report.

Look at the underlying account from the OC.  The CA has to fall off 7 to 7.5 years from when the account first became delinquent (the DOFD). 

[guiness56]

Paying off a collection should never impact your score.  If it does something has been reported wrong. 

On the other hand, a paid and unpaid collection is seen the same by FICO, as a collection.

[bettercreditguy1]

Manual review however, allows the personal interjection/summary by the reviewer. Upon a manual review, a paid co or collection account will always get you more brownie points with new creditors. It shows at least that you have morals and or trying.