topic Does paying off Old Collections Impact Credit Score? in Rebuilding Your Credit

Does paying off Old Collections Impact Credit Score?

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:15:43 GMT

I have some old medical debt only showing up on my Equifax report that is all around 6 yrs old. 3 different tradelines and two from the same CA.

I want to know if I pay/settle (while attempting PFD or settle showing Paid in Full) will it help my score? Also, they are so old.. Am i waking up a sleeping giant since the last reported date 12/10? I heard the Older the last reported date is the less impact it will have on your score.

Collection Agency Information

First Point Collection; Collection Reported 12/2010; Assigned 01/2008; Amount - $175 Status as of 12/2010 - Unpaid; Date of 1st Deliquency 07/2007

First Point Collection; Collection Reported 12/2010; Assigned 05/2007; Amount - $1,419 Status as of 12/2010 - Unpaid; Date of 1st Deliquency 11/2006

Paragon Revenue; Collection Reported 12/2011; Assigned 01/2007; Amount - $11,384 Status as of 10/2011 - Unpaid; Date of 1st Deliquency 07/2007

(keep in mind these debts were accrued due to a crime commited against me... so unfortunate, thank you for all of your help

My advice to myself is to either A. Let them roll off or B. Settle for PIF balance

Re: Does paying off Old Collections Impact Credit Score?

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:28:45 GMT

First why would you pay them off now? Especially if these debts were for a crime against you.

What State do you live in? Are they all past the SOL?

I am guessing you are maybe thinking about a home loan? Just paying them off or doing a settlement could lower your score some. Since it could make your debt look much more recent. It is hard to say.

Did you ever receive a dunning notice from these companies? You could always send a DV to them. Another option is try the HIpaa process. You could Google that and find good information on how to go that route. I removed three medicals that route and they were all the same age as yours.

You have a lot of ways you could go about dealing with these. Unless you are going for a home loan soon I would see no reason to wake up these lovely CA's.

Re: Does paying off Old Collections Impact Credit Score?

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:33:48 GMT

Thanks Monadavi. I was hoping for a home loan when these drop off or I take care of them. Way past SOL for North Carolina. No dunning notice from the companies so I will send a DV through Equifax. Will that change the Collection Reported Date as shown below if they validate and report again. Hopefully that wont affect my score but hey only a year and half or so and they will all fall off! I hope atleast. I will look into to HIPPA while getting a DV from them!

Re: Does paying off Old Collections Impact Credit Score?

Gypsie77 — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:53:48 GMT

Wow! $12,000 is a hefty chunk of change to pay for someone else's crime against you. Not to mention it's holding up your ability to purchase a home. Was this ever reported to law enforcement? Have you sougth any legal means to get the collections taken off of your report? There must be some kind of legal recourse you can take. As for the medical debt that belongs to you it should fall off. However, from what understand it can pop back up when you start applying for a mortgage. Have you tried to dispute the items that aren't yours?

Good luck Right Coast! I hope it all works out for you one way or another.

Re: Does paying off Old Collections Impact Credit Score?

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 23:25:38 GMT

Well the DV would be to the CA's. With EQ you could dispute with what option works best in your case. If you do an online dispute with EQ do not be surprised if you get your results in less than 48 hours and they come back verified. If they do come back verified they will report the date they were verified. At least that is what EQ has done to me in the past.

Have you opted out yet and deleted old address yet? I would do that before I started any disputes with the CRA's.

Re: Does paying off Old Collections Impact Credit Score?

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 00:07:43 GMT

Thank you gypsie. I was mugged late at night and had serious injuries. They never found the assailants and I knew nothing about credit only being 19 I ignored the bills : ( here I stand now 6 years later with a family looking to purchase a home soon. It was reported to the police department. I would wait for this to fall off but now you have scared me about it popping back up so I may need to seek legal advice. I may research the hipaa act as Monday has advised. Thank you for your advice!

Re: Does paying off Old Collections Impact Credit Score?

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 00:13:20 GMT

I figured if I disputed with Equifax to DV and they don't respond, they may delete. But again it is my debt and if it comes back verified it will hurt my score. I have updated my to my current address. I would wait for it to fall off but I should probably take care of it so it wont pop back up like gypsie said.