Approaching SOL

[Anonymous]

Forum Members.... I have learned a lot in this forum and respect the feedback that many have given in throughout my quest to rebuild my credit. While I have found a lot of answers to many specific questions through researching the forum, I have yet to find the best way to handle SOLs that are almost at their limit in their respected date.

For example...I have a 4 accounts that are in trouble from years ago. One of these accounts went to court and I failed to appear which I know was not the smartest thing to do after reading some of the forum posts. I'm not sure if I should contact the collection agency that brought forth this lawsuit and negotiate a deal or what the best approach would be in this case. The other 3 cases and my main emphasis for this post is that they are all within 1 year of falling off my credit report due to SOL. I do owe the balances on the cards and did not know if its in my best interest to contact the collections companies and start paying on them or if that is plain stupid since the SOL has almost reached its maturation point and I should just let them fall off?

I also have a two car loans that had late payments listed on my credit report from 5 months ago. I have since paid both loans off....would it be in my best interest to write a GW letter to remove the late payments...or since the loans are both paid of now...would the GW not make a worthwhile change to my overall score even if the late payments from 5 months were removed?

Message Edited by bsebal7 on 09-13-2008 09:38 PM

Message Edited by bsebal7 on 09-13-2008 09:38 PM

[Anonymous]

on the car payments- gw - gw- gw

The more recent and more severe the lates are the more they hurt your score.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

... The other 3 cases and my main emphasis for this post is that they are all within 1 year of falling off my credit report due to SOL ....

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(emphasis mine)

Just want to make sure you realize this, but SOL is not the same thing as the date when something drops off your reports. The CRTP (credit reporting time period) is generally seven years. SOL (statute of limitations) is set by each state, and it refers to the time in which you can be sued.

Sometimes folks get tangled up on this, so I wanted to make sure that your were aware of the difference. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thank you....I did not realize that in regards to the SOL and being sued. Would it make sense then to pay off old accounts that are ready to fall of my report within the next year or just let them fall of my report?

[Anonymous]

Is it advantageous to pay off an old debt that is about to fall off a credit report or are you essentially wasting your money if its close to falling off the report anyways?

[haulingthescoreup]

If you want to repay your debt for ethical/moral reasons (good for you), I would wait until it is past its 7 - 7 1/2 years, and definitely past its SOL.

BUT don't jump and do this now --you need to hear from some of the experts like Timothy and sidewinder and the others as to whether this might bite you on the butt by somehow making the account report again.

Otherwise, I don't see any advantage in paying right before it falls off. Paid or unpaid, it's going to keep reporting until it's time to go.

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
If you want to repay your debt for ethical/moral reasons (good for you), I would wait until it is past its 7 - 7 1/2 years, and definitely past its SOL.

BUT don't jump and do this now --you need to hear from some of the experts like Timothy and sidewinder and the others as to whether this might bite you on the butt by somehow making the account report again.

Otherwise, I don't see any advantage in paying right before it falls off. Paid or unpaid, it's going to keep reporting until it's time to go.

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Hauling.. Thanks for the info. I have my credit reports and have always had decent credit (712) and after my fiance and I broke up that took a dive into the mid 580s. I had a lot of late payments and owe money on "her" credit cards etc. which I was stupid enough to let her use so its my own fault. I definitely did not want to pay on something if it was close to falling off my credit report anyway. I appreciate the feedback and I will continue to read throughout the forum to find out additional information.