birddog123 wrote:
The debt is in my name only. I live in GA. It was a Discover card I opened in college 1993. It was charged off in 2002. Sold to Midland. I was paying on it for a while then I would stop and start again. The debt is $1270.
Paying this collection off without deleting it will do nothing for your scores. FICO says paid and unpaid collections are the same and you are not rewarded for paying off a collection and having sit on your reports. The SOL for open accounts in GA is four years, it would seem you are past this and this is good news. No lawsuits, well successful one's against you. Now as far as CRTP (credit reporting time periods) I can't give a definitive month and year when this should fall of your reports. If you don't know the DOFD, call the credit bureaus and ask.
Since this collection is not paid, I would write a PFD (pay for delete letter) to the CA (collection agency). In essence this is a written agreement between them and you that states once they receive payment from you these must delete any and all negative information on this account...permanently.
Sometimes CAs refuse to delete, will demand you pay in full then they will delete, while others will settle for less than the full balance owed. I would begin offering them no more than 40% of the balance in exchange for the PFD. If they demand more and agree to delete, do it! Don't be foolish, remember deletion is the goal here. Again if they agree to delete make sure it's on the CAs letterhead and the make sure the written agreement clearly states they will delete after the said payment is received by them. If you are uncertain about their response post in the forum for us to critique.
If your initial attempts fail, don't give up keep trying but be pleasant. Good luck to you! This is a helpful link but I suggest you personalize it.
Message Edited by fused111 on
09-06-2007 11:52 AM
