SOL in 6-12 months, should I bother?

[MostlyCloudy]

I have a few silly collections about to hit their statute of limitations and expire in January, June, and September of 2010. They are each for like $60 or so. One is from a cell phone bill, another from a comcast bill, and something I cant even remember. I was 20 years old living on my own in a foreign state and ran out of money so my parents flew me back home. I am shopping for mortgages right now and am wondering if I should even care about these collections, especially since they are set to expire so soon. They total less than $200 all together, so I could easily pay them off right now. But that would reset the dates of last activity. I suppose I could call them up each and ask them to remove them from my report if I pay them off in full? (if I were to do this, should I call the collection agencies and pay them, or pay the originator such as t-mobile and comcast?)

Thoughts?

BTW my current FICO scores are EQ: 687 / TU: 689. And I just reduced my credit:debt from like 75% down to 10%, and will be paying off the remainder this month. But none of this has had time to show up on my credit report. So I imagine my score will be in 700+ territory soon, this is why I am not worried about these minor collections. 

Message Edited by MostlyCloudy on 04-27-2009 08:08 AM

[Anonymous]

SOL does not mean removed from CR.  So they will continue to affect you for 7 years from DOFD regardless of SOL.

SOL provides protection against suit or wage garnishment.  It does not provide protection from CR reporting.  You may want to attempt to PFD since they are small and old.  The OC or CA (whoever still owns) may accept the offer and delete.

[MostlyCloudy]

Well I called TU and confirmed my DOLA, and they told me the dates that these collections would be dropped off my report entirely. My question is if I pay them off, will they now show as "paid debts" for the next 7 years? I would rather them not show at all, so thats why I thought maybe I should just ignore them and let them fall off my CR once and for all.

I found this post about PFD letters, is this what I should send to attempt to get these removed now?

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&message.id=91041&query.id=388796#M91041

Also, how do I know with whom to send the PDF letter to? I dont know who owns the debt, the OC or the CA. It looks to me like 3 CA's own the 3 collections, Nco Fin 22,  Bay Area C S, Cmi. These are the names next to the "Collection Agency" field. Is there anything else to look at?

Message Edited by MostlyCloudy on 04-27-2009 01:59 PM

[Anonymous]

If the OC is reporting then if sold it would read  Bal owed $0           If they are not reporting then call the OC that they are reporting for. They can tell you IF the debt is yours,how much and who they assigned it to or sold to.

You want to deal with the OC if they own it!!!    You would mail a PFD to them.

Make sure that you get the info on when you last made a payment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

The CA will lie to you about everything.

Paid collections are scored the same as unpaid. You want these off you CR!!   No, payment doesn't mean that they can report another 7 years.

Collections must drop approx 7 years from DOFD!!!!!

Mail a DV to all CAs reporting  CMRRR

Never pay unless they can prove that the debt is your's and that they have a legal right to collect.

Also check your state and see if the CAs must be licensed and are they.

[MostlyCloudy]

Whoops, I think I have some serious misconceptions about my CR here! I thought SOL simply meant when the TL's were removed from your report. But apparenly this is not the case? SOL is simply how long an agency can legally try to collect from you. CRTP is what I'm after. So therefore I think I need to revise the title to indicate CRTP set to expire in 6-12 months! This is what was given to me over the phone at TU today. These collections will all be HISTORY next year. So now that we have that cleared up, should I even bother sending out DV and PFD letters to take care of this? Or JLIG (just let it go )

[Anonymous]

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@MostlyCloudy wrote:
Whoops, I think I have some serious misconceptions about my CR here!

You're not alone. I'm 99.9% sure that *all* of us did when we first landed here!

I thought SOL simply meant when the TL's were removed from your report. But apparenly this is not the case? SOL is simply how long an agency can legally try to collect from you.

Right. But remember, SoL only applies to legal remedy the creditor/CA can seek in court. 

Meaning, *legally* the debt lives on until it's paid. Legally, they can attempt to collect that debt 'til dinosaurs rule the earth again. They just can't seek the courts' help in doing so. At least, not legitimately.

CRTP is what I'm after. So therefore I think I need to revise the title to indicate CRTP set to expire in 6-12 months! This is what was given to me over the phone at TU today. These collections will all be HISTORY next year. So now that we have that cleared up, should I even bother sending out DV and PFD letters to take care of this? Or JLIG (just let it go )

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Unless you feel some overwhelming need to make good on these bills, I'd let them go. For absolute positive, I'd not touch them until AFTER you've closed on your home. There's simply no need to and you have bigger, yummier, more stressful fish to fry.

(Going through the mortgage process was a HUGE stress ... but oh, so, worthwhile!!)

And further, before you start speaking to a single LO, I'd run over and opt-out with the CRAs. That way, those CAs won't know that you're rebuilding/repairing/seeking credit. Otherwise, they'll come out of the woodworks after a pay-out.

Plus, it'll help keep other bottom-feeders from popping old accounts on your CRs, too. Unless you know for a FACT that these are the ONLY ones you EVER incurred??

Just passing on great advice given to me (and others here) many moons ago.

[enerey]

If you are shopping for mortgages I would try to do a PFD with whoever owns the account. Getting collections removed will raise your score which will give you better rates on your mortgage.

[Anonymous]

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@enerey wrote:
If you are shopping for mortgages I would try to do a PFD with whoever owns the account. Getting collections removed will raise your score which will give you better rates on your mortgage.

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But *AFTER* the SoL has expired, of course.

Offers for PFD can wake sleeping dragons with a pointy stick. A CA can file a suit the day before the end of that "last month" ...

[MostlyCloudy]

I think I'll just ignore it. With a score at 689 and 75% or so credit usage that aint bad. Fico simulator predicts my score to be over 700 when I pay off my credit card and I just did that this month. If my score is indeed 700+ I dont think Ill really have to worry about it, and it certainly wont be in my interest to restart contact with CA's over a few points in my CR.