Should I pay it off or wait until it drops off??

[Anonymous]

I have about $2,374 in outstanding CC debt.  The two accounts have been charged off and should drop off in 2009 and 2010.  Would it better help my credit score to set up payment plans to have this debt paid off in the next two years or to simply wait for it to drop off and if I do make payments will this stay on my report even longer as a negative account?

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the FICO Forums, TAALAG!

FICO treats a paid collection exactly the same as an unpaid collection.  Paying it off will not help your score.

Having said that, making payments will not reset the time period for which a derogatory item is allowed to report.  (It won't make it stay on your reports longer.)

Edited because I need to learn to read better:

You said charge-offs, not collections.  *cleans glasses*

In that case, yes, paying them off will most certainly help your score.

Message Edited by cheddar on 03-12-2008 12:34 AM

[Anonymous]

Is it a bunch of small debts or just a couple big ones?

Another question would be are the amounts figuring into your UTL still?

*removed info that was wroooong lol*

Message Edited by modernsurrender on 03-11-2008 11:31 PM

[Anonymous]

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modernsurrender wrote:

Is it a bunch of small debts or just a couple big ones?

Another question would be are the amounts figuring into your UTL still?

*removed info that was wroooong lol*

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LOL!  Don't be so sure your info was wrong. 

I need to learn to read.

[Anonymous]

hahaha trust me I was wrong, I thought payments would reset dola and make it stick around longer

[Anonymous]

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modernsurrender wrote:

hahaha trust me I was wrong, I thought payments would reset dola and make it stick around longer

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Ah, OK.  Well, for future reference, the law is 7.5 years from DOFD on a charge-off or a collection.  There is nothing about subsequent activity resetting the date.

SOL is different, however.  In many states, subsequent payments will reset SOL.

[Anonymous]

OOOH!  I knew it reset something and I didn't even think of SOL (blonde moment).  That's an awesome bit of info because I was thinking about doing payment setup with whatever CA Cap1 has me with so I can get my balance down to 0 and my UTL out of the 300% range but thought it'd give me another 7 years of time.

Thank you sooooo much haha!!!

[Anonymous]

When you pull your credit report from any of the credit bureaus will it list the DOFD or the exact date of when the item will drop off?

[Anonymous]

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TAALAG wrote:

When you pull your credit report from any of the credit bureaus will it list the DOFD or the exact date of when the item will drop off?

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Yes, the reports pulled directly from the bureaus have this information, in most cases.  Reports pulled from resellers like myFICO or TrueCredit, do not.

The drop date is usually listed in a text field that says something like:

>This item will continue on record until xx/xxxx.<

[Anonymous]

great, THX! this site is awesome!!!!