One Last Collection - How should I handle it?

[Endgame_11]

Greetings,

I have dwindled down about $20k in collections down to one last $7,000 collection from Discover card over the past 2 years.  My credit score still sucks (605), but getting better, and this is the last and only debt I have left (car paid off, one open credit card with no balance, and I currently rent). 

This last collection is a weird one.  Two different law firms have sued me over it, to which I did nothing and they recieved default judgements (or so I was told, but my credits reports show no history of judgements against me) - to which nothing happened. 

Anyway, the last correspondence I have for the debt is late 2008 from a law firm.  My questions are:

1) Should I pay it off? 

2) If so, who to? The law firm, Discover?

3) Should I try and pay it in full or try for a settlement?

4) Will paying it off actually have a positive impact on my credit score, or just look good when I eventually buy a house. 

I don't want to pay $7k to a collection agency or law firm and then not have my credit report show that I paid it off.  Do I contact Discover directly?

I assure you I'm not just being lazy and asking a bunch of questions without trying to find the answers myself   I've been pouring over the internet for hours looking for a solution - but to no avail.  I could really use some expert advice.

Thanks so much in advance!

[Anonymous]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

How old is the debt?  What is the DoFD?

If you had to could you PIF?

[Endgame_11]

Thank you for the welcome and response - learning a lot here.

The account was opened 7/1999, last activity was 8/2006.

I could PIF with some effort if it would make a difference. 

Should I try writing a PFD letter to Discover?  Would that even have a chance?

Thanks again for the feedback.  Cheers!

[MarineVietVet]

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@Endgame_11 wrote:

Thank you for the welcome and response - learning a lot here.

The account was opened 7/1999, last activity was 8/2006.

I could PIF with some effort if it would make a difference. 

Should I try writing a PFD letter to Discover?  Would that even have a chance?

Thanks again for the feedback.  Cheers!

---

Hello and welcome.

What guiness was asking is the DOFD (Date of First Delinquency). This is different that the Date of Last Activity. Knowing the DOFD will give us a better idea how long this account has been in collections. Here is a list of abbreviations used around here: Abbreviations

From a BK years ago to:
7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

You can do the same thing with hard work

Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Credit Problems Which Is Worse?
Whats In Your FICO Score

[Endgame_11]

I'm not sure about the DoFD, the credit report I pulled doesn't have that info.  It does say:

30 days late:  1 time
60 days late:  1 time
90+ days late:  3 times (Aug 2007, Jul 2007, Jun 2007)

[MarineVietVet]

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@Endgame_11 wrote:

I'm not sure about the DoFD, the credit report I pulled doesn't have that info.  It does say:

30 days late:  1 time
60 days late:  1 time
90+ days late:  3 times (Aug 2007, Jul 2007, Jun 2007)

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It sounds like you didn't get a full report. Reports from third party sites are not as complete as they should be. You can pull all three CR's free once a year at annualcreditreport.com.

Experian and Transunion will list dates for accounts that say something like "This account is due to continue reporting until........."  Equifax will have the actual DOFD listed. Or at least that is my experience.

[Endgame_11]

Ok, found it on the Equifax report - DoFD was 8/2006.

[MarineVietVet]

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@Endgame_11 wrote:

Ok, found it on the Equifax report - DoFD was 8/2006.

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As a point of reference if you did nothing else to this account it would die of old age and disappear around  2/2014. That is 7.5 years from the DOFD.

[Endgame_11]

But I don't want to wait till 2014.  Should I try to send a PFD letter to Discover?

[Anonymous]

1) Opt out, if you haven't already.

2) DV the CA reporting on Equifax, assuming there is one, to establish ownership of the debt

3) PFD the owner of the debt - and include the lates.  Ideally, you want the TL in good standing instead of deleting the whole TL.