Collection Account

[nicemann]

I currently had a collection account for $556 on my credit reports. My question is does that really hurt my report too badly? Account is over 3 years old. I just got my transunion report and scored 720. That is the only collection account on my report. Just wanted to know if it will effect my score if I get it paid off and ask for it to be completely removed from my reports. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the FICO Forums, nicemann!

I am moving your post to the Understanding FICO Scoring forum since it really doesn't have anything to do with Credit Cards.

[nicemann]

Sorry didn't even noticed I posted in the wrong Forum. Won't happen again.

[Anonymous]

No worries.

I can answer part of your question, anyway.

A three-year old collection is still hurting a fair amount.  That's not that old in FICO scoring terms.

Paying it off and letting it report as paid won't help your score, as FICO treats paid collections the same as unpaid collections.  Getting it removed MAY help your score, although some have actually seen their scores drop slightly (and temporarily) when they lose their only collection account.

[nicemann]

Wow can they make it more difficult to figure out how to improve your credit score.

[nicemann]

I know S.O.L. has nothing to do with removing items from your credit report, but does anyone know if Medical bills are written contracts or if they are just open account? Makes a difference for me. Below is my State's SOL STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS) * Open Acct.: 3 * Written Contract: 6 in Az. - 4 outside Az. * Domestic Judgment: 5-additional 5 upon request (indefinitely) * Foreign Judgment: 4

[Anonymous]

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nicemann wrote:
I know S.O.L. has nothing to do with removing items from your credit report, but does anyone know if Medical bills are written contracts or if they are just open account? Makes a difference for me. Below is my State's SOL STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS) * Open Acct.: 3 * Written Contract: 6 in Az. - 4 outside Az. * Domestic Judgment: 5-additional 5 upon request (indefinitely) * Foreign Judgment: 4

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Hi nicemann,

You'll get a better response to this question if you start a new thread in the General Credit Issues forum.