@Anonymous wrote:Why would paying off collections drop your scores? I would think that'd be a positive, not a negative. Sub'd for information.
Paying them won't necessarily increase your score, because it remains as a delinquency until the 7 or so years are up. It's a good thing to pay them off if planning to apply for mortgage, recon a line of credit, and/or for moral reasons. However, if those issues are not on one's current radar, it looks like it's best to just let them "fall off". I had a collection agenct report a medical bill last August. They reported it again the day after I reconned for a new card (end of February). That same day, I also received notification of paying off a debt (to the same bill collector that posted the paid account, no less). They must have been "reminded" of my other account when I called and paid the first one.
Furthermore, when I paid the first one, they said they were going to send it to another department in their office to have it deleted from my report. I didn't ask them to. I was quite surprised they said they were going to do that. Apparently this person didn't know what they were talking about, or seen my other bill. I just wish I knew if the pay-off was what dinged my score, or if it was the "added" account. I don't understand all this stuff. I just started the building process last June. I don't understand how an account that was already on my credit report caused extra points off if that was the case. It also means if points are taken from one's score each time the same company reports the same delinquency, I better start paying that thing before anything else so they stop reporting. It hurt so much to see that many points gone all at once, after it taking nearly a year to gain them. I really need some advice in this situation so I know how to move forward. Sorry I got so long-winded. It's just so frustrating 