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| Old "Collection" Debt Posted by Zephyrius Got a call from collection agency on an old Verizon balance from 2005($107.00 which I saw on a past credit report but thought it was a medical bill that I thought was screwed up)... In any case it looks legit and was offered a $50.00 payoff.  on 3/26 at 9:09 amDoes it effect credit score negatively if I do the payoff or is it better to pay the total? Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Yes, it is about to go off your record. If you pay it today, it will be on your record for another 7 years. It is 7 years since last activity. Reply • Back to Top |
| Ok... yeah I was wondering about the 7yr thing also. I was thinking if it did effect score that it would renew the ding for another 7yrs or fall off in a few months anyway. So even if I pay the total bill it will still ding me for another 7yrs? Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Yes. The best solution for your credit rating is to refrain from contact with the collector and let the debt fall off of your report. Whether that is the best moral or ethical way to deal with the debt is up to you. Reply • Back to Top |
| Do the payoff. Verizon screwed me royally with a bill I did not owe. I even proved to them that I didn't owe it. They didn't care. Reply • Back to Top |
| I echo what others have asked and will only add that if you choose not to pay them anything and let it age off of your credit report, they can still attempt to collect from you. Just because it falls off of your CR doesn't mean that the debt is no longer valid. It just means they have zero leverage. They can still call and send letters, or sell it to a bad debt buyer who will do the same. If you send them a cease and desist letter, they will leave you alone, but you might have to do this each time the debt changes hands. Just FYI. Reply • Back to Top |
| I'd offer them .10-and I'm being completely serious. Tell them they'd recoup more money from buying that old debt by just cancelling it, & saving the manpower necessary to collect it, much less the paper, ink, & bulk-rate postage costs associated with attempting to collect it if they just wiped it off their records and forgot about it. Otherwise, they're wasting their time. If they accept the $.10 payoff offer, I'd freaking frame the check... Reply • Back to Top |
quote: The issue is the ding on credit report not the money... Yeah with me just saying "I'll have to get back with you on that" the convo went from need to pay the full amount to $50 payoff which I'm only qualified for with this conversation then when I asked for a return phone number then to "I'll hold the $50 offer for 24hrs"...  Reply • Back to Top |
| If you enter into negotiations with them it can act as activity on the account and the 7 years can be reset and it can still remain on your credit report. That's why they are contacting you now. They are trying to keep the account active so they can still try to collect. If you don't intend to pay it you should be basically giving a no comment and you should not be admitting the debt or negotiating. If you do this then just pay the damned thing and wait 7 more years for it to drop off. Reply • Back to Top |
| FWIW, many in this thread are incorrect. The clock does NOT "reset" if you pay the collection item. A collection item and/or chargeoff can only be on your credit report for 7 years from the date of original delinquency (regardless if it is bought and sold multiple times to different collection agencies and regardless if you contact them and/or make payments). In your case, because it is such a small amount, pay it off and be done with it. Whether you pay in full or settle for less doesn't really matter at all. Regardless, it will fall off your credit report after 7 years of the original delinquency. But, it is correct that they can still try and collect from you after 7 years, it just will not be on your credit report any longer. Of course if you settle, collection efforts will cease permanently and it will fall off your report after the 7 years. If you are wanting it off your credit immediately, you could negotiate with them..."I'll pay the full amount, only if you completely remove this item from my credit report and mark as Paid as Agreed." If they say no to that, pay the settlement amount and be done with it forever. This post was edited on 3/26 at 1:13 pm Reply • Back to Top |
quote: My understanding of how this works (it's been a while so I could be wrong) is that if you enter into a new payment plan to satisfy the debt, then default again, the new delinquency date is used for credit reporting purposes. I suppose this is not really relevant to this case because there will be a settlement, not a payment plan. I used to work for a debt buyer and they used to send letters all the time, getting people into payment plans for charge offs knowing that if they stopped paying, they could use the most recent delinquency date. It could be that the rules are now different, or they could have been violating the FCRA. Reply • Back to Top |
| FWIW, if an open account is about to 'age' off the credit report, there is a damn good chance that the legal obligation has long since prescribed depending on your state laws (3 years in La.) Reply • Back to Top |
quote: And, of course, a debt collector's attempts to collect on a debt that isn't actually legally owed may be a violation of the federal FDCPA in some circumstances. Reply • Back to Top |
| fair debt collection protection act FDCPA some helpful info about yours and the debt collection agencies roles and whay each can and can't do.  This post was edited on 3/28 at 1:22 am Reply • Back to Top |
quote: While state laws limit the amount of time debt collectors can chase you to pay debts or force collections through judgments and garnishments, some consumer mistakes can restart that clock. Among them: acknowledging a debt, making a partial payment or ignoring a notice that a creditor is about to sue on an old debt. resetting debt date This post was edited on 3/28 at 1:26 am Reply • Back to Top |
quote:this works?? Reply • Back to Top |
quote: Thank you. That is exactly what I was getting at. It's the date of last activity that is the counter. If you give them recent activity the clock CAN reset. Reply • Back to Top |
| The clock on the Statute of Limitations can be restarted, but not the clock on your Credit Report. Reply • Back to Top |
| Brad the link answered the questions I had... Thanks!! Its just an ethical decision now... Reply • Back to Top |
| The credit-report clock on a delinquent debt starts six months after you stop paying per the National Consumer Law Center. No matter when the bad debt popped up on your credit report, it has to come off seven years after the clock started ticking. Nothing you or anyone says or does can restart this clock, per the National Consumer Law Center If you read the whole thing, you will see that it only restarts the clock on the collection part and not the Credit Report. Not directed at you, but to those that think the clock restarts on your Credit Report. This post was edited on 3/28 at 9:16 am Reply • Back to Top • Refresh |
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