It seems to me the goal here is to get the negative items off of my report-- I have several debts that have gone to collections. The collection agencies are reporting. I have money to start paying-- but I dont know what the best course of action is. 1. Try to pay the Original Creditor then deal with the CA 2. Negotiate with the CA for deletion. Please any advice would be appreciated! J
I just got an email about this today and this is part of the email sent directly from FICO themselves. The basic idea here is that if you feel "morally" obligated to pay or you are tired of them harassing you, these would be the only reason to pay. It does NOT help your score and the only thing that does matter if it is there and how long its been there. "Is it better to pay off your collections? As far as your FICO score is concerned, two things are considered; has a collections appeared on your credit report, and when it was reported. So whether or not you pay your collections off is really a personal decision. But let me ask you this: if you won the lottery tomorrow, would you pay off your collections? Your answer probably reflects your personal feelings on debt and financial obligations. Something else to keep in mind is that every lender uses its own criteria when evaluating loan decisions. Some lenders may want to see that you are paying off collections before approving your loan. So, paying off collections could very well improve your credit-worthiness in the eyes of a lender."
Thanks- I'm not sure I feel morally obligated- I just want to clean up my reports. It seems to me that paying would help. Paying does not help your score?? Does the older the collection account lessen the impact?? ---------------------------- It does NOT help your score and the only thing that does matter if it is there and how long its been there.
Unfortunatly paying them, although good for your conscious, usually will not impact your score. PFD is usually the best option, you pay them off & the tradeline is removed. But you may find some companies will not agree to a pay for delete. Be sure though to get everything in writing when doing one, do a search here for PFD you'll find some useful information. Good luck, Tegleg
