I have two tiny upaid collections. I had them validated and they validated. One is for $43.00 for a Verizon Phone Bill One is for $201.70 to PG&E a utilities company. Although I've made mistakes -- I'm irked by these as I am certain when I transferred my phone that Verizon was paid in full - but oh well. And PGE charged me for Utility use for 5 months after I moved -- and I know I called to cancel. I should just improve my follow-up. Anyway -- Should I just pay these? They have not responded at all to Pay to Delete requests. If $250.00 would improve my score at all - I would just like to get it over with??? But then I lose all leverage. What would you recommend?
I have two questions: Have you disputed the accounts with the CRAs? Are the accounts being handled by CAs or have been sold to debt buyers? Unless you have a pending mortgage approval or something else major riding on these two balances being resolved, I would keep fighting for deletion.
Unless you are planning to apply for a mortgage (in which case you cannot have ANY outstanding collections/charge-offs), I can't think of any reason why you should pay anything towards these debts. The balances are small enough so that you don't have to worry about being sued, and paying the debts WILL NOT increase your credit scores, or otherwise benefit you in any way, unless you negotiate a pay-for-delete. In any case, the collection accounts will fall off your credit reports after 7 years, even if you never pay a thing.
I have validated both through the CRA, but the OC's have not responded to any direct request for pay and delete. I do want to apply for a mortgage, so I guess that means I should just pay them. They do not drop off my report until 2014. I was unaware of either collection until I pulled my report, because I've moved a few times since and no longer lived in an area serviced by PGE (Utility Company). The phone one still has me scratching my head, it really stinks to have $43 ding my credit report.
If your lender is using the newest FICO credit-scoring model, it should exclude collections under $100. That said, many lenders are still using old FICO models which won't ignore the account. It will be difficult to get approved for any home loan with unpaid collections on your credit reports. As has been mentioned, paying them off won't necessarily improve your credit scores, but it will improve your chances of getting an approval on a home loan.
