If something negative is on your credit report and you pay it off, does it stay on the report as negative for seven years? If so why pay anything off? I've paid several bills off on my credit report (from college) and they are still listed. Is there anything I can do to get them off? I've heard they stay on and eventually fall off after seven years. Is this correct? Any advice would be very appreciated. Thanks!
Ye, it stayson your report for as long as the legal staute of limitations for reporting allows it. This is generally seven years. Now why pay? A good question, and a bit complicated to answer. First, not paying can escalate it to a collection agency, which will add another negative to your credit report, and open you up to possible legal collection recourse. Second, depending upon the amount, it also helps your credit scores, in terms of utilization. Also, when you enter into certain credit transactions (like a mortgage), the lender will always want to see these debts paid before approving a loan. But, if you can live with the negative for 7 years, then there is no real advantage to paying. There are a couple of things you can do: 1) Review the tradeline (reported account) and look for any inaccuracy, then dispute with the credit reporting agencies, 2) And/or try a "goodwill" request to the creditor to remove the negative notation. Sometimes this works, if you have been a good customer, or you just get lucky! There are more agressive methods, but these two are the main approaches.
