These charge offs are 5+ years old, how much of a difference will it make on my credit report to pay these off now?
2006-07-17 08:30:42 · 4 answers · asked by shkr23 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
First, check your states statute of limitations.
Then, if you find out that you are out of the limitations, you are not legally bound to pay. You would have every right to send a validation letter followed by a SOL letter.
If you want to pay, be sure and send a debt validation letter first. The collection agency must send the information from the original creditor, not from their own files.
After you have received true validation, send a pay for delete letter. If you do not cover yourself if you should pay, you may find that they will just show the accounts as paid negatives. Which will be just as bad, if not worse since the date will be updated to the current date.
Check out the site I've listed. You will be able to find your statute of limitations, what you need to use in your validation and pay for delete letters etc.
2006-07-17 11:41:51 · answer #1 · answered by echo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All in all your better off paying them. They will only be on your credit file for 7 years. But keep in mind, it is from the date of last activity. So it may not be just 2 years like the other answer I see here. Also, the debt can be sent to a 3rd party collection agency, which will further impact your credit file and they can stay on the file for another 7 years. They can even appear as charges offs and collections at the same time, which, well, is bad.
As a consumer, you have a right to dispute anything on your credit file. What I would do is dispute the fact that the charge offs are not yours. Worst case scenario, they confirm they are and your still in the same position you are. If they cannot confirm the debts are yours (which sometimes happens) by law (The Fair Credit Reporting Act) they MUST remove them from your file.
2006-07-17 08:58:14 · answer #2 · answered by Drako 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you incur a debt you should pay it. That being said, there may not be much advantage to you paying those. They will fall off your credit report in less than 2 years.
Also, they have likely outlasted the statute of limitations. Most states limit this to 4-6 years.
Just be sure that if you do start paying on one, only do so if you can resolve the account completely. Contacting a collector could start the 7 year clock all over again if you acknowledge owing the debt.
Good luck!
2006-07-17 11:08:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They will only be on there for another 2 years. Just pay your current bills with the money.
2006-07-17 08:32:42 · answer #4 · answered by Mama R 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋