Is it good to pay off debts that have been charged off or are about to be charged off on your credit report?

Question

I read that if a debt is charged off, the debt is erased, but I'm not sure. I also read that if I paid one of these past due bills, it will be held against me with my credit score. What do I do?

Answer 1

A collection makes a ding on your credit for 60-90 days (I can't remember which). Sometimes paying off a collection actually lowers your credit score. I would consult a credit managment company. Of course if you pay off a collection, the points will be added back in 60-90 days. Many companies report the debt every 90 days to ding your credit again.

Charged off means that it was charged off to bad debt. It does not mean that it is cleared.

Answer 2

To answer your main question - pay the bill!
If a debt is in the 'charge-off' category, that means that the company has charged it off of their books. It has something to do with taxes and the fact that they have not received payment from you and they cannot count it as profit, blah blah blah. That does NOT mean that it disappears from YOUR record. Just theirs. Charge-offs are often turned over to collections, just like other accounts. Again, that lingo pretains to the original creditor, not you.
If you pay the past due bills, your score will not drop. As a matter of fact, it will not increase either. It is still a good idea to settle the accounts. There's nothing scarier to a lender than a bunch of open collections.
Good luck!

Answer 3

The debt is not erased - you still owe it. But when a company writes it off, it means that either the amount owed is not worth the expense of collecting it, or they consider you such a poor risk that you won't pay it back. Neither is good for your credit rating. You'd be lucky to be able to buy a junky old car or a cruddy old housetrailer to live in, or else you'll pay huge interest rates because of your poor credit score.

If the amount owed is low, pay it back as fast as you can. It will help you out in the long run. Trust me, I've been there.

If the amount owed is larger, contact the company that you owe, and ask to work out a payment plan. They would MUCH rather work out a payment plan than write this off or send it to a collection agency, as both are more expensive for them than having your payment be $10 short each month.

If you can afford the regular payments, make them - every month, on time, for the full amount. If you can't make the full amount, pay as much as you can afford. This means you do without the frills in life, like that $5 double-latte on the way to work, the weekend at the beach, or the lottery tickets. But if that's what it takes to be able to pay your bills, then that's what you have to do.

Answer 4

The only way I would pay these bills is if the creditor agrees to remove the negative listings from your credit report. A charge off is a charge off, paid or not. It will affect your credit score the same. Also, by paying the bill, you will restart the 7 year clock further reducing your credit score.

Always deal with creditors and collection agencies in writing, sending all correspondence certified return receipt mail.

Answer 5

Yes it is good to pay off debts that have been charged off. Even though they are negatively affecting your credit score, paying them off shows other creditors that you are at least trying to do the right thing. It is also good to pay past due bills, because the longer they go unpaid, the more your credit score is affected. Paying all bills (wether they are late or charged off) is always in your best interest because it helps to increase your credit score as well as show creditors that even though you may have messed up in the past, you are at least honest in paying your debts.

Answer 6

IF the debt has been charged off unless your paying the full amount you dont want to send a payment. the reason is because there is a law or statute of limitations where they can only make you pay for a debt for a certain amount of years, if it has been four years you dont want to touch it because legally (depending on your state) you dont have to pay it back. Go to www.adviceontime.com for more info on credit its free.

Answer 7

first of each physique of those charges are 5-yeas previous and could fall off your credit checklist in yet another 2 years besides. in case you particularly need to pay a number of them off, you may desire to get a pay for delete contract in writing first or your authentic it relatively is a waste of money. in case you pay any of them with out this contract your score will actually pass down through fact the bills will grow to be present day quite then previous. in the event that they do no longer choose for to offer you this contract do no longer pay them something. ninety% of your credit is created from the final 24-months of pastime so those bills are relatively no longer hurting your score that plenty. Do each little thing in writing no telephone calls. and prefer certainly one of the different posters reported, on no account provide out your financial corporation concepts. And in order that which you will comprehend as previous as those bills are you're previous the statute of obstacles so as that they might't sue you anymore, a minimum of in the event that they do all you may desire to do is teach the court docket that the S.O.L. has expired and the case would be brushed aside.

Answer 8

Don't know what "charged off" means, but pay past due bills ASAP; the longer they go past due, the worse your credit rating gets and they longer it takes to fix.