settling old debt?

Question

I have an old phone bill with verizon. They have sent it to collections and now I want to pay it off to get it off my credit. Will they remove it once I pay? Will paying the old bill affect my credit score?

Answer 1

The first thing you should do before thinking of paying is request validation.

Among other things, make sure that the amount they are requesting is the true amount and hasn't been illegally inflated, that they are licensed and/or bonded in your state if your state requires it, that you are still within the collecting SOL for your state, that they even have a legal right to collect on the debt.

Never put your signature on your letters, print your initials or type your name.
Send all of your letters certified return receipt.

If they are reporting inaccurately, when you get the green card back from your debt validation letter send a dispute to the CRA's for the inaccuracies that they are reporting.

Once the collector properly validates the debt and you want to pay, you might request to pay a portion of the account as payment in full. You should also request that they delete from your reports upon payment.

If they send you a signed agreement, pay by money order or cashiers check. Never pay by personal check.
(keep that signed agreement in a safe place "forever" just in case, in the future, you aren't dunned for the same debt - yes it happens to people)

Paying without deletion will not help your scores, in fact it will harm your scores when the account updates as being paid.

How much you should request that they take as payment would depend on how old the account is. If it is past the collecting SOL and you want to pay, you can probably slash the amount quite a bit.
If you are out of the collecting SOL, you do have a legal right to not pay and inform them that the debt is no longer collectible by sending a SOL letter.
(phone bills generally fall under the UCC for utilities for a 4 year SOL starting from the last payment, but as always you should check your states statutes)

You might click on my profile and do some reading in the links listed to the FDCPA, FCRA, etc.

Answer 2

If the debt shows on your credit rfile, dispute it with the credit bureau as being previous the 7 365 days reporting era. deliver the sequence corporation an authorized, return receipt letter telling them to end and desist all touch because of the fact the debt replaced into settled years in the past and is plenty previous the Statute of limitations (SOL), the time-physique to deliver lawsuit. that often is the final you hear from them. they could attempt merchandising it off to a distinctive zombie sequence corporation. yet yet another end and desist letter is all you opt for.

Answer 3

Call and ask them how much they will settle for and then pay it quick. Yes they are supposed to remove it, but you may have to keep checking to make sure they do. Yes your credit score should go up when it's paid off! Good for you, keep up the good work and get out of debt!!

Answer 4

make sure that you are given a receipt or letter stating that you have paid it in full. make a copy and send it to the credit bureaus with a letter stating that you have paid this and want it removed, it will be removed within 30 days and yes it should affect it a little

Answer 5

You will have to contact them and see if they will agree to you making the payment in full. Also have letter that mentions the phone call stating they by accepting the payment they agree to report to the credit agencies that item was paid in full.

Answer 6

Sorry once it's on your credit report it stays for 7 years. I'd pay it it will look a lot better on your credit report.

Answer 7

Call them, pay it and ask them to remove it from your credit report. You might have to submit a copy that you paid to whoever is reporting on your credit report. (Experian, TransUnion ....)

Answer 8

Eventually yes it will. Sooner off the better.

Answer 9

ask them before u pay it... and yes u need to pay it...