I have 3-4 bills that I that are due to "fall off" of my credit report as of AUG 2008.?

Question

Should I just allow the entry to just "fall off", or set up a payment plan to pay the bill off?

Please elaborate on answers... I really need help.

Sinicerly,
25 and wanting to GET OUT OF DEBT!!!

Thx!

Answer 1

I'm in about the same boat with a couple. If they are legit and you can, make payment arrangements with the companies, have them fax or mail you a form promising to report "Paid as agreed". If they are high enough, they may opt to take you to court. You also may want to look up the statute of limitations for that sort of thing in your state. Check the website below for more info.

Answer 2

The moral thing to do is work out a settlement if these are legit debts. You can probably settle for about 30% to 40%. Be sure to get any settlement agreement in writing and do not give them access to your bank account. Lump sum payments get the best deals and any payment plan will have to be short term.

However, it is likely these debts have passed the SOL and the collectors can no longer take you to court. They can continue to call and try to collect. You can send them cease and desist letters and they have to stop contacting you. They will probably sell the debt off to another collector who you will have to send another cease and desist letter.

Legally, you can just ride out the next year and these negatives will fall off your credit report. At this point they probably aren't impacting your score too much.

Only you can decide which way you want to go. The most important thing is that you learn not to run up credit cards and other debt and learn to live within your means.

Answer 3

Kevin, Jeff, The700, and Ray are wrong (uninformed bill collectors?).
The Statute of Limitation (SOL) on credit reporting is 7 years. Derogatory trade lines will automatically fall of your credit reports 7 years after last delinquency. Paying them, however, will not erase them. They will still be derogatory, but only marked as "paid".
The SOL on bill collections is a totally different thing. The SOL can be as little as 3 years in some states, but in most it is 6 years. For your state's SOL check the link below,
http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html

After the SOL has expired, you no longer have a legal obligation to pay the debt. However, collection agency can try forever to try collect from relying that you are not aware of the Statute of Limitation.
Send them a letter stating that you that the SOL for collecting the debt has expired and that you are aware of your rights as a consumer. Send the letter by certified mail.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

How long since they have been able to contact you? Sometimes smaller ones actually go away, but usually a different debt collector buys up the debt and surges ahead trying to get payment. If you have a few thousand dollars of debt or more I would recommend a debt consolidator. They do not hurt your credit scores at all, actually help, and it allows you to pay off your debts.
Don't count on that actually "going away" for good.

Answer 5

No paying them off will not help let them fall off. If you get calls from collection agencies let them know that the statute of limitations has expired and if taken to court you will use that as a defense, and one that will get the case thrown out of court. I digress do not admit to the debt let them know that if it was yours that the SOL has expired. If they then threaten to put it on your report let them know that that is also illegal. have them prove the debt, since they already know they are past the SOL doubt if it will happen. Sorry got more ideas while answering so a little out of sequence

Answer 6

You should call and set up payment arrangments. Even if they fall off they can still come back after you anytime. You should call and set up payment even if you can only pay $20 a month they will gladly except it. As far as getting out of debt and staying debt free I would recommend getting a book by Dave Ramsey called "the complete money makeover". Learn to live frugally and under your means and invest along the way. Happy holidays

Answer 7

Even bills that have "fallen off" a credit report can come back. I would recommend that you call these places, set up a payment plan, and pay off these debts. If you need any help planning a budget or finances, you can email me at [e-mail]. Good Luck to you. If I did it, so can you! Try to stay positive!