Paying off Collections

Submitted by lilybee72006 on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 18:28
Forums

I found this site though searching for ways to pay off collection debts. I pulled the credit report and my current score is 557 due to a new collection company popping my credit. I have 3 accounts in collections that were charged off from credit card companies. The orgnial amounts charged off are :

Bank of America $998.00-CA is reporting $1528.00 SOL-11/2009
Credit One $717.00-CA is reporting $717.00 SOL-12/2009
Orchard Bank $623.00-CA is reporting $656.00 SOL-10/2009

Before anyone asks - I lost my job due to my special needs childs care and had to choose which bills to pay to live. I know have some money to pay them, but only have 1200.00. I have not sent debt validation letters but did dispute some information on my credit report which removed a few medical collections that I had already paid but the collections remain.

I would really like to get my credit back into better standing in hopes to purchasing a home next year. I have no current credit cards but do have two good standing accounts- a mobile home mortgage and a car payment. How do I go about doing this? I am at a loss as to where to start or anything. Any help would be great appreciated. :D

Anonymous (not verified)

anyone?? I really do need some advice on how to go about starting this. Please someone put there input! It would be greatly appreicated!

Wed, 10/21/2009 - 23:40 Permalink

So are they trying to collect money from you now? It looks like they all are close to the sol especially the Orchard Bank its this months. If they are not trying to collect I wouldn't pay anything because if you do it starts the sol all over again.

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 00:13 Permalink

Yes the BOA one just popped my credit from Cavalry Portfolio Srv's. Does the SOL mean that they cannot take me to court for a judgement on them?? Wouldn't if I was asking for a settlement offer for it to reflect paid not matter with the SOL's??? I am confused by your answer. Does not paying them still hurt my credit score? I really need to get it up to 620 or above and at the moment it is at 557.

Thanks for replying!

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 02:59 Permalink

You have you sol listed the BOA is trying to collect from you now and you have the SOL for them 11/2009 so they can still collect from you because the SOL isn't up until next month so I would try and settle with them. As long as the other two are not trying to collect from you the SOL is almost up so I wouldn't pay anything on them if you do the SOL starts all over again. Just let them fall off your score should improve. As for the BOA make sure to send a pay for delete letter before settling. Send it certified.

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 04:02 Permalink

I am assuming the SOL on these accounts. I researched and it said 3 year for my state. The date of last payment got BOA is 11/2006, orchard bank is 10/2006 and Credit One is 12/2006. So did I figure the SOL correctly or am I off? I read somewhere else they the SOL starts 6 months after the last payment, which in turns means they all might still fall short of the SOL??

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 04:32 Permalink

Hi Lilybee,

The Stature of limitations starts off from the first date of delinquency, that is missed payment. Hence, the Orchard bank is already past SOL and the other two are also about to get past. I would not suggest you to start paying now, since it would again start the SOL.

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 09:42 Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

Hi Justin,

Thanks for that information. The first date of delinuency is totally different from the date of last payment. So I am still under the SOL on all three accounts. Orchard would then only statue out in dec and the other two are Jan, Feb if you base the SOL on the date of first delinquency. The dates of last payment are completely different and I thought that was what you went by.

Thu, 10/22/2009 - 14:04 Permalink
The mom (not verified)

So it is actually more beneficial to NOT pay things that are in collection if it has been longer than a certain amount of time (SOL - will have to look it up for my state - assuming it varies)? Trying to help my son get out of debt and improve his credit, but he also wants to "right the wrongs" and actually honor his obligations (some of which are years old). This is actually bad for his credit?

Sat, 10/24/2009 - 01:52 Permalink

Yes first I would get a credit report and see which ones are past the SOL in your state. Are they trying to collect on any of the debts you are talking about? If they are you need to send a SOL letter to them stating that the SOL has past. Do not pay anything on those that have past because if you do the SOL will start all over again. If they haven't past the SOL you may want to send a pay for delete letter requesting the creditor to remove the negative item from the report once it is paid.

Sat, 10/24/2009 - 02:07 Permalink
The mom (not verified)

Thanks so much for the advice. I have been very fortunate to not have found myself in a position to need help with debt/credit, but once a kid goes off to college & gets the credit cards.... they end up paying a very stiff price for starting the process at 18! Ten years later & still trying to undo the damage. Thanks again!

Sat, 10/24/2009 - 03:17 Permalink

I'm sure your son is not the first or the last one to do that. But if it has been ten years since all the debts were opened. Then most likely they should be almost ready to fall off anyway. Get a copy of his credit report and check dates. I don't know of anything that stays on your report longer than ten years.

Sat, 10/24/2009 - 04:48 Permalink
crorkz (not verified)

Ny3NeN Say, you got a nice article post.Thanks Again. Awesome.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 22:42 Permalink