Current Events > Is it worth it to pay off collections debts to collections companies?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have bills contacting me from the past that I stopped paying that went into collections

I paid some of them off and more of them are coming that didn't contact me for the past 6 years

They could eventually take you to court, then if you don't pay they'll take it right out of your paycheck.

Id its been 6 years no way, I think at 7 they cant collect anymore.

You have about a year for them to get erased and basically forgiven (7years) with no affect on your credit, paying them after 6 years will just hurt your score. Depends on what your financial goals are this year

Legend_of_Zelda posted...

paying them after 6 years will just hurt your score

let collections rot... always an option.

Don't talk to them until you learn yourself proper. I think I'm some places, debts can go from being too old to be collectable until contact is made which resets the clock or something of the sort

Agonized_rufous posted...

Don't talk to them until you learn yourself proper. I think I'm some places, debts can go from being too old to be collectable until contact is made which resets the clock or something of the sort

What a weird loophole

Also, why 7 years?

7 years is because that's a reasonable amount of time to collect and if youve made good decisions in life since the debt, the government would rather you continue so you're not a burden with social systems and they get more taxes out of you being for productive

Cause they watched that video from The Ring

Scion/Azn/Redthis gimmick is just sad at this point. Seek legitimate help.

Agonized_rufous posted...

7 years is because that's a reasonable amount of time to collect and if youve made good decisions in life since the debt, the government would rather you continue so you're not a burden with social systems and they get more taxes out of you being for productive

That's what I thought

Agonized_rufous posted...

7 years is because that's a reasonable amount of time to collect and if youve made good decisions in life since the debt, the government would rather you continue so you're not a burden with social systems and they get more taxes out of you being for productive

That sounds too rational to be true

Only if you want to improve your credit rating

Norman_Smiley posted...

Id its been 6 years no way, I think at 7 they cant collect anymore.

Yep. If youre in the US , anyway. May as well ride it out. Hopefully they dont win a judgement and either garnish or clean out your bank account before you can beat the clock, which can and does sometimes happen.

If you do decide to pay off, its typically prime time to get a percentage deal. Sometimes pennys on the dollar. They really just want to close, more than anything usually.

If its a collection agency odds are they bought the debt and have no records to prove TC owes what they claim. Chances of a judgment are quite low for the age of the debt, as I understand it.

Norman_Smiley posted...

If its a collection agency odds are they bought the debt and have no records to prove TC owes what they claim. Chances of a judgment are quite low for the age of the debt, as I understand it.

Yep. They can say, you owe me! all they want. Your reply should always be, prove it.

If they cant, theyre usually out of luck.

indica posted...

That sounds too rational to be true

Don't mess with taxes fam

NecroFoul99 posted...

Yep. They can say, you owe me! all they want. Your reply should always be, prove it.

If they cant, theyre usually out of luck.

This

Especially when it's been that long. Chances are they're not even the first collection agency.

Bill becomes due: $5000
Past due: Collections company buys it for $4500
Can't collect on it, wants something instead of nothing, so sells it to another company for $3000
Can't collect on it, wants something instead of nothing, so sells it to another company for $1900

Eventually they've paid very little for what you actually owed and somewhere in the process the paperwork proving you even owed anything at all gets lost.

I was under the impression the 7 years thing was if you didn't talk to them and say "oh yeah, I guess I do owe that." If you agree to payment plans or anything and then don't make payments the 7 year thing starts over or something.

I could be talking out my ass here but I swear I read something like this.

Edit: Found some details on a random website.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, debts can only appear on your credit report for 7 years. After that period is up, the debt can no longer be reported.
Also, if youve had a delinquent account on your credit report, creditors can hold the debt against you. Keep in mind that some actions can restart the 7-year clock, such as making a partial payment or accepting a settlement offer.

You should contest any collections notice in writing and ask them to verify the debt owed, and then when they reply you can basically reply saying you failed to verify the debt and you cannot contact you via phone (list your phone numbers), US mail, e-mail or any other form of communication.

If it's a smaller amount ($250 or less let's say) they will just leave it be because it would basically be a loss for them to report it to the credit bureaus.