wadew51•10d agoTop Commenter

Is paying off a collection account worse for your score than leaving it alone?

I keep seeing people say you should never pay a collection because it updates the date and drops your score, but my buddy in Denver settled an old $400 medical bill last month and his FICO jumped 30 points, so which is it really and has anyone here actually tested both ways?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_coleman10d ago

My uncle paid off a ten year old cable bill and his score dropped 40 points just because it showed as recently active again. That Denver buddy might have gotten lucky because the medical collection rules are different or the agency removed it completely.

patricia_gonzalez10d ago

Credit bureaus really know how to reward you for doing the right thing, dont they? Pay off a decade old bill and get slapped with a 40 point drop like a thank you note. Your uncle basically tried to clean up his past and the system said "nice try, here's a new problem." The medical collection rules are definitely weird, maybe Denver guy's agency just vanished into the void and his score got a free pass. Either way, paying off something that old is a gamble, you're better off just letting it die in the archives.

rubyk2610d ago

My uncle paid off a 9 year old cell phone collection and his score dropped 27 points. I always thought pay it no matter what. But seeing how that backfired for him and how it worked out for your Denver buddy, I'm starting to think it really depends on who's reporting and how old the debt is. The medical vs non-medical thing seems to matter more than I realized.