How can I improve my credit by getting old medical bills in collections removed from my credit report?
I have never had a major purchase that I fianced such as a car or a home. I have also never had a credit card.The only negitive thing or positive I have is old medical bills that have been sent to collections and it anly amounts to 2200.00$. The most recent one is from 2004.
I have heard that paying the bills off does not get them off of your credit.
Tagged with: collections • credit card • Medical Bills • negitive
Filed under: Medical Bills
the truth is that those account have already hurt your credit and by paying them off now it will not help. the damage is done. what you can do is start off by getting a couple of small store credit cards or even a regular credit card with something like a $500.00 limit. now what you do is use the card when you would normaly use cash. example you and a friend go out to eat, you pay by credit card, collect your friends half of the money. when you get home place what you just spent into a jar or somewhere that you will not spend it again. then when the bill comes in pay it off complety or leave just $15. on it this will build you credit and you will soon have more offers for credit card. Pick and choose by seeing if they are charging an annual fee. if the are dont take that card. if they are not than except the offer and do the same thing by spending and paying. with in a year of this you will have established credit and your limits on the cards will have increased. keep in mind you have to be carefull when doing this not to spend the cash later that is how you will become in debt and in trouble. after you establish these 5 cards pick which have the best rates and keep only 3. good luck i promise it will work
if you have paid them off something you need to do which most people don’t know is that you need to get a recipt from the collection agency and then you need to mail the recipt to each of the three credit unions. The collection agency will not do it for you this is something that you have to do yourself…
if its not paid off yet, you cant get it removed. even if it is paid off, it can remain on your report for 7 years.
It will stay there unless you declare bankrupcy. If you can afford it, just pay them off. It will show as a paid collection, but that’s a million times better than an unpaid collection.
One you need to pay off your bills and have proof of it. Secondly, your credit score is better if you purchase a something by taking out a loan etc and paying it off.
Why don’t you start by paying what you owe? Then read Dave Ramsey’s book. http://www.daveramsey.com
He recommends you save to buy the car. Any good mortgage company will probably overlook medical bills if they are paid off. The older they get, the less convincing you will be.
If you pay them off now you would probably have to wait 6 months to a year to get a big loan. If you don’t pay them off you might be declined for an auto loan or a mortgage.
re credit cards: get one but don’t pay if off monthly. Leave only a small balance. Paying them a little every month helps increase your credit score.
Don’t pay bills over 30 days past their due date.
don’t max out your credit cards. Only charge up to 50% of the limit.
Jennifer, this is important. There is a chance to get your record exponged off the bureau but I do not wish to discuss it on this forem. Email me.
the old medical bills will remain on your credit report for 7 years from "date of last activity" so since the most recent is only two years old, that one will be there at least 5 more years. this time can be extended if the (dr’s office/hospital) sells the account receivable to a collection agency, which then reports it as an unpaid account upon booking it in their ledger (that resets the 7-year clock back to zero)
the best thing to do is to just bite the bullet and pay them. if you take the initiative and contact the collection agency, you may be able to set up a payment arrangement.
whatever you do, DO NOT declare bankruptcy! this has a 10 year life span on your credit report and will be there for all 120 months and there is NO WAY to remove it until it drops off.
if you need help, contact a company such as Debt Reduction Services or Consumer Credit Counseling Services and set up a Debt Management Program. this works especially well for those who don’t the have personal discipline to do it themselves.