Expert: Chris Ebert - 2/17/2010

Question
I ran a credit report about two months ago and found I have five medical bills on my credit in collections.  A couple of the bills are over five years old.  I'm getting mixed info on whether or not to pay them because they might ruin my credit further.  Do I pay them and risk making these issues current on my credit and drop  my FICO score and if I do, how long will my FICO score be lowered because of this? I wrote the agencies letters saying I would like actual statements (since I don't receive calls or letters) to clarify what it is that I actually owe.  Was that a mistake to do?

Answer
Vanessa,

From my experience, when you pay an old bill it brings the derogatory credit current and it can lower the score temporarily. After 3, 6, 12, and 24 months it will affect the credit score less and less as time goes on. The problem is that most people need the score to go up immediately after payment.

Many medical collectors will delete off the credit report for full payment. That my be a tactic that you want to take.

Chris Ebert
http://www.henleycreditlaw.com