I have to admit that I am a total idiot when it comes to finances, and any advice is greatly appreciated.
I have two credit cards accounts that have been charged off in 2001 totalling about 18K (like I said, idiot). Until now I have not been able to make any kind of payment, but now I am in a position to settle these accounts for 30 to 50%.
I recently pulled my credit report and saw that one of the accounts is with a collection agency, but the other is still listed with the original creditor, although all correspondence I've been getting from them is from collection agencies (what does that mean?) And the really weird thing is, that I haven't gotten ANY correspondence or calls from anybody since I moved.
My question is, what is the best thing to do at the moment? The SOL in the state where I live is 3 years. It's been 2 years, so after another year they can't legally collect these debts. Would I be better off just doing nothing and letting the SOL run out? In the long run, does settling these debts help or hurt my credit?
Help, I am so confused!
well, to answer your last question.....if you do decide to settle
these, it will help in the long run IF you get them to delete
the account upon receiving your payment
Make sure to get this in writing (there's a rumor going around
that collectors lie from time to time, lol)
Just remember, a paid charge-off is no better than a unpaid
one - as far as your score goes. I have 3 paid charge-offs....paid
them before I knew any better, and my score is just as terrible
as it was before I paid them off. :cry:
I'm sure one of the BIG DOGS will come along and help you with
your other questions.
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If the SOL is up in one year, and you can get away with it that long (should be no problem) then I would certainly not pay. If you can get an agreement to remove the entire TL in writing, and settle for 30%, depending on your finances it might be worth it for you. Paying them at all though and not removing the TL is like giving away free money as far as FICO scores are concerned.