question about getting a mark removed from my credit report

[astroglide]

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'm paying off that one i made a post about because they are letting me pay it off at like 75% of the total value. this bill is for another injury almost 2 years ago.

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if you don't pay it in full, it will likely end up on your credit report as "amount settled for less than full value." it makes a difference.

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Make the payment. Send a letter (in writing in the mail) to each of the major credit agencies (quick google will find you their addresses) that the debt has been discharged and you'd like the mark removed from your credit report. Its very standard.

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this is wrong. paid collections aren't removed for 7 years. they remain until then, but are marked as closed. you can't simply pay it and pop it off of your credit report entirely. if it worked like that, the credit system would simply serve as a debt notification service for most people.

[Performify]

Yeah if its a collection mark (past due bill etc) then a letter isn't going to take it off.

the letter process only works if its an error in your credit report. i didn't read the OP carefully enough. My apologies.

[Jimbo]

You can contact the three credit bureaus and ask them to insert a note in your account explaining why the item was not paid. This will show up when your credit report is pulled. Hospotal bills are often completely ignored when loan considerations are made.

A down side is that when you pay the bill it becomes "recent credit" and will effect yout total FICA score more than an older unpaid bill.

Jimbo

[Lloyd Crumlish]

so... basically when i went to get pre-approved for this house i'm buying, my credit score was about 660... and i definetly thought it would be better than that. there are two marks on my credit score for 530 dollars and 230 dollars. i'm allready approved for the house, i just thought i would be able to get a better rate.

is my credit score going to go up signifigantly if i pay these off? i mean i know it's the right thing to do, but it's almost seeming from your responses like it won't matter to my score.

[guids]

What is a "good" "awesome" and "perfect" credit score?

[astroglide]

lloyd,
it is better to have paid/closed collections than open ones. it takes up to a month for that to actually register though. if you want quick proof for loan approval, you'll need to get faxes/letters from the collection agencies certifying that the debts are paid. you can request it when you make your payment by phone.

[DoubleTwentyOne]

I have just spoken to my lawyer a week ago regarding a completely different issue with a similar premise.

Basically you don't need to worry. In the US, they can't take medical debts into consideration when evaluating your credit history for a loan. This is why hospitals are way more aggressive when it comes to chasing deadbeats, because they know that not paying won't really do jack crap to your credit rating, at least it won't affect your ability to borrow in the future, which all we essentially care about anyway.

[Lloyd Crumlish]

[ QUOTE ]
I have just spoken to my lawyer a week ago regarding a completely different issue with a similar premise.

Basically you don't need to worry. In the US, they can't take medical debts into consideration when evaluating your credit history for a loan. This is why hospitals are way more aggressive when it comes to chasing deadbeats, because they know that not paying won't really do jack crap to your credit rating, at least it won't affect your ability to borrow in the future, which all we essentially care about anyway.

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my credit report has two marks on it because of unpaid bills. my credit score is also lower than it should have been if i had payed these bills off. i'm not really sure how what you're saying could be true.

[DING-DONG YO]

Just to start, I run a good sized department in a good sized credit card company. I am very familiar with these issues.

First off, any unpaid debt on your credit report will negatively affect your credit and FICO score. (Go to http://www.myfico.com/ to learn more about your FICO score.) However, unpaid medical bills are actually the least harmful. That is because you make a concious decision to incur the debt of any other bill. A medical bill is not like that, it was thrust onto you and you did not make a decision to incur it.

Now you should ask yourself if the bill was legitimate. If you got a bill for some BS service like 4 months after you were treated because the doctor/hospital likes to save money on outsourcing their billing to some sht service provider, then I would fight it. This is how you effectively fight it:

Write a concise, clear letter to all 3 credit agencies (Equifax, Experian, Transunion) and holder of the debt explaining the situation and why you don't think you should be liable for this debt. Send this letter certified mail to all.

Call the collections people and tell them why you are not paying it. Make it very clear to them that you WILL NOT pay it becuase you don't think the bill is legitimate and why.

If you really should pay the bill, then pay it.

Good credit score >720
Awesome scorw >800
OK score 650-720
Crappish 600-650
Sub-prime <600

[Teetster]

OK, first of all don't pay it. Dispute it. Paying it only shows to the credit agencies:

1) Its a legitimate debt

and

2) You took your sweet ass time paying for it

so they are completely justified in keeping that bad mark on your credit report.

Work with a credit fixer and dispute it. Then have your bank pull credit, while its being disputed. It won't be there, credit will be higher and bingo, you get a loan. Once you're loan is done, then you can pay it, if its a legit charge. But, before you do that work out a written agreement with the debtor that says they will completely remove the item from your report if you make payment. Just marking the item paid on your report WILL [censored] your credit score.

Good luck,

Brian