Credit Advice

I was in this situation some time ago, all you can do is pay it off ASAP. I had checked my credit for the first time about 2 years ago and was astounded, I had assumed I would have a decent credit score. Just owing $25 to sprint from about 5 years ago left me with a staggering 587 credit score. Paying that off and continuing to pay my credit cards and the likes, two years later I am now at a 709. GET COLLECTIONS ACCOUNTS PAID OFF ASAP! THEY STAY ON YOUR RECORD FOR 7 YEARS!!

if it is a small amount, just pay it off,  however if you do not have the money to pay this off, there is another option. You can dispute the charge from your credit report, which in turn makes the collector provide proof of debt. if proof of debt cannot be provided within 30 days it is removed from your report. which is actually what the "7 year" rule means that exole is referring to. in actuallity, i once had a $75 hospital bill on my record for 8 years. i disputed it, and it was removed, sense apparently the debt collector had no proof of debt since it had switched hands several times. the only reason i refused to pay was that the hospital bill was related to a work injury that the employer was supposed to take care of, which they didn't...long story there and way off topic. the downside to this method is that if it is removed, and you have no postive account on your report, you will then have no credit, which is worse than bad credit. if you are just looking for a way to improve your credit though, you can pay off the charge, or try to get approved for a credit card, use it only if you have the cash to back up any charges you put on it, and slowly but surely you will improve your credit.

 This will not be a popular answer here but I'll just say it the way it is- DON'T PAY IT! It doesn't matter anymore. It might still be listed on your report but it carries little weight. The original creditor wrote it off years ago and sold it to the bottom feeders for .03 - .05 cents to the dollar. From now on just pay your bills on time and don't look back. And who cares why you never paid it, just learn and move on. And after a couple years of paying bills on time anyones credit will be up in the 700's.

Pay it, you could end up in court. Happened to me with an account I thought was long gone but I got a subpoena just a few days ago.

 leave it alone, it will stay on your reports for a few yrs i know what i am talking about i have one that was sold to a collection company back in 2006 and since the original company could not prove the was done that i was charged for i stopped paying it, and on top the collection company has doubled the bill from the first company. if you start paying it then you will restart the stautes of limimting once again. mine drops of in 2012, oh by the way that stay there on your report  whether you pay it or not.. my score is between 750-800 got the picture? just do not let anything else go that way.  good day to you.