Should I pay this? I'm confused!
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Should I pay this? I'm confused!
| Mon, 07-28-2008 - 7:19pm |
Hi everyone,
Due to my negligence in paying some bills, our credit score has dropped down.
One in particular, from three years ago, was for a leased car that had an "over mileage" charge that I never payed.
I got a letter today from "Sentry Credit Inc and its assignor JP Morgan Chase Bank" for a settlement offer of $873.99 for an orignal $1747.98 charge.
Should I go ahead and pay this? If I do, will it erase it from my credit report? I read somewhere (possibly on this board) that "write-offs" dissapear in app. seven years, but if you pay it off it starts back at seven- this bill is from three years ago.
I'm so confused. How much of the $873.99 will actually go to the lease company?
Thanks for any advice!

I'm not an expert in this stuff but as far as I understand it, none of that money will go back to the lease company if they have charged it off. They have written that debt off and sold it to a collection agency and they keep what they collect from what I understand. Some lenders will hire collection agencies to attempt collections on their behalf prior to write-off and will pay a percentage of what the collection agency manages to collect but I think that is unlikely on this old of a debt.
As far as your credit rating, I'm not sure what the deal is with the time clock. Seems like it just might start your 7 years over again. I would imagine this only matters though if you've decided you don't want to try and get it marked 'paid' in the meantime, which would be evaluated more favorably than just the write-off. It will definitely NOT erase it from your credit rating immediately.
HTH. I personally would probably go ahead and take the settlement amount if you have the cash to pay it. A paid write-off will be better over the coming years than waiting out the 4 more years of unpaid charge off.
Peg
pay the money for one thing you are getting a discount. For another thing there just might be a reason before that 4 more years you might need credit. And the chances are you getting it with a "Paid in Full" on your record then a "Unpaid" is a lot more. But I would if you can and the place is in town go and pay them in person so right there you can get a paid in full receipt for future uses. Then check your report in about 3 months or so and see if they recorded the account paid.
Mary Ann