A lot of Ohio consumers are working hard to pay off debt and boost their credit scores. There’s a lot of relief that comes with paying off a big chunk of debt. Afterwards, though, you might get a little impatient waiting for your credit score start showing improvement. The time it takes for your credit score to improve largely depends on the type of debt you’ve paid off. With regular, non-delinquent debt, you should see results pretty quickly. However, it can take a while to see an increase in your credit score after paying off debt that’s gone to collections. In fact, older debt can continue to bring down your credit score for up to seven years even after it’s paid off.
Paying Off Non-Delinquent Debt: The Fast Track to a Better Credit Score
Eight U.S. presidents have hailed from Ohio, and LeBron James was born here. The drive for success seems to be built into Ohioan DNA. When it comes to being successful at credit repair, the best results come from staying current with the bills you owe right now.
For example, if you’re carrying a high credit card balance – using 50 percent or more of your spending limit – this can hurt your credit score. To lenders, it will look like you’re relying too much on credit, and this will make you seem risky as a borrower. Paying off this balance will boost your credit score, and you should see these positive results in a month to a month and a half.
Typically, lenders and credit card providers update your account information once a month. This is why you should allow 30-45 days for your credit score to increase.
Paying Off Debt Collectors: Not Always a Sure Win for Your Credit Score
If you stop making payments on a debt and the account is transferred to a debt collector, the original lender may have charged off the account. The account s will be reflected in your credit reports. Settling the debt with the debt collector is still good because the delinquent account will at least be marked as “paid after charge off” on your credit reports, but the item may not be removed.
In Ohio, your charged-off account can stay on your credit reports for up to seven years from the date of the delinquency that led to the charge off, regardless of whether you pay it off. Of course, you can try to negotiate with your debt collector to see if they might be willing to remove the item in exchange for a full or partial payment. Just be careful when negotiating with debt collectors. Never settle for a verbal agreement. Get your hands on a written contract, and make sure that you understand every word of it before paying a cent. Alternatively, be sure send a letter along with your check that starts off with “Confirming our agreement to settle my account number xxxxx, you have agreed to…….xxxxx and I have agreed to pay xxxxx. Enclosed please find my check.”
It’s interesting to note that Midland Credit Management (MCM), a debt buyer, has recently made some changes to its credit reporting policies. MCM has agreed to stop reporting on all paid debt collection accounts if two years have passed since the first date of delinquency. This is good news if your account is with MCM. Just keep tabs on your credit reports to make sure that your debt collection account falls off when it is supposed to.
If expired debt collection accounts haven’t been removed from your credit reports, or if any other types of credit report errors are hurting your credit score, help is available. Ohio residents can get a FREE credit repair lawyer. That’s right. You can get your credit reports cleaned up and the credit score you deserve without paying anything out of pocket.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit
Don’t let debt collections and errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (888)293-2882 or sending him a message through our contact page.
