A bit of a Dilemma ..and MBA at the Big 3

[sanantone]

I don't see what the big deal is. On many credit forums like MyFICO which is owned by Fair Isaac Corporation, they advise on their own forum not to pay a debt to reset the clock. Like why would you? If something was on your credit report for 7 years, why would you pay it, only for it to be on your credit longer? Which ultimately can prevent you from buying a home, purchasing a car ect. Plus most debt is sold to junk debt buyers; where no record of the actual debts actually exist on their end; where most can't even prove you actually owe a debt. Check out the recent judgement on Midland Credit Management where they were forced to stop collecting on debts worth millions of dollars due to a lack of paper trail on their end.

That is why you send a debt validation letter and ask for documentation. That is what I did when I paid off a debt collector that had my WIU account. IIRC, I settled for a smaller amount than was owed and got the settlement offer in writing. Included in the settlement was the removal of the account from my credit reports. Five or six years later, there is still nothing on my credit reports about the WIU debt.

If you make a partial payment, it will make the account current. If you default on the account that is now current, then you reset the clock.