HomepageDirectoryGuideBlog

Credit Guides And Credit Services

Paying Your Old Bills Can Actually HURT Your Credit -- What You Need to Know

Owing money--for credit card bills, mortgages, student loans and everything in between--has become the American way. In all, American consumers owed nearly $2 trillion as of October 2003, according to the Federal Reserve.

Credit Pacific Service Union When you break this down, that's over $18,500 of debt for the average household--without a mortgage. In fact, about 43 percent of families spend more than they earn each year, and the average household has $8,000 in credit card debt alone.

    Paying your bills on time establishes a payment history necessary to get a good credit score.

  • Use credit wisely.

Credit First Service Union Accounting 101

Using your credit card affords you the added advantage of knowing that, in the event that there is a problem with your purchase, the credit card company will remove the purchase from your bill and NOVICA will not be paid. Furthermore, in the extremely unlikely event that shopping at NOVICA leads to an unauthorized use of your credit card, most financial institutions either cover all of the resultant charges or limit your liability to $50 (refer to the Fair Credit Billing Act or your credit card agreement for further details).

Card Credit Mobile Service The equation seems relatively simple. Spend more than you earn, and you accumulate debt. When you have more money coming in (or fewer expenses), you put that money toward paying off your debt, your credit score improves, and all is well.

Credit Builder is an optional service that is made available to you at no additional cost as part of the AccountNow bill payment service. Credit Builder is only a service that provides your payment history to credit reporting agencies. Credit Builder does not improve or repair your credit record, credit history or credit rating. It also does not provide advice or assistance for the improvement or repair of your credit record, credit history or credit rating. For rmation, see Credit Builder Terms and Conditions.

Card Credit Discover Service In reality, however, it's not nearly this simple. Creditors and collection agencies are sneaky, and there are all kinds of games going on that complicate the process of getting out of debt. Morally, it may be the right thing to pay off an old debt, no matter what, but financially, this is not always the case. Here are several circumstances when paying off a debt can actually hurt your credit.

You can safely enter your entire credit card number via our secure server, which encrypts all submitted information. When will my credit card be charged If you have purchased downloadable products your credit card will be charged on the day your purchase has been placed. If you have ordered physical products we don't think you should pay for your order until it is actually on its way. We will not bill you until your product(s) are actually shipped.

Credit Public Service Union Statute of Limitations

Don't let your credit suffer needlessly from errors or outdated information With tools and tips for fixing a bad credit report A bad credit report can hurt your chances at qualifying for loans and credit cards, and it can even get in the way when you want to rent an apartment or land a job. Credit Repair Kit For Dummies is your essential guide to managing your credit — from fixing mistakes on your credit report, to improving your credit going forward, to establishing manageable payment plans with creditors.

Card Credit Processing Service Every state has a statute of limitations that limits the amount of time a creditor has to sue you for a delinquent account. This can range from three to 15 years, but generally most states set it at five or six years. However, it is possible to accidentally extend the statute of limitations just by calling a creditor to inquire about an old debt, or by acknowledging that the debt is yours. These rules vary by state, so be sure to find out your own state's laws on the matter.

Center Credit Service Union Another useful bit of information is that bad marks on your credit report can only be reported for 7.5 years (10 years for bankruptcies). After that, they fall off your record, so paying off the debt won't affect your credit score.

Card Credit Service Wireless Charge-Offs: When it's Beneficial to Pay Up

Credit Security Service Union After six months of no payments, a creditor can write off your account as a bad debt. This is called a "charge off," and is bad news for your credit score. The creditor will usually then turn the account over to a collection agency, and you'll have two separate entries on your credit score for the same debt.

Credit Report Service What really matters for your FICO credit score (the one used by most lenders) is what the original creditor entry says. If your entire balance is there, paying off the collection agency and then contacting the original creditor to zero out your account may improve your credit.

Blogspot Com Christian But, if the original creditor entry shows a zero balance (because it was transferred to collections), which is often the case, there will be no improvement to your credit score--even if you pay off the debt.

Christian Counseling Credit Settling Old Debts

Credit Federal Service Union While settling an account for less than what was originally owed may seem like a good idea, and will appease the creditor, it can actually hurt your FICO score.

Credit Monitoring Service "Settling the account can add a new element to its record at the bureau. Since that element's date would be more recent than the original item, it can end up lowering the score," said Craig Watts, spokesman for Fair Isaac Corp., the creators of the FICO credit scoring system.

Credit Division Service In this case, it might be better to leave the account open and unpaid. Further, if you do settle, another collection agency may still contact you and try to collect the unpaid portion. Or, the collector could tell the Internal Revenue Service that you've received "income" from the settled debt--income that you'll owe taxes on.

Card Credit Online Service Paying on Old Debts

Consumer Counseling Credit Inc The more recent the debt, the greater its impact on your credit score. If you have an old debt, then decide to make a payment, it could update the delinquency, making it look more recent. The end result? A lower credit score.

Card Credit Fleet Service If you want to know more, the Federal Trade Commission has a brochure that outlines the basics of fair debt collection and consumer rights that everyone needs to know.

Card Consolidation Credit

Credit Free Online Report

[ Comment, Edit or Article Submission ]

Share this:

Add To Ask Add To Windows Live Add To Slashdot Stumble This Digg This Add To Del.icio.us Add To Reddit Add To Yahoo MyWeb Add To Google Bookmarks Add To Furl Fav This With Technorati Add To Newsvine Add To Bloglines

More about:

Sep October 2008 Nov
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  

Credit Guides And Credit Services Blog on Technorati Related Blog of Credit Guides And Credit Services on Sphere