Prettygrlnpink Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Hello all! New to the board & I have a question.I have a couple of credit card accounts on my credit report that are closed but they still have past due amounts on them. How do I go about paying off those balances? Do I contact the collection agency or the credit card company? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highwire8 Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 I would start by talking to the original creditor, they are the actual ones to whom you have an agreement with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Welcome to the CIC, prettygrlnpnk. Are both the OC and CA reporting on those closed but unpaid accounts? If the OC has sold the account to a junk debt buying CA then the OC probably will not deal with you. How do the TLs read? Keep in mind that a "Paid Collection" on your credit reports is as detrimental to your FICO as an unpaid collection. If you are ultimately sued on the account and you acknowledge it as a valid debt, then you would want to talk settlement with the CA in order to avoid having a judgment on your record, but other than that there is no great benefit to paying. (One other scenario where you would want to make payment arrangements is if you are applying for a home loan. Most lenders require that any collection accounts be paid before they will allow you to close on the loan.)What you need to do first in order to start repairing and building your credit is to read all the permanent posts (called "stickies") at the top of the Credit Repair, Credit Bureau and Collections forums. Also, the webmaster of this site, Kristy Welch, has published a wonderful book called "Good Credit is Sexy." It's a highly recommended read and can be ordered right on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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