Taking care of old cell phone bill

[Bob Sacamano]

Long story, but I still owe a substantial amount of money to the cell phone company, which has been accruing since well, since forever. Anyways. Should I try to contact them or just go straight to the collection agency? I just don't want to pay the bill, and find out that it's still active. Does the cell phone company send it to the collection agency, and just forget about and have them deal with it or what?

[theogt]

The cell phone company may have written the debt off and sold the debt. I would contact both the cell phone company and the debt collector (particularly if the debt collector is listed on your credit report), but obviously I would make certain to only pay one of the two. I would also be certain to keep records of payment, in order to have when disputing or making changes on your credit report.

[Bob Sacamano]

The cell phone company may have written the debt off and sold the debt. I would contact both the cell phone company and the debt collector (particularly if the debt collector is listed on your credit report), but obviously I would make certain to only pay one of the two. I would also be certain to keep records of payment, in order to have when disputing or making changes on your credit report.

I also heard that paying off debts negatively affects your credit rating, since it's recent. Should I even pay it then since it's probably sold to the collection agency, and just work on improving my credit instead?

[theogt]

I also heard that paying off debts negatively affects your credit rating, since it's recent. Should I even pay it then since it's probably sold to the collection agency, and just work on improving my credit instead?How old is the debt? You know there's a 7 year limit on your credit report, right? Do you need to apply for credit soon?

I'm not certain at the moment how the credit rating system works, but I can't imagine it would hurt your credit to actually pay off delinquent debt.

[Bob Sacamano]

How old is the debt? You know there's a 7 year limit on your credit report, right? Do you need to apply for credit soon?

It's about 5 years old. And no need to apply for credit yet.

[theogt]

It's about 5 years old. And no need to apply for credit yet.One obvious option is to just wait two more years until it's no longer on your credit. That doesn't mean you're not legally obligated to pay the debt, however.

[Bob Sacamano]

One obvious option is to just wait two more years until it's no longer on your credit. That doesn't mean you're not legally obligated to pay the debt, however.

So should I just pay it then since in 7 years is coming up anyways? Or does another 7 years start from that date that you pay?

[theogt]

So should I just pay it then since in 7 years is coming up anyways? Or does another 7 years start from that date that you pay?I'm not certain exactly when the seven years starts. Look on your credit report, there should be a date listed.

I'm not telling you whether you should or shouldn't pay it. But it seems likely that after 7 years it will not be on your credit report and the creditor will be time-barred from collecting the debt (i.e., the statute of limitations will have likely run out).

I don't know all of the details of your situation, though, so I couldn't possibly make any suggestion either way. And, of course, none of this is legal advice.

[Idgit]

You should pay the debt because you incurred the debt. .

One nice thing, though, if the cellular provider sold the receivable, they did so at $.10-$.20 on the dollar. You will be able to negotiate a payout with your creditor. I'd aim at something ~20-25% of the original obligation

[Bob Sacamano]

It looks like the 7-year window is from the time of delinquency only. So I will negotiate and pay it off.

[Bob Sacamano]

BTW, I'm not finding myself on any credit reporting agency. I've tried the 3 major ones and nothing. One of them is confusing me with my father.

[Bob Sacamano]

You should pay the debt because you incurred the debt. .

One nice thing, though, if the cellular provider sold the receivable, they did so at $.10-$.20 on the dollar. You will be able to negotiate a payout with your creditor. I'd aim at something ~20-25% of the original obligation
:rolleyes: I've only said like 5,000 times in this thread alone that I want to pay it off. But if it's going to only hurt me in the long run. I'm not going to.

And especially since I've already paid these guys a bunch of money, a few thousand dollars to be exact. The rest of this debt is just red-tape bull****. But if it will help me to pay it off, then I will, if not. Then I'm not.

But since it looks like I'm in the window where this doesn't hurt me, I will go ahead and pay it off.

[Idgit]

:rolleyes: I've only said like 5,000 times in this thread alone that I want to pay it off. But if it's going to only hurt me in the long run. I'm not going to.

In your mind, you give yourself bonus points for wanting to but not actually doing it?

And paying your debt is not going to hurt you. Incurring your debt and not paying it in the first place is what hurt you. At this point, we're just talking about what the consequences of that are likely to be.

But, either you're a man of your word, or your not. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other which one it is, but don't bore us with rationalizations.

[Bob Sacamano]

In your mind, you give yourself bonus points for wanting to but not actually doing it?

And paying your debt is not going to hurt you. Incurring your debt and not paying it in the first place is what hurt you. At this point, we're just talking about what the consequences of that are likely to be.

But, either you're a man of your word, or your not. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other which one it is, but don't bore us with rationalizations.

Dude, did you enter into this discussion to help, or just give me a moral lecture? I'm just looking at things pragmatically here.

I already came to the conclusion, due to this discussion, no, your moral leaning had nothing to do with that, that I'm going to pay because it will benefit me too.

[HoleInTheRoof]

This is all from what I understand, and to the best of my knowledge. None of it is intended to be legal advice.

The 7 years starts from the last time a payment was made, or the last time you acknowledged the debt. For example, if you last paid in 03/2005, but your cell phone provider called you and you acknowledged the debt on 07/2005, then the 7 years starts there. That's why they record the phone calls.

If you've gone 5 years, and you don't need to apply for credit, I wouldn't even worry about it.


Also, never pay a collection agency. They buy debt for pennies on the dollars. The original creditors have long written the debt off.

Most collection agencies, purchase your delinquent debt for pennies on the dollar. You don't have any agreement/contract with the debt collector or collection agency. Your only agreement/contract was with the original creditor.

If a collection agency shows on your credit report, then the Fair Credit Reporting Act says that Credit Bureaus have to have written documentation verifying the debt. If they don't, they have to remove the debt from your credit report.

If you dispute a debt and ask for verification, these have to go in your file. The Credit Bureau will likely say they don't have to have documentation, only verification. That isn't true. Keep at them to send you written documentation showing verification to remove the debt from your credit report, or you'll take legal action.

[Sam I Am]

I also heard that paying off debts negatively affects your credit rating, since it's recent. Should I even pay it then since it's probably sold to the collection agency, and just work on improving my credit instead?

Just call the phone company and make a deal with them to pay $x (like half) amount to completely settle the debt. Sometimes, they will be willing to accept something if they think they might not get anything.

Don't call those credit fixer companies. They just charge you stupid amounts of money to do the same thing you can do yourself. They are all rip jobs. (even the ones that claim to be non-profit)

Paying off a debt is never a bad thing. Sometimes when paying off the debt (even when they agree to only accept part of the debt) you can talk them into only reporting the debt as paid which is a major positive. Even though it will still say you were way behind in payments, it still can show that you eventually paid it off.

[HoleInTheRoof]

Another solution altogether is to find a recently dead guy who had great credit, and steal his identity.

[Bob Sacamano]

Great advice everyone. The thing I'm worried about is waiting for 7 years to be up, and then they bring me to court or something over it.

[Maikeru-sama]

Long story, but I still owe a substantial amount of money to the cell phone company, which has been accruing since well, since forever. Anyways. Should I try to contact them or just go straight to the collection agency? I just don't want to pay the bill, and find out that it's still active. Does the cell phone company send it to the collection agency, and just forget about and have them deal with it or what?

I didn't read through the thread.

Bob, I cleaned my credit up myself about 5 years ago, so I have a lot experience in this.

First, I would find out if the phone company has sent the bill to collection. If they have not, then just go ahead and pay it and close your account.

If the phone company has sent the account to collection, I would not deal with the collection agency. I would do what we call on a 'credit repair site' I used to fix my credit, which is a PFD, or Pay for Delete. Meaning, you shouldn't pay the phone company unless they agree (in writing) to remove the item from your Credit Report or not to report it if, they haven't already.

Also, I am not sure how old this account is but the Statute of Limitations may have expired (depending upon which state you live in) and you may not be liable for it.

That's what I would do.

[Bob Sacamano]

I didn't read through the thread.

Bob, I cleaned my credit up myself about 5 years ago, so I have a lot experience in this.

First, I would find out if the phone company has sent the bill to collection. If they have not, then just go ahead and pay it and close your account.

If the phone company has sent the account to collection, I would not deal with the collection agency. I would do what we call on a 'credit repair site' I used to fix my credit, which is a PFD, or Pay for Delete. Meaning, you shouldn't pay the phone company unless they agree (in writing) to remove the item from your Credit Report or not to report it if, they haven't already.

Also, I am not sure how old this account is but the Statute of Limitations may have expired (depending upon which state you live in) and you may not be liable for it.

That's what I would do.

I'm looking at some of the letters right now, which a letter from the phone company is January 5th, 2005, (Telling me the breach of contractual agreement amount and warning me that they'll turn it into an agency if not responded to in 10 days), and another one from the collection agency, September 9th, 2005. Saying that it was turned in to them.

BTW state is Maryland.

[HoleInTheRoof]

I'm looking at some of the letters right now, which a letter from the phone company is January 5th, 2005, (Telling me the breach of contractual agreement amount and warning me that they'll turn it into an agency if not responded to in 10 days), and another one from the collection agency, September 9th, 2005. Saying that it was turned in to them.

BTW state is Maryland.

I don't have a calender handy, but I think the 10 days has passed.

[Bob Sacamano]

I don't have a calender handy, but I think the 10 days has passed.
:laugh2:Just using it to relate that it was turned over to a collection agency. I think what I'm gonna do is call the phone company and tell them that I will settle for the original amount owned with them.

[Maikeru-sama]

I'm looking at some of the letters right now, which a letter from the phone company is January 5th, 2005, (Telling me the breach of contractual agreement amount and warning me that they'll turn it into an agency if not responded to in 10 days), and another one from the collection agency, September 9th, 2005. Saying that it was turned in to them.

BTW state is Maryland.

If you have the money, then you should pay them as soon as possible before they send it to a collection agency.

But before you do, make sure you call them and get a mutual understanding that it will not be reported on your credit, if you do pay and get that in writing.

Before I learned how to clean my credit up, one of the foolish things I did was payoff items (in credit repair circles we call them 'negative tradelines') that were about to fall off my credit and/or that were already on my credit and paying them off meant nothing.

[Bob Sacamano]

If you have the money, then you should pay them as soon as possible before they send it to a collection agency.

But before you do, make sure you call them and get a mutual understanding that it will not be reported on your credit, if you do pay and get that in writing.

Before I learned how to clean my credit up, one of the foolish things I did was payoff items (in credit repair circles we call them 'negative tradelines') that were about to fall off my credit and/or that were already on my credit and paying them off meant nothing.

It was sent to the collection agency almost 5 years ago.

[Maikeru-sama]

It was sent to the collection agency almost 5 years ago.

If it were me, and it has been 5 years, I would not do anything about it and wait until it falls off my credit. I would make sure I understood when it was placed on my credit (a lot of times it is 30-60 days from the last payment received) and then make sure it is off after 7 years.

Here is a list of the Statute of Limitations (which is different then the 7 years it will fall off your Credit Report and represents the time in which you can be dragged into court and be sued) for each state:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-29941.html

Looks like Maryland is 3 years.

Now if you are in need of credit because you need a loan, that is a different story and I would go the PFD route.

[Bob Sacamano]

If it were me, and it has been 5 years, I would not do anything about it and wait until it falls off my credit. I would make sure I understood when it was placed on my credit (a lot of times it is 30-60 days from the last payment received) and then make sure it is off after 7 years.

Here is a list of the Statute of Limitations (which is different then the 7 years it will fall off your Credit Report and represents the time in which you can be dragged into court and be sued) for each state:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-29941.html

Looks like Maryland is 3 years.

Now if you are in need of credit because you need a loan, that is a different story and I would go the PFD route.

hmmm, but what happens when the credit reporting agency is based in another state? In this instance, California?

[Maikeru-sama]

hmmm, but what happens when the credit reporting agency is based in another state? In this instance, California?

Doesn't matter, you signed a written contract in the state of Maryland.

If you don't need access to credit at the moment or the next couple of years, I would just let it fall off.

If you have the money and the need to access credit, I would only do a Pay For Delete.

Before I learned the 'Credit Game' around the time I graduated from College, I paid some old bills off (similar to yours but a few were stuff family members got in my name), foolishly thinking it was going to help my Credit. And of course, when I went in to get my first 'real' car at David McDavid Honda in Irving, they slapped me with a 18% interest rate or something ridiculously high like that.

So paying old collections off that were on my credit didn't do squat for me and that is why there is a push (legislation may be in effect in one of the northern states, maybe New York) to allow negatives to fall off Credit Reports faster, if people pay off old collections.

Play the System, don't let it play you.

[Bob Sacamano]

Thanks Mike. You've been a world of information.

[Maikeru-sama]

Thanks Mike. You've been a world of information.

No problem.

Like I said, I had a very poor credit score when I graduated from College, some of it was the result of others getting things in my name.

Regardless, I found a great website that taught me how to clean my credit up myself and learn how the Credit System is setup in the favor of the big banks and businesses.

[big dog cowboy]

Good luck Bob.

Yes I mean that.