If charge offs appear on my credit report, will paying them change my credit score?
817563
Charge offs, paid or unpaid, remain for 7 years from date of last activity.  Credit reporting agencies do not forget to remove them; they purge automatically.  \nPaying a charge off won't remove it, but not paying can cause a judgment to be filed, and that also can remain for 7 years from date filed.\nPaying a large debt may increase your score somewhat, but, also, future creditors look at unpaid charge offs less favourably than paid charge offs.
463367
First off go online and get your credit report and start disputing the stuff on the report if the companies you owe dont reply with in 30 day saying you owe it will be removed from your credit report. This will help raise your score. Ive done this with my report rose it by 100 points.
349172
You are finding out what I've been trying to warn people about for weeks now.  \n\nNever, ever, pay off an bill that is in collections unless you get IN WRITING that they will remove the negative entry from your record before you pay them a DIME!\n\nNow that they have your money, you no longer have any leverage over them.  Good luck getting them to fix your report.  Remember this....credit reporting agencies only report what the creditor tells them.  They can NOT remove it or change it.  \n\nWhat you will need to do is this.\n\n1) Send a letter to the CRA protesting the report, and tell them exactly what is wrong with it.  If it's paid off try to supply any evidence of it.\n\nThe CRA will contact the creditor to "verify" that the report is legitimate.  Remember they are not investigating anything, they are just verifing with the creditor that the information they have is correct.  \n\nIf the creditor does not change the record, and you have documented evidence that it is wrong, then move on to part 2.\n\n2) Send a "demand for validation" letter to the creditor.  They must supply you with copies of all contracts, bills, receipts, and everything used to calculate what they claim you owe. If they do not produce it, send a copy of this letter with another protest to the CRA to remove the listing.  If they don't do it, you have grounds to sue both the CRA and the creditor.\n\nIf the creditor can not supply proper evidence to prove the listing is accurate, and still will not remove it, you can sue the creditor for violations of the FCRA, and defamation of character.  \n\nRead the links below, contact me if you need more help.
730528
it goes up if the payments are paid on time ,but it could go down if payments are missed i believe. ask a banks loan officer they could explain how credit scores are affected by things better then most of us on here
393937
A couple questions first.  Has it appeared on your credit report yet?  Check it out by getting your free report at www.annualcreditreport.com.\n\nIf it's not on there yet, and you can pay it off, do it NOW!  There is a procedure that the collection agents must follow before they can place a negative report on your record.  By paying the bill you stop that process.\n\nIf the Cell Company already put a report on it, try to negotiate with them to remove it in exchange for payment of the bill.  Use the letter below if you need guidance.  \n\nGenerally it takes a few months before the collection agents get involved, so get moving!
328115
They can impact your credit score, although it's hard to say how much.  If you normally pay everything else on time, you won't be hurt as much by one bad account.  However, if you are late on a lot of accounts or don't have a good record with anyone, then you'll see a much larger impact.\n\nIf United Financial is calling you with that threat, they are probably a collection agency.  They may have bought your old debt for a very small percentage of what you owe.  If you are really concerned about your credit but can't afford the $250, you can probably get them to settle for a lot less.  If you tell them you can't afford the entire amount but you want to settle the debt, they may offer you a deal - like $100 to call it even.
498013
While it will negatively affect your credit it is better than having a charge off or a bankruptcy.  One thing you can do is to pay extra, so that you get out of the program faster.  Once you have completed the payment plan, you should use a credit card with a good history once a month and pay the balance off.  This will show a good use of credit.
248176
You could be.  You're credit rating will be screwed.. a lot of bad things will happen to you. How about paying them off?
1174589
If it's on your credit report, the only (repeat: ONLY) way it got there was by an identification identifier that's acceptable. For credit, that identifier is your social security number. \n\nSo, you may not have given them your SSN, but they got it somewhere. \n\nThat said, you now have a charge off on your credit, and it will be a long time before anyone will extend you credit again. Even if you paid that card off, the chargeoff will stay. \n\nI'd select the people I chose to do financial business with (or share a credit card with) more carefully in the future.
695909
If it's been 10 years since you made any payments, wait another 6 months and the charged off account will be off your credit report and won't matter anymore.  Some of them may have fallen off after 7 years anyway.
45327
They could eventually.  What could happen is they can sell your overdue account to a collections agency and the collections agency could sue you and if they win the lawsuit they could have your wages garnished.\n\nThe big issue is that you are destroying your credit, by not paying this debt.  It is probably a relatively small amount and will stay on your record for 7 years.  If it is not in collections contact the book club and make arrangements to pay off your debt.  If it is collections make sure you are staying current on your other bills and pay any extra money to paying off your debt.  If it is in collections paying it off will not help your FICO score, but it will make your credit report look better.
198526
A charge off is an amount that is owed to a company, that is not paid. The company charges it off and it reflects on your credit report.
949223
Paying off the card will not clear the negative data from your credit. It will change to show 'paid off' but the missed monthly payments and collection activity will remain reflected on the report and affect your overall credit score. Unless...you are able to make a deal with the card company for a full immediate payoff if they agree to ask the info be removed from your credit report (and get it in writing first). If you need something immediately, it makes no difference anyway. Even if you can make a deal with the card company, it will be 3-6 months before your report is cleared. Myabe you take the high interest loan now and re-finance later?
246842
Only if you stop paying off your credit cards . . . it will.  Keep your payments up and it will not affect your credit score.
192357
Once a bad debt (charge off) is reported to the credit reporting agency, it stays there for 7 years.  It will stay there unless the creditor tells them to remove it.\n\nTherefore, if you pay off the debt, the creditor >>>CAN<<< remove the negative report.  However, many of them will not do it unless forced to do so.\n\nOnce you have paid them off, you no longer have any leverage to force them to do anything.  Remember, collection agents don't give a darn about you, they just want their money.  \n\nThat is why it's so important to GET IN WRITING before you pay them anything that they will remove the report from your record once the debt is paid.\n\nWhy in the world would you pay them and still have a bad credit rating?  \n\nUse the sample letter below as a guide, and negotiate a settlement with them.
556179
Well consider this when you settle an account it is shown as a "settlement" on your credit.  So this will affect your score.  Certainly better than a default, but not as good as "paid in full".\n\nI would call the companies and negotiate.  Come in low... let them come in with a higher $ amount.... then agree to their $ amount under the condition that it is reported as paid in full vs. settlement to your creditors.\n\nGET IT IN WRITING!!!! \n\nThen pay it.\n\nWe did this with one card, paid a settlement and then they still tried to collect the balance!  It was a HUGE mess to show that we did our part.\n\nSo make sure you get it in writing and make sure you pay it ASAP!  The faster you can pay it the better.
608255
Not sure what you mean.\n\nYou can pay off a loan from a credit union, but it's up to them if they remove the bad credit report.  That's why I tell people to get IN WRITING that they will remove it before you pay them anything.