Sunday, November 28, 1999 - 07:18 am What is meant by unrated? I have a several year old debt that continues to shows derogatory. If I work to have this paid off will it be able to be erased completly from my credit reports? Or will it be better to be shown as paid?
Sunday, November 28, 1999 - 12:56 pm You should by all means pay off all old debt and the reason is that collection agencies continue to sell these debts and even though the 7 year statute may have passed, if the debt hasn't been paid and is sold it can be re-reported by the new collection agency and everything starts all over again.
Sunday, November 28, 1999 - 01:41 pm Anonymous is not correct, since September of 1997 there is a definite date of first delinquency and a definite seven year period. If you haven't already paid off the debt you shouldn't just knee-jerk pay it off, but you should carefully consider your options.
Many debts still show up on a person's credit report after the statute of limitation for collection of the debt it passed. Here in California the statute of limitations is four years for most debts. You have no legal obligation to pay a debt that is past the statute of limitations.
However it can be worth your while to pay these debts if you can negotiate for an improvement in your credit standing and credit standing means something to you.
