The article details the experience of Karen Stevens who paid off her delinquent credit card debt but was pursued by collections agencies that demanded she pay the debt again. Stevens had to h...
Wondering why you should pay an account in collections? You can avoid more trouble, like a lawsuit or additional interest and fees, and you'll look better to lenders.
replaced by the constant worry of mounting bills and the feeling of being trapped in a cycle of debt. Millions of Americans find themselves weathering this financial tempest, and the emotional toll can be just as devastating as the numbers on the page. Anxiety...
For some in the study with no other debt in collections, the erased medical bills did lead to a 3.6-point bump in their credit score, on average. The researchers were startled to find that for some people, particularly those who already had high levels of financial stress,...
There are also limits to the legal actions a collector can take and to the collection fees they can add. If the statute of limitations in your state has passed on the debt, for example, a debt collector may not be able to take you to court, in which case threatening a lawsuit is ...
Meanwhile, 77 million people, or more than one-third of American adults with credit files, also have some sort of debt in collections, to the tune of over $5,100 on average. It's no wonder then that dealing with bills is a growing financial priority for a large percentage of Americans...
All creditors want to know that a borrower will pay their debt as agreed. They use credit reports and scores in a backward-looking fashion to assess how much of a risk a consumer is likely to pose. If a person has established a pattern of paying their bills on time, they are v...
This also includes medical debt that is in collections. The CFPB says it wants consumers to no longer be coerced by debt collectors into paying bills due to fear of harm to their credit. Lenders are prohibited from considering medical debt when making decisions. Medical debt is not a ...
Paying by direct debit is a common strategy today. Banks and other institutions make it easy to set up this type of payment option for a number of debt obligations, including utilities, monthly insurance premiums, and monthly mortgage payments. While very convenient, it is important to note ...
There are some debts you might forget to include in your debt plan. If any of your debt has been sent to collections, you need to include that. And don’t forget that even zero-percent-interest loans count, especially since the rate usually increases after a certain amount of time. Forge...