key2thecup Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 When I was young and stupid I racked up a Telus bill and didn't pay, it's snowballed up to $5XX something, a bunch of collection notices later.......Now I get a offer of 78% off settlement for $1XX something. Now this is from years ago like 2007-2009, I cant remember exact. But I've been told that after a 6 year period of collection debt it's past some sort of statue of limitation. And the debt is wiped off, the collector can't legally collect anymore, the record is cleared from your credit report. So you still have bad credit but it doesn't show the collections? I'm not too sure on this and need some advice. 78% seems like a high offer, I have a feeling I'm nearing that point of no return, I'm about to order my credit report but it takes like 4 weeks to come in the mail, I want to but can't get the instant one because I don't have a credit card under my name (mandatory) even though I have the money to pay for the purchase. The offer is valid for a week. So I'm stuck with a decision here.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Is the offer less than what you racked up? If so, pay your debt and call it a day. Being "young and stupid" doesn't excuse you from paying your debts down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalky Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 When I was young and stupid I racked up a Telus bill and didn't pay, it's snowballed up to $5XX something, a bunch of collection notices later.......Now I get a offer of 78% off settlement for $1XX something. Now this is from years ago like 2007-2009, I cant remember exact. But I've been told that after a 6 year period of collection debt it's past some sort of statue of limitation. And the debt is wiped off, the collector can't legally collect anymore, the record is cleared from your credit report. So you still have bad credit but it doesn't show the collections? I'm not too sure on this and need some advice. 78% seems like a high offer, I have a feeling I'm nearing that point of no return, I'm about to order my credit report but it takes like 4 weeks to come in the mail, I want to but can't get the instant one because I don't have a credit card under my name (mandatory) even though I have the money to pay for the purchase. The offer is valid for a week. So I'm stuck with a decision here.... I had a ticket for not paying on the bus come back to me more than 10 years after. It went to collections and affected my credit score because I refused to pay. This was approx. 8 years ago and my ticket was from my Uni days in the 90's. Unless the laws have changed, there is no 6 year statute. How it worked was, when it went to collections it had no affect on my credit. When they established I was not going to pay (or an amount had passed, not totally sure) they sent the info to the credit bureau, who then applied it to my credit score. It affected me for 7 years as I remember. I would pay it, as long as you are sure it's not a scam, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
key2thecup Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 I had a ticket for not paying on the bus come back to me more than 10 years after. It went to collections and affected my credit score because I refused to pay. This was approx. 8 years ago and my ticket was from my Uni days in the 90's. Unless the laws have changed, there is no 6 year statute. How it worked was, when it went to collections it had no affect on my credit. When they established I was not going to pay (or an amount had passed, not totally sure) they sent the info to the credit bureau, who then applied it to my credit score. It affected me for 7 years as I remember. I would pay it, as long as you are sure it's not a scam, Thanks, I'm sure it's not a scam, Telus sold off the debt to the collection agency (says in the letter), I'm going to try and haggle a few more bucks off, wether they give or not I'm going to just take the offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer4now Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Is the offer less than what you racked up? If so, pay your debt and call it a day. Being "young and stupid" doesn't excuse you from paying your debts down the road. I agree.. just pay the debt and never make the same mistake again if you plan on using credit in the future. This is one of the reasons why I have stopped using credit altogether too much hassle and stress.. If I don't have the money to pay for something upfront I won't buy it or I'll wait later till I do. Mind you I am a student. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianLoonie Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Because this was a debt with a private business, paying up is the right thing to do. If it was back-taxes or any other government-issued fines, tell them to go fornicate themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer4now Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 On the subject of credit: How much does one late payment reduce ones credit score by? When I used my credit card I noticed the payment processed much later from when I paid initially thus making the bill overdue. Would I see damage to my report? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thanks, I'm sure it's not a scam, Telus sold off the debt to the collection agency (says in the letter), I'm going to try and haggle a few more bucks off, wether they give or not I'm going to just take the offer. That's a damn good offer btw. Get them to send written confirmation that your debt is pay or they could conveniently "lose" the recording saying that this clears you up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Strome Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I agree.. just pay the debt and never make the same mistake again if you plan on using credit in the future. This is one of the reasons why I have stopped using credit altogether too much hassle and stress.. If I don't have the money to pay for something upfront I won't buy it or I'll wait later till I do. Mind you I am a student. This may change when you want to buy a house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Strome Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 On the subject of credit: How much does one late payment reduce ones credit score by? When I used my credit card I noticed the payment processed much later from when I paid initially thus making the bill overdue. Would I see damage to my report? As long as you don't have late payments all the time the bank will let it slide in most cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreFan1 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 A hockey board is not a good place to ask these kind of questions. With a quick Google search you can find places (message boards) to ask these questions. http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?s=d7321681ead78e9f9ed22a27759586f3&showforum=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surtur Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Is the offer less than what you racked up? If so, pay your debt and call it a day. Being "young and stupid" doesn't excuse you from paying your debts down the road. but it will prolong how long it stays on record.... if you pay it now no matter if it is the right thing to do. it will be on record for the next 7 years instead of being wiped clean in only a few months to a year if it goes unpaid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
key2thecup Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 but it will prolong how long it stays on record.... if you pay it now no matter if it is the right thing to do. it will be on record for the next 7 years instead of being wiped clean in only a few months to a year if it goes unpaid. That's the thing that I'm thinking about, by paying it's going to stay on my report for the next 7yrs after my payment, whereas it may be nearing it's elimination date and that's why they gave me such a high offer....... But I also want to start rebuilding my credit which is a long process so that year or so is valuable to me, the question is will it be better to pay and have that record or to let it wipe? If I did let it wipe, then what does my credit rating stay damaged or does it go back to the beginning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 but it will prolong how long it stays on record.... if you pay it now no matter if it is the right thing to do. it will be on record for the next 7 years instead of being wiped clean in only a few months to a year if it goes unpaid. My understanding is that an uncollectable debt never fully comes off your credit report. My buddy tried to buy a condo a couple years back and ran into issues with a credit card debt he never paid from 15 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreFan1 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 My understanding is that an uncollectable debt never fully comes off your credit report. My buddy tried to buy a condo a couple years back and ran into issues with a credit card debt he never paid from 15 years ago. Then he had a judgment against him. By law, collections drop off your report after 7 years. That is of course unless he's renewed the debt a couple of times by making any type of payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
key2thecup Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Statute of limitations Canada A deb t becomes uncollectable or is permanently written off 6 years after last recognition of the debt. (Payment, $0.01 or otherwise) This means that the account can no longer be sued. NOTE: In the provinces of Alberta and Ontario the limitations on litigating is 2 years after last recognition of the debt (Payment, $0.01 or otherwise). In these 2 provinces you can still report on the debtors credit file but you can't sue them. In the case of legal files the limitation can extend to 10 years and in some cases can be renewed for another 10 years Credit Reporting Canada In Canada a debt can be reported on a debtor credit file for 6 years, except the Province of Manitoba, which is 5 years. After 6 years the debt "drops off" their file. In Canada the Privacy Act also effects Credit Reporting regulations. For example: In Canada you cannot pull a credit file unless you have a waiver (usually contained in a credit app, contract or agreement) giving permission to have their credit investigated. Some provinces audit for abuses and there is a major problem if a credit bureau was pulled without a waiver. http://www.collectdebtincanada.com/comparison.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreFan1 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Whoops. Sorry about that link. It's for US stuff. I probably should have put "Canada" in the Google search bar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
key2thecup Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Hoping to get some opinions from our resident lawyers, accountants etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I agree.. just pay the debt and never make the same mistake again if you plan on using credit in the future. This is one of the reasons why I have stopped using credit altogether too much hassle and stress.. If I don't have the money to pay for something upfront I won't buy it or I'll wait later till I do. Mind you I am a student. The company in question has long already sold the debt. The more important thing is to check your credit report and see the last time it was updated. There's a number of options when considering credit impact and either waiting out the years or trying to take a shortcut. You can either, as someone else mentioned, get that payment in writing. More importantly than this, negotiate with them to try and get it removed from your credit history upon completed payment. Get that in writing too. In any case with interacting with any creditor, especially any promise of payment, they will likely hit your credit profile again. If the debt is from 5+ years ago, and has not been updated in years (as in, they haven't reported anything to the agencies in forever) it might be worth seeing if it falls off. The reason for that isn't so much to avoid paying. It's that if you contact them, make any promise of payment, etc., they will update your profile, which restarts the time all over again before it would vanish from your report. Paying it off, in the vast majority of cases, does not remove it from your credit history, and trying to negotiate this with the agencies is very tough. The risk with this, however, is that the collector, like the original people you had debt with, sells it to someone else who then renews your that account again anyways (which really should be illegal). That's why it's important to check your credit history and see the last time it was updated. If it was last updated in the last few years, probably worth negotiating with the creditor upon the premise of having it removed from your history once paid off. Just understand that they do NOT have to negotiate it being removed from your credit history, they can report it paid at the end and from that point it would only begin the time to fall off your history. And if they don't cooperate, dealing with the credit agencies will be that much harder, and worse, your debt will be renewed. Just understand the potential that it might reflect poorly on your credit for the next handful of years and do better with managing credit/loans. Do everything you can to not default or go more than a full month of not paying something. In Canada, accounts that show delinquency/default is a much bigger deal in getting credit (from house, to car, to even getting a business account, or for services that subsidize products like cell phone companies) than in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRypien37 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Well at this point it honestly doesn't matter. You should obviously still pay, but your credit score has already taken a heavy hit. You'd be surprised at what seems like one insignificant event could impact you. Back when I used to grease it up in Car Sales I had a buddy rejected for financing because of missing ONE CC payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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