Thread: Old Capital One credit card judgement......

My girlfriend has a capital one credit card judgement against her in our local court from 4-5 years ago. We may have the money to pay it off in full soon. Should we just pay it off in full or see about negotiating for a less amount? I want to do whatever is best for her credit but would like to pay less if it doesn't make a difference. THANKS!

This one sounds serious. CapitalOne used to (I think still does) send your debts to collections when you fail to pay. In 4-5 years that's probably in third-party hands by now, so always try to negotiate for less.

However, because this looks like it must be an out-standing sum that they feel is large, I guess CapitalOne is still holding onto those debts after all these years? Things can be tricky here, since 3'rd parties often don't tell you the whole story and have a tendancy to PRETEND they are still the official creditor.

So whether I pay the full amount off or can negotiate for less you don't think it makes a difference to my credit report? Also how long does it take to come off and what proof can I get in case it doesn't? THANKS!

After just 3 months, your debts are listed as an R9 rating. That's basically the worst there is, and they won't get worse than that. So, the only other issue then for paying them off SOON, would be if the account is not FROZEN. If they are mean enough to not cut off the juice after all this time, then you could still be paying interest on those debts (that would be bad).

Your credit report lists the dollar amount owing on a specific item. When an account is resolved through a settlement, the dollar amount is updated to zero and noted as settled in full.

P.S. a lot of this stuff can be found in the Mark Silverthorn text. Anyhow, even if you don't pay off those debts in the next few years, they should drop off the report after 6 or 7 years (from your last activity). You will STILL owe your creditor though, and since they won a judgement, that means they can even get a court order to seize assets and take money not just out of accounts, but even paychecks.

I read somewhere that if I pay off the judgements and debts now they will remain on the report for another 7 years because I have done something with them (activity) but I could just wait for them to fall off. So basically all these debts are 5 years old and if I pay them all off today they will remain on the report for another 7 years from today vs waiting the 2 more years instead and having them fall off. It seems like a no brainer to me to wait the 2 more years if this is the case.

Originally Posted by dmband

I read somewhere that if I pay off the judgements and debts now they will remain on the report for another 7 years because I have done something with them (activity) but I could just wait for them to fall off. So basically all these debts are 5 years old and if I pay them all off today they will remain on the report for another 7 years from today vs waiting the 2 more years instead and having them fall off. It seems like a no brainer to me to wait the 2 more years if this is the case.

That is correct. Though there is a chance they could seize your assets, or even paychecks within 2 years, which means your debt will be reccored as paid, and then appear back on the top of the stack on your report, with a re-set clock of 7 years again.

If you want to wait for your bad mark to drop off your report, I would check to be 100% sure that your ex-creditor is NOT still charging you interest. And don't be surprised if you get a bunch of hassling collection calls and the rest of it in the near future.

Now... if you really don't need a very good credit score in 2+ years from now, then you might as well get that debt paid now... so that it doesn't thave to re-surface later on against your credit score when it finally is settled down the road.

Obviously, if you need to improve your score the best within just 1 year from now, then settling it soon is best since a settled debt is ALWAYS much better than a debt still outstanding on your report.

I really appreciate the replies guys. If they have been charging interest on the debt wouldn't that updated total show up on the reports? We would like better credit sooner than later so maybe it would be best to pay everything off ASAP. If we did though what would the reports say after would it be like "debt settled"? Is there any free debt consultation services offered for people that would be in person for advice etc? THANKS!