No one likes the idea of dealing with accounts that have gone into collections. Just the fact that they exist is enough to frustrate most of us to the point where we toss those notices in a drawer somewhere and avoid calls from debt collectors hoping that everything will just go away. But these things don’t ever seem to do that. Instead, they just hang around our credit reports for years to come, making every attempt to establish credit or borrow money more difficult.
Instead of dealing with your outstanding accounts in collections by hiding from debt collectors, you might want to start thinking about working with those collectors to pay off your outstanding debts. We put together a list of six reasons why your life might be better off with those accounts marked as paid rather than owed.
No More Collection Calls
First and foremost at the top of the list is that you won’t have to deal with anymore calls or letters from collections agents once your outstanding debts have been taken care of. This means no more calls during dinner, no more threatening letters, and no more worrying that the wrong person is going to find out about your little secret.
Start Improving Your Credit Score
Many people who are struggling with unpaid accounts in collections fall into the trap of believing that fixing their credit score is a hopeless mission that they can never be successful at. However, there is actually a ton of evidence that anything is possible when it comes to your credit score if you are simply willing to take the first step and pay off your outstanding collection accounts.
It is also encouraging to know that the latest version of the FICO score no longer holds paid and closed collections against you. That means that simply paying off those old debts can have a positive impact on your score.
Get Approved for Credit Cards
Applying for credit cards is one of the most common methods of improving or repairing your credit score, but many credit card companies will not issue new credit to consumers with outstanding collection accounts. In order to qualify for a new card to start rebuilding your credit, paying off those old collections is definitely going to be a must.
Avoid Ending Up in Court
One of the most frightening aspects of an outstanding collection account is that the creditor or debt collector can sue you and make you appear in court regarding the outstanding balance owed. And if they are awarded a judgement against you, they might even be able to garnish your wages in order to guarantee what they are owed.
The best way to prevent court appearances and wage attachments when it comes to outstanding accounts in collections is to simply work with the debt collectors from the beginning to pay off the amount owed in a reasonable time period.
Step Up Your Debt to Income Ratio
If you are attempting to qualify for a mortgage in order to purchase a house, you will find that many types of mortgages require any outstanding accounts in collections to be counted against your debt-to-income ratio. If you are already close to that line, this can be enough to send you over the edge and miss out on getting the mortgage.
Of course, the simplest way to make sure that you don’t have outstanding collection accounts counting against your debt-to-income ratio is to take care of those accounts as quickly as possible after finding out about them.
Less Stress and Anxiety
At the end of the day, having outstanding debts of any kind has the ability to exponentially increase the amount of stress and anxiety in your life. By paying off those debts, you will find that you can almost instantly lowered the amount of stress and anxiety that exists around you.
No matter how much you might owe in outstanding collection accounts, stashing those letters away in a drawer and avoiding the phone calls is almost never the right thing to do. If you are open and honest with the debt collectors, there is a much better chance of them working with you to take care of the outstanding accounts and then you can move on with your life.
