free 3 credit reports – score

Carol

If you do anything, you ‘re-age’ the accounts and they stay for another 7 years.

Some state laws say that they can’t come after you if the debt is older than 6-7 years, except Ohio. In Ohio, they can come after you for 15 years!

Call a bankruptcy lawyer for the information you need. Most consultations are free.

Natalie

Depending on your state, they should drop off of your credit report. However, save up the money you owe until you can pay the debt in full, then pay it all. It maybe hard to pay it to the orignal biller because they have probably sold it to a collection agency. Why not call and set-up payment arrangements? Offer them 10% of the bill and make monthly payments. I’m sure by now with the accounts being this old, they have tried several times to offer you over 50% settlements.

Debra

Are you being hounded by collection agencies over this debt? If not, I would let sleeping dogs lie and not stir up the dust. It has been a long time, and if they were going to sue you, they will in the next year. But, if you aren’t getting any calls about these bills, they have probably written them off and may have given up on the hope of collecting.

Now, just because April 2011 comes and goes, does not mean the collections would drop off automatically. They may even still be there next summer (2011). It is at this time you would have to find out if the statute is 7 years for these, and then write each credit bureau requesting them to remove these old entries.