How can I help to correct my mom’s bad credit?
Mom is 74 year old already. For some reason she was charged with her last hospital stay. She couldn’t pay for it, so it eventually went to debt collecting agency. She is going to apply for a HUB’s apartment, so I think I would help her to pay off the debt so that she has better credit for applying. But one thing I am not sure is, was her bad credit already set once the debt went to collecting agency? Will her credit be automatically adjusted upon paying off her deft? Besides helping her to pay off the debt, what I can do to make remedies to her credit?
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For some reason she was charged with her last hospital stay.
She was charged for EVERY medical treatment she ever received. The only difference for the last hospital stay is that it apparently was NOT paid by insurance.
was her bad credit already set once the debt went to collecting agency?
NO. Her credit was damaged when the bill was not paid on time. This happened LONG before it went to collections.
Will her credit be automatically adjusted upon paying off her deft?
Her credit score automatically reflects the information in her credit report at the time it is requested. That said, paying off bad debts doesn't change the fact that the debt was not paid on time, or remove the item from her credit history. A paid off debt is SLIGHTLY better then an unpaid bad debt, but TIME is the only thing that significantly increases a credit score.
improving credit is a long process - you just don't pay off a bill and expect your credit to improve dramatically - it takes a series of on time payments AFTER you bring past due accounts up to date or paid off.