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This is the worst possible advice a person could give. Collectors can and will go to court to get a Judgement (capital-J), which allows them to garnish wages (a

This is the worst possible advice a person could give. Collectors can and will go to court to get a Judgement (capital-J), which allows them to garnish wages (among other things) and in some cases is actually worse than declaring bankruptcy. "If you have a lot of cash" speaks volumes about where you're coming from, though. Congratulations on being one of the very privileged few in this country who can afford to do what you suggest. The vast majority of the rest simply cannot.

a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
They pursue a judgement on sums up around thousands of dollars where the charges are clearly valid. There is no way that's going to happen on some piddly $400 amount that you have documented is substantially BS. What I'm talking about is people I've seen in recent threads freaked out about some comcast charge affecting their credit report. Don't waste a minute of your time dealing with them or the credit bureaus. Just don't pay.
- eli 12y ago
  Echoing that this is really bad advice. I spent a rather unpleasant day in small claims court and saw first-hand that credit card companies can and will file lawsuits over relatively small amounts owed.
- cnp 12y ago
  This is beyond idiotic. My credit score is HORRIBLE due to little things like this accumulating in my youth. Pay everything, always -- always pay -- always. It WILL come back to fuck you over just when you need those extra few points.
  - vinceguidry 12y ago
    Not so idiotic. I ran up a modest amount of debt in my early twenties, never paid any of it. Fast forward ten years. Found a decent job, look to buy a car, come to find out my credit report is mostly empty. Most everything had dropped off. Capital One gave me a credit card, I've been building up credit and savings over the last year. If you have the discipline to say, "no new debt," which isn't that hard to do after you've already fucked up your score, then you can hit thirty with a clean slate.
    - UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
      Its hard to impossible to rent an apartment around here with a low credit score. That wasn't the case several years ago. I am guessing it will just keep getting more prevalent so you may have to live in your parents garage util 30 while waiting for that old debt to drop off your credit report.
      - cnp 12y ago
        I'm moving to SF in a year or so because my wife is attending grad school and I am terrified about housing due to this fact. Maybe I can get my employer to sign the lease.... right
      - learc83 12y ago
        Can't you just offer to pay a larger deposit or several months up front?
        michaelochurch 12y ago
        Can't you just offer to pay a larger deposit or several months up front? Can't you just offer the landlord occasional use of your boat and promise to pull family connections (everyone has them, no?) to get White House internships for his kids?
        learc83 12y ago
        I'm not saying paying extra is feasible for someone without much money, but this whole comment thread was a response to one guy who basically said credit doesn't matter much if you aren't poor. Going with the implicit assumption that we're talking about someone who's making a pretty good bit of money, but who has a bad credit rating, I'm only arguing that it's not impossible to rent an apartment. I love your blog by the way.
        a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
        I'm not rich. I make about 150 right now, which around here isn't much. I am just informing you cowed bougie woosies that your "oh noes my credit report" panics are not grounded in reality. If you pay your legit bills on time and make a solid living, credit is not a valid concern when someone is trying to fuck you. In cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore most of the households are chronically arrears on utilities. Guess what, they all have cell phones and DirectTV and cheap mortgages, and their utilities are never cut off. Mortgage originators are desperate for truly credit worthy customers. Some dings from the racketeers might be a problem if you want to rent a $4K apartment on a $90K income, but even then I doubt it. I almost get the sense that upper middle class nerds have no idea how most of society actually operates and how strong a position solid income puts you in.
  - monksy 12y ago
    Pay it off and go without credit for a few years... your score will be trashed.
- UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
  They have something called small claims court for getting a judgement on small debts. Cheap and easy, no lawyer required. I am betting there are collection agencies that specialize in small debts.

a8da6b0c91d 12y ago

They pursue a judgement on sums up around thousands of dollars where the charges are clearly valid. There is no way that's going to happen on some piddly $400 amount that you have documented is substantially BS. What I'm talking about is people I've seen in recent threads freaked out about some comcast charge affecting their credit report. Don't waste a minute of your time dealing with them or the credit bureaus. Just don't pay.

eli 12y ago
Echoing that this is really bad advice. I spent a rather unpleasant day in small claims court and saw first-hand that credit card companies can and will file lawsuits over relatively small amounts owed.
cnp 12y ago
This is beyond idiotic. My credit score is HORRIBLE due to little things like this accumulating in my youth. Pay everything, always -- always pay -- always. It WILL come back to fuck you over just when you need those extra few points.
- vinceguidry 12y ago
  Not so idiotic. I ran up a modest amount of debt in my early twenties, never paid any of it. Fast forward ten years. Found a decent job, look to buy a car, come to find out my credit report is mostly empty. Most everything had dropped off. Capital One gave me a credit card, I've been building up credit and savings over the last year. If you have the discipline to say, "no new debt," which isn't that hard to do after you've already fucked up your score, then you can hit thirty with a clean slate.
  - UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
    Its hard to impossible to rent an apartment around here with a low credit score. That wasn't the case several years ago. I am guessing it will just keep getting more prevalent so you may have to live in your parents garage util 30 while waiting for that old debt to drop off your credit report.
    - cnp 12y ago
      I'm moving to SF in a year or so because my wife is attending grad school and I am terrified about housing due to this fact. Maybe I can get my employer to sign the lease.... right
    - learc83 12y ago
      Can't you just offer to pay a larger deposit or several months up front?
      - michaelochurch 12y ago
        Can't you just offer to pay a larger deposit or several months up front? Can't you just offer the landlord occasional use of your boat and promise to pull family connections (everyone has them, no?) to get White House internships for his kids?
        learc83 12y ago
        I'm not saying paying extra is feasible for someone without much money, but this whole comment thread was a response to one guy who basically said credit doesn't matter much if you aren't poor. Going with the implicit assumption that we're talking about someone who's making a pretty good bit of money, but who has a bad credit rating, I'm only arguing that it's not impossible to rent an apartment. I love your blog by the way.
        a8da6b0c91d 12y ago
        I'm not rich. I make about 150 right now, which around here isn't much. I am just informing you cowed bougie woosies that your "oh noes my credit report" panics are not grounded in reality. If you pay your legit bills on time and make a solid living, credit is not a valid concern when someone is trying to fuck you. In cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore most of the households are chronically arrears on utilities. Guess what, they all have cell phones and DirectTV and cheap mortgages, and their utilities are never cut off. Mortgage originators are desperate for truly credit worthy customers. Some dings from the racketeers might be a problem if you want to rent a $4K apartment on a $90K income, but even then I doubt it. I almost get the sense that upper middle class nerds have no idea how most of society actually operates and how strong a position solid income puts you in.
- monksy 12y ago
  Pay it off and go without credit for a few years... your score will be trashed.
UrMomReadsHN 12y ago
They have something called small claims court for getting a judgement on small debts. Cheap and easy, no lawyer required. I am betting there are collection agencies that specialize in small debts.