It won’t “go away” just because you paid it off. If anything, paying it off just proves you’re guilty of creating that debt.

DON’T PAY THE DEBT OFF UNTIL YOU HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE!

Even if you pay it off, it still takes 7 years to be deleted from your credit report(s). It is unlikely that a collector will delete it from your credit report(s) AFTER you paid so it’s best to get it in writing that yes they will delete it (not a verbal agreement which means nothing) BEFORE you pay.

Some libraries are reporting unpaid fines to the credit bureaus themselves. In some instances libraries are turning over unpaid library fines to collection agencies which in turn, report consumers to credit bureaus. It might look worse if the collection agency (rather than the library) reported you to the credit bureaus (but I’m not 100% sure on this).

What I do know is that paying it off will only prove that YES the debt is yours and you were irresponsible for not paying it and then you won’t have much luck in removing it from your credit reports.

Best thing to do is one of the following 2 options:

Option #1: DISPUTE IT
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1 – Check all 3 of your credit reports from the 3 major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to see which ones the library/hospital/video store, etc. reporting to.

2 – Contact the credit bureau(s) in which this appears and DISPUTE it with that credit bureau. Don’t bother contacting the collection agency. Some people have said that overdue library fines only appear on their Equifax reports. Tell them there was a mix-up and those fines aren’t yours. If the collections agency or library don’t show proof then you win and the credit bureau deletes it from your report.

Option #1: PAY FOR DELETION
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Paying to Have Collections Deleted

You can also make a negotiation with the debt collector to have the account removed from your credit report. Through a process known as “pay for delete” you may be able to convince the debt collector to remove the debt collection from your credit report in exchange for payment.

1 – First you need to send a letter to the debt collector. Make an offer to send payment for the account if the collector agrees to remove the listing from your credit report. Make sure you include a place for the collector to sign the agreement and instruct the collector to send the letter back to you if the offer is accepted.

2 – Once you receive a signed offer back, it’s ok to send payment for the account. Just follow up to make sure the collector keeps up his end of the deal.

Credit bureaus frown on these arrangements, but they cannot stop you from working out a deal with a collector. But it’s best to leave the credit bureau out of it if you take this route. In other words, don’t tell them what you are doing.

BUT BEWARE! I’ve read online about several people who have tried Pay for Deletion with the collection agency or with their local libraries themselves and have had NO success.

~Jenn

5 years? in most states that is past the statute of limitations in which case you would not be liable for payment. this probably does you no good since you already paid it, but thought i’d mention it anyways

Kyle

As others have mentioned, you can dispute the charge with Experian. Mail them a letter explaining that you don’t feel you owe the debt. They have about 30 days to respond and in a case lilke yours, it will likely come off your credit report.

I had something about ten years ago where an doctor’s office submitted on overdue bill to collections without ever billing me. I had contacted the office twice to pay what I owed (because I knew I owed them for services) and to tell them that they had not billed me.

About six month later I moved away from Seattle, forgot about it and about a year after that I get a letter from the collections agency. I called and very politely explained that on two occasions that I had tried to pay the amount and very firmly explained that I take my credit rating and financial obligations very seriously and would like to get this settled TODAY … the collections guy said that he runs into that from time-to-time (who knows) and was really friendly about how to deal with it.

I think part of it was being polite and part of it was being firm. But I am also ready to call my attorney in on something like this if needed – my credit rating is far too important. For $40, I’d just pay it to deal with it and make sure it gets wiped off the record. A dispute may take hours of your time.