Harmless things that can hurt your credit | Mt Kisco NY Realtor
The bill she was talking about was a "toll by plate" bill for $7.50. In some parts of Florida tollbooths have disappeared and drivers either pay using a Sunpass or get a bill like I did when a picture of their license plate is captured on one of these roads.
To be fair, I had tried to pay online shortly after I received the invoice, but ran into a glitch. It was a weekend, so I set it aside, intending to call and resolve the problem by phone, but then I got busy and forgot about it.
The day after my daughter pointed out my oversight, I waited on hold for someone to help me resolve the problems I was having paying online. As I did, I read the ominous warning printed on the front of the invoice:
Collections can do serious damage to your credit, as I've written about in the past.
Unpaid tolls are just one example of seemingly harmless items that can have a long-term effect on your credit. Here are four more.
Library fines
Libraries don’t report directly to credit reporting agencies. However, an increasing number of libraries will turn over unpaid balances to collection agencies, which in turn may report those balances to the major credit reporting agencies. For example, the New York Public Library’s policy says:
A collection account can lower your credit score by 25, 50 or even 100 points or more when it shows up on your credit report. Even worse, it can remain on your credit report for up to seven years plus 180 days from the date the bill was due to the original creditor, which means it can affect your credit scores for years to come.
Storage fees
There are approximately 48,500 “primary” self storage facilities in the United States as of year-end 2012, according to the Self Storage Industry Association. That’s a lot of stuff in storage.
What happens if you decide you no longer can afford the fees for your storage unit? Similar to what you see on A&E’s "Storage Wars" (though probably a lot less exciting), the contents of your unit will likely be auctioned off. But that doesn’t mean you are off the hook. The owner of the facility isn’t typically obligated to accept whatever your stuff is worth as payment in full.
Instead, any remaining balance will be turned over to a collection agency.
So you’ll no longer have your stuff, but instead have a constant reminder on your credit reports that you maybe should have held a garage sale instead of putting your things in storage. Ouch.
Closed accounts
I am not talking here about the fact that closing a credit card can impact your credit score. While that’s true, here I am talking about the fact that when you close an account you may inadvertently set yourself up for trouble down the road.
To be fair, I had tried to pay online shortly after I received the invoice, but ran into a glitch. It was a weekend, so I set it aside, intending to call and resolve the problem by phone, but then I got busy and forgot about it.
The day after my daughter pointed out my oversight, I waited on hold for someone to help me resolve the problems I was having paying online. As I did, I read the ominous warning printed on the front of the invoice:
Please pay the total amount due by the due date listed to prevent incurring additional fees, potential citations, or assignment of such transactions to a collection agent. Past due transactions from a previous document may be sent to a collections agent prior to the due date of this document.
Collections can do serious damage to your credit, as I've written about in the past.
Unpaid tolls are just one example of seemingly harmless items that can have a long-term effect on your credit. Here are four more.
Library fines
Libraries don’t report directly to credit reporting agencies. However, an increasing number of libraries will turn over unpaid balances to collection agencies, which in turn may report those balances to the major credit reporting agencies. For example, the New York Public Library’s policy says:
. . . borrowers with fines or fees of $50 or more are subject to contact from a collection agency. A non-negotiable collection fee will be applied to the account of any borrower who reaches this threshold.
A collection account can lower your credit score by 25, 50 or even 100 points or more when it shows up on your credit report. Even worse, it can remain on your credit report for up to seven years plus 180 days from the date the bill was due to the original creditor, which means it can affect your credit scores for years to come.
Storage fees
There are approximately 48,500 “primary” self storage facilities in the United States as of year-end 2012, according to the Self Storage Industry Association. That’s a lot of stuff in storage.
What happens if you decide you no longer can afford the fees for your storage unit? Similar to what you see on A&E’s "Storage Wars" (though probably a lot less exciting), the contents of your unit will likely be auctioned off. But that doesn’t mean you are off the hook. The owner of the facility isn’t typically obligated to accept whatever your stuff is worth as payment in full.
Instead, any remaining balance will be turned over to a collection agency.
So you’ll no longer have your stuff, but instead have a constant reminder on your credit reports that you maybe should have held a garage sale instead of putting your things in storage. Ouch.
Closed accounts
I am not talking here about the fact that closing a credit card can impact your credit score. While that’s true, here I am talking about the fact that when you close an account you may inadvertently set yourself up for trouble down the road.
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