Watched my score jump 82 points in 90 days after one stupid mistake

I messed up bad last year and let a medical bill go to collections for $340. Thought I could just ignore it like everyone says. But when I finally checked my credit report in January I saw that thing sitting there dragging me down. I called the billing office directly and paid it same day. Then I asked them to recall the collection from the credit bureaus. Took about 6 weeks but all three bureaus dropped it completely. My score went from 568 to 650 across the board. Had no idea a single negative could weigh that much. Anyone else had luck getting a collection removed after paying?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_harris12d ago

That's honestly wild how much one stupid $340 mistake can wreck everything. Glad you got it worked out though.

wright.michael12d ago

I mean, it's not really about the $340 being a "stupid mistake" in a vacuum. That number sounds small but it's often the final straw in a chain of bad luck or bad planning, you know? Like the overdraft fees, the late payment on a card that then spikes your interest rate, maybe you miss a utility bill because you're scrambling. It's not one dumb move, it's more like the whole system is set up to punish you for being poor, and $340 is just the point where it all snaps. Idk, maybe it's just me but I've seen people's whole lives get derailed by way less than that.