Showerthought: my credit score jumped 42 points after I fixed one old medical bill from 3 years ago.

Found a $300 collections notice from a hospital visit I forgot about, paid it off last Tuesday, and now my credit karma shows a huge spike - has anyone else seen big jumps from clearing old medical debt?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.anna4d ago

Credit Karma is a decent ballpark but it's not your actual score lenders pull, so don't book a vacation yet. That $300 hit probably mattered if your total credit was low, but one old medical bill jumping you 42 points sounds a bit dramatic for a single fix. Keep an eye on your real FICO before you assume your credit is suddenly perfect.

charles8363d ago

Bought a house once with a score that was way off from what I expected.

taylor_patel3d ago

Honestly, I had a similar thing happen with an old collections account from a gym membership I forgot about. I paid it off and saw my score jump 35 points on Credit Karma, and when I checked my actual FICO through my bank's free tool, it went up 31 points. So yeah, it's not a perfect match but the direction was right for me. I'd say just keep an eye on it for a month or two and see if the trend holds with the real score lenders use.