How long will it take for my credit to go back up?

Question

I have a mark against my credit for a medical bill that was unpaid (I'm a dummie and forgot about it). It was sent to collections and has since showed up on my credit report. I've recently paid it off. The total was $480. How soon can I expect to see my score rise again? Thanks!

Answer 1

Despite the last comment that one person said, your not "screwed". It will show up, but its not a very big ding in your credit report. Not sure how soon it will show up, but in any case, paid is better then not paid. Just do your best to pay your bills from now on and it will cancel out the bad stuff!

Answer 2

It will go back up, don't worry. It might take a little while.

There are situjations in which they disregard any collection activity on your cred reports if it is medical. I have worked on improving my credit for about 5 years, and am refinancing my house for the 2nd time (better rates all the time!!) and they pretty much don't worry about the medical stuff on there, which is mainly all I have left.  So your actual numerical score is only part of the "credit package".

Answer 3

Forever. It'll never go back up. You're screwed.

Answer 4

5-7 years on average.  Thats not a huge amount, and you paid it in full, so you did all you could.  Here is a guide in the source about improving your fico score.