 TITLE: New Debt Collection Rule Allows Contact on Social Media CONTENT: How Does a Collection Account Affect Your Credit?\n-------------------------------------------------\nAfter a debt goes into collections, it'll most likely show up on your credit reports and potentially cause your credit scores to dip.\nOnce a creditor hands your debt off to a collector, the original account will be marked on your credit reports as transferred and closed. A debt that's gone into collections will stay on your credit reports for seven years after the initial delinquency date—even after you've paid it off.\nYour credit scores may improve after you've wiped out the collection account. That's because some newer credit scoring models don't include collection accounts with no balance in score calculations. However, older scoring models, including those used in mortgage lending, still factor into collection accounts with a zero balance. END