Many Americans believe that paying off their collections is the best way to improve their credit rating. However, according to Aazim Sharp, president of Leaf Credit Solutions, Bloomfield, New Jersey, the opposite is true. Sharp contends that what collection companies don’t want consumers to know is that paying off your debt can damage your credit score. Here are his three reasons why: First, when a consumer starts to pay off a collection, it updates the Statute of Limitations (SOL) on that debt. Every account you owe money on has an SOL, the timeframe of how long by law a creditor can collect on that debt. The SOL varies based on the state where you live or the state in which you acquired the debt. It also varies based on the account type. You must take the services of credit repair companies, to ensure that you have the right guidance to take the right decision for the long term credit health.