<prompt> Human: My credit is embarrassingly low, and I just checked my credit karma account and it went down even lower. I have about 5 debts that have really messed up my credit 45 medical and I was about to pay some off now that I have some funds to do so, but then read somewhere that its pretty much pointless because it doesnt make your score go up which is what i thought once they are paid off, and its basically like throwing your money in to a pit of fire. So my question is, should I pay these off anyways, even if doesnt improve my score, and how do I improve my credit score if I cant get approved for a credit card or any type of credit?  <response>: No, you do not have to pay debt collectors. The consequences to not paying can include the possibility they will sue you, get a judgement and possibly garnish your wages and bank accounts.After a certain number of years, depending on your state, a debt that you havent made payments on and hasnt been resulted in a judgement becomes uncollectible in court, which basically means you cant be forced to pay it.After a bit over 7 years of not paying on a debt the debt will disappear from your credit report. 