Collections agencies can be (not *all* are.. just like not ALL Nazis were terrible people...) the scummiest, shadiest things on Earth. If I were you I'd have no moral qualms about dicking with them.
I read credit reports every day in my job. This is not good advice. Pay your reduced debt. You owed more than the settled amount anyway. I'm surprised people here are telling you to ignore it.
Ok Kris lemme ask you (I was in finance at a dealership for 5 years also) What is the........ Lets say Equifax code for a Collection? What a R9? And what is the code for a paid Collection? A R8? Or is it I9 and 8. Point is the collection stays on your credit no matter what. Paid or unpaid it does not matter it will be there for 7 years. Paying it will not help your score but maybe 10 points but more importantly like others advised refresh it if it's not on there. My suggestion is run all three bureaus.
a collection will show a 9. most of the time it shows a Y-9, which can mean it was not from a credit account. an r-9 would be a credit card(revolving) collection, an I-9 would be an installment loan collection. if you didnt pay a cell phone bill, utility bill, or medical bill, it can go on your report as an unpaid Y-9. if you pay it, it changes to a 0, so it does help you. it will also show as PAID, not unpaid, as the status. my point in the previous post was simply not the affect it has on his score...but the fact that he owed it in the first place, so he should take care of it regardless of how it affects his actual credit score. maybe i just like to pay my bills.
This... Not to mention that when you let this sit out there it does nothing but collect interest. So when it's sold, your are liable for the balance, interst fees and charges. A $2k debt can end up costing you $10k easy. Sooner or later it will be purchased and you will only find out because it shows in your local newspaper as you being sued. If you never signed the CC agreement, then they have no case against you. They have to present that document to hold you to it.
^ This I too deal with credit reports daily. Collections that report UNPAID almost always result in an automatic turndown decision for credit applications submitted to major lenders (the ones offering desirable rates). Of course there are banks that will look the other way on open collections; charging loan percentage rates that are MUCH higher.
You can always try to negotiate lower. Some will, some won't. Tell them you have 500 or 600 right now to settle. As you said, make sure you get a letter from them stating, paid in full.
interesting topic and some very good advice posted...however, there are in fact many variables involved...asking for written verification- the amount of the alleged debt and the name of the original creditor-from the collection agency is a first step for sure. Do so in writing, send it by certified mail w/return receipt. Sometimes, as you have been already advised here, debts are written off the books and asshole collection agencies try to collect on debts that legally can not be collected. We don't know that in this case and neither, apparently, do you. You might want to go online and pay for a 'three-in-one' credit report from Equifax, so you can see if anyone has submitted an entry on this particular debt...if not, well, read on below... I had a situation about ten years ago with a collection agency claiming I owed a bank several hundred dollars. Hey, I said, if i owe something, I'll pay it as I have always paid my bills. But, contact with the bank was fruitless in terms of getting a straight answer to an alleged debt over twenty years ago! But it was a clue; no one at the bank could verify (prove) the debt, so I asked the collection agency for proof. Despite the ominous notices sent, there was no proof provided in response to my 'hardball' letter. Well, what do ya know, as fate would have it, the very same collection agency had its ass sued off in CA by the State Attorney's Office over the practice of trying to collect debts that were no longer legally collectible OR WERE NOT DEBTS TO BEGIN WITH (i.e., mistakes, improper billing practices, internal frauds, etc). And, by the way, the alleged debt never showed up on my credit reports...I'm not saying that this is your situation, but it might pay you to move promptly in a direction of having this alleged debt (and the exact amount) verified...common sense dictates that if the amount claimed is minimal, it is not worth hiring an attorney to take you to court. Oh, almost forgot: STOP blabbing on the phone with the people who are calling you. I know it's hard to STOP TALKING, but stick to everything in print and you'll find it changes the landscape, makes it more legal. You can't take a phone conversation to court but you can take documents. Also promptly advise the collection agency to stop calling you in the letter you are going to write and send by certified mail w/return receipt.
