You could still, if so inclined, pursue having the paid/settled for less special comment excluded.
It is an adverse item of information, in that it informs others that you did not fully pay a prior debt.
FCRA 605(a) sets an exclusion date for "any adverse item of information" in your credit report.
More specifically, subsections 605(a)(1-4) list specific adverse items that have their own specific exclusion provisions, and subsection 605(a)(5) is the catch-all exclusion provision that applies to "any other adverse item of information." The special comment of paid for less is clearly an adverse item of information.
You can request the CRA to remove that special comment once 7 years has expired from the date of that event.
As an aside, exclusions made by the CRAs under the catch-all provision of subsection 605(a)(5) are in fact the most common basis for exclusion, as that is the provision that applies to monthly delinquencies.
