If you dispute the existence of the debt itself, have you sent formal disputes?
If the OC has reported, you can file a direct dispute with them.
If only the debt collector is reporting, then you can file a direct dispute with them.
In either event, the furnisher would be required to conduct an investigation, and respond as to whether they have basis for conclduing the debt is valid.
If they verify, they are not required to provide documentation or "prove" the legitimacy, and you would have a concluded dispute.
So yuo remain wth a disputed debt.
You can chose to pay, and thus close the matter, or you can pursue legal action to get a finding of invalidity of the debt.
So that leaves the issue of what your prospective lendor is requiring regarding the unpaid debt.
Are they requiring only that you pay, or that it be deleted from your CR?
If CR deletion is required, then you can pursue a PFD offer. I would assume that chances of their acceptance of CR deletion might increase with the amount of your offer.
If only the issue of getting the debt satisified is affecting your loan, then continuing to contest the debt before paying wont get you there.
Your negotiations for a settlement may take time. How low an offer to make, and thus how much back and forth may be required in settlement negotiations, might depend upon how soon you must get the debt satisfied.
How time critical is resoltion of the debt in your current loan application process?
