Bill sent to collection but collector not updating credit score??

[jarablue]

I have a bill that went to collections a few years ago but they have held onto the bill and have no updated my credit score. I have been rebuilding my credit and it is getting better but am now afraid that they will post the bill to the credit bureaus hurting my repaired score. Is this a practice that they engage in? Holding onto debt and hurting the consumer when they are rebuilding their credit?

How can I go about handling this debt(s)? Should I call them and let them know what is going on? Or are they willingly doing this?

[RobertEG]

It is reporting that will cause harm to your score, not the fact that they may be withholding reporting.

They may be willingly witholding reporting so as not to then have to delete, which is contrary to their credit reporting agreement withe the CRAs, so that is primarily to your benefit.

If they have not yet reported, they can do so at any time provided they still have collection authority, so it is an ideal time to attempt to pay in exchange for their agreement not to report.

[Anonymous]

Not all collectors report to the bureaus. I would consider contacting them to settle the debt with the assurance that they will not report it.

[RonM21]

As mentioned already, this would seem to be a time to get it taken care of.