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For about 4 years now, I've owed AT&T $494 for breaking my two year contract. That total price includes the $200 early termination fee. The other day, I received a 50% settlement offer where I can end the collection with a payment of $247. Is it worth it? I don't want to waste the money that I really don't have if either A) It's not going to matter when a credit company checks it and still see the collection or B) The collection agency never notifies the Bureaus of my payment and I lose out on $250. Considering I probably can't reach a live person at the number on the settlement, what's my best option? I was originally just going to let it fall off my credit, as I won't need to make any type of "credit check" decisions for a good 5-10 years now.
I wish I'da known now what I didn't know then. I settled w/ Afni last year for half. Now I find out that the OC (qwest) can't even find me in their system so I could have disputed the whole entire thing. Paying/settling won't help your score. The only reason I've read to pay old stuff is that if you are applying for a mortgage then it looks better to the lender than an unpaid. also paying could be a condition of your loan. But I'm fairly new here and I don't know that much. Good Luck.
I settled with some CAs before I started working on my credit. Your score won't increase, but it does look better if it is paid. You should first write a PFD letter to see if the CA will delete it from your credit reports in exchange for payment. I didn't do that before, so now my only option is a GW adjustment.
I would definitely try going the PFD route first. If they decline the 50% PFD, offer 75% or 100% PFD. If they decline, that's up to you then. It always feels (at least a little) good to pay off a debt you owe, even if there's no reciprocation.