Pay Status versus Remarks

[2NE1]

I'm noticing on my TU CR that some of my closed CC accounts say:

Pay Status: > Account Paid in Full; was a collection <

and Remarks: > Settled-less than full balance <

isn't this info contradicting? or how am I supposed to read this as?

[JM-AM]

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@2NE1 wrote:

I'm noticing on my TU CR that some of my closed CC accounts say:

Pay Status: > Account Paid in Full; was a collection <

and Remarks: > Settled-less than full balance <

isn't this info contradicting? or how am I supposed to read this as?

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It reads just like it sounds. You had an account that went to collection and was paid in full for the settled amount which was less then the amount owed. 

[2NE1]

LOL

the way you put them together deff made much more sense! oh well... HSBC refuses to delete this collection/charge-off *sigh* I even offer to pay the difference and have it deleted or at least changed to Paid As Agreed!

[JM-AM]

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@2NE1 wrote:

LOL

the way you put them together deff made much more sense! oh well... HSBC refuses to delete this collection/charge-off *sigh* I even offer to pay the difference and have it deleted or at least changed to Paid As Agreed!

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Dont give up keep trying. Persistence is key. Besides HSBC has sold off a big portion of their credit card portfolio. If with any luck your negative information may mysteriously dissappear by getting lost in the shuffle!

[RobertEG]

It is really not contradictory, other than the terminology used.

Technically, "settled" means the creditor no longer claims any unpaid debt.  While it is often used to mean settled for less than the full amount, legally, the debt is either fulfilled or it is not, regardless of the amount accepted by the creditor to reach their consideration that the debt is gone.

That is why the current status of any debt does not record the amount of payment, or whether it was paid for the full amount asserted as due by the credtior, or for some lesser amount.  It simply reads "Paid."  Period.  The appended "in full" or "for less" is an additional statement that is not part of its actual current status, and is based on different field codes of your credit file.

The fact that it was settled for less than the full amount is recorded separately in a "Special Comments" field of your credit file. That negative comment tells others that in the past, you did not fully pay debt that you incurred, and is a negative reflection on the consumer.  It may influence lending decisions by future creditors, and is apparently also scored in some negative manner  by FICO, but just how and to what degree, I an unsure.