I upgraded by AT&T account and I apparently had a past due balance on the old account of only $35. I have argued this with this credit company before and verbally asked them and their managers to remove the credit filing from my account in exchange for payment. My credit scored dropped nearly 70 points to 689. They have refused. First they stated that only AT&T can remove it and then AT&T's reps said the credit collecting firm placed the negative hit on my score and it is their choice. They called me again today and asked me to pay again and now stated that it is $50. I, of course, gave them the option again to remove the mark against my credit score and they refused. They lied and lied and told me that paying it will improve my credit score which I told them was false. They also stated that it would continue to drop my score if it went from 60->90->120 days past due. Not sure if this is true. Is it? My question is whether I should pay it off in full just to have it marked as "paid" if somebody manually reviews my credit record or continue to try and negotiate with them. Any tips? Also, how much will a credit score affect my ability to get good loan rates and when is the soonest it will start to march upwards?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. It seems ridiculous that the amount of money owed shouldnt be factored into the hit on my credit score. If i knew the system worked like this, I would have screwed AT&T for a lot more 
@Anonymous wrote:I upgraded by AT&T account and I apparently had a past due balance on the old account of only $35. I have argued this with this credit company before and verbally asked them and their managers to remove the credit filing from my account in exchange for payment. My credit scored dropped nearly 70 points to 689. They have refused. First they stated that only AT&T can remove it and then AT&T's reps said the credit collecting firm placed the negative hit on my score and it is their choice. They called me again today and asked me to pay again and now stated that it is $50. I, of course, gave them the option again to remove the mark against my credit score and they refused. They lied and lied and told me that paying it will improve my credit score which I told them was false. They also stated that it would continue to drop my score if it went from 60->90->120 days past due. Not sure if this is true. Is it? My question is whether I should pay it off in full just to have it marked as "paid" if somebody manually reviews my credit record or continue to try and negotiate with them. Any tips? Also, how much will a credit score affect my ability to get good loan rates and when is the soonest it will start to march upwards?
Thanks in advance.
P.S. It seems ridiculous that the amount of money owed shouldnt be factored into the hit on my credit score. If i knew the system worked like this, I would have screwed AT&T for a lot more
If you had a past due balance of $35, you should pay it. If they've added fees, you should pay them. I can't tell from your post if AT&T was in error and didn't bill properly. My experience with A&T was dreadful - I found them excruciatingly impossible.
It's taken me a long time, but I've learned from sad experience that even if this was in error, it's best to pay the bill and then get it corrected. If you don't pay the bill, it doesn't help the correction occur any earlier but does damage your credit score - sometimes for years. IMO - Don't let their mistake (if it was their mistake) do any more damage than already done. Pay the bill first, then handle the details of getting it corrected. Especially given the small amount. But still do whatever you can to get it corrected and reporting correctly. Just pay in the meantime if you're able to.