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Assuming nothing else changed on EQ, it was likely due to the updated baddie. Look within an older report. Your payment would have updated the reported or status date, and maybe even DOLA. If the time between the old dates and the new ones is great (months/years), then it would be that update that caused the drop. Dates aside, paying a collection will never help your FICO. FICO ignores the balance on collections so paying it off wouldn't have helped.