My wife and I recently applied to move into a new apartment and before they ran our credit we let them know that 3 years previously we had had a dispute with a previous landlord over a really exorbitant cleaning bill. When we wrote and disputed it, the company didn't bother to pursue us in the courts( I wonder why?) but placed it on our credit instead. They even placed in on my mother in law's credit as she'd co-signed for us two years earlier (despite the fact that when resigned the lease for another 12 months they'd told us her signature wasn't needed - oh the deceit!!)
The Manager in the new complex's office informed me that if we paid this one debt off, they would be more than happy to rent to us. The next day I got my annual bonus at work and although reluctant to pay a bill I didn't feel was justified, I drove to the management company's collection office and paid it off - getting a signed confirmation letter, hand-written receipt and bank counterfoil for the money order. The person at the management company told me the 3 Credit bureaus would be informed within 7-10 days (apparently this can now be done electronically - is this true?) and the entry should be removed.
Having read various posts, am I being a bit niaive to think this will happen? Will Experian remove this entry or just note it as "paid in full" or "paid late"? If it is removed, will this help raise my credit score? Should I forward a copy of the receipt, etc to the 3 credit bureaus myself?
Please let me know if you have had a similiar experience and what happened.
Thanks