I have a FICO of 739 with Equifax. However I recently had a major derogatory appear on the other two agencies for a very old phone bill in the amount of $210. In total I have a mortgage, and a $90k car loan, as well as a handful of credit cards that have never had so much as one 30 day late payment and are in perfect standing. The history is roughly 4 years max on my oldest revolving account. I also have 3 other car loans or leases that are closed now and have all been in good standing. Aside from that I have one other collection from 2003 that is marked as being paid for less than the total amount (but settled). With this new addition of a collection (still unpaid since I don't know whether to dispute it or pay it yet), I now have two collections. My other two FICOs are now 640 ad 632, which is a lot lower than the 739 I have with Equifax (and which doesn't see the new major unpaid derogatory). So once this new one is paid, will this hurt my ability to get another mortgage down the line, or a car? I am thinking I have a lot of high value loans that have perfect payments and credit cards as well, all perfect. Do lenders look at these small collections and consider that they are out of character so to speak and not in line with the rest of my credit history? Or do they count just as bad as a 30 day or 60 day late payment on revolving credit?
