I have an item that went into collections in the amount o...

[Boswd]

Not if you can't get the Paid for Deletion,  it doesn't always work.   If you can get it great, that's awesome but sometimes it does reach a certain point where the CA is definitly not going to give it to you then you have to move on. 

And Paid collection looks better than unpaid or settled, whether you choose to believe it or not.

[Tuscani]

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Boswd wrote:

And Paid collection looks better than unpaid or settled, whether you choose to believe it or not.

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In a manual review yes... but not in terms of scoring. There are conflicting views on this, but IMO I have rarely seen a paid collection increase a score.

[Anonymous]

Boswd,

There's no guarantees in life, and there ain't many in credit repair. PFD is not a guarantee. But a Paid Collection is a guarantee if one simply pays it. You can rant about PFD being difficult to get all you like, but I talk to lots of folks on CIC who've gotten them.

Some folks in some situations might choose to do it, for any number of reasons. They just want the CAs to stop calling, just wanna stop the letters, a mortgage lender requires it, or whatever. But paying a collection still yields a Paid Collection, and they are about the toughest thing to get off one's report. Over time, one's score ain't gonna improve with that Paid Collection.

One of the most common questions on CIC, and one that's getting asked more and more in here, "How do I get rid of a Paid Collection?" It's being asked because it IS a problem, people who paid them (myself included) didn't know any better at the time, and you are shilling for the credit industry whether you work for a CA or not.

You can lament all you like about attitudes of "Sticking it to the Man", but most folks wanna pay the debts they owe. They just don't wanna keep getting hosed. If more people realize that paying a collection won't help, then over time the industry is going to change and people are going to start getting better terms to pay a collection.

[Boswd]

yes I mean in a manual review of the score.   I know score wise it doesn't make a bit of difference but to banks and others it does when they physically look at your report.  

[Boswd]

and I agree 100% on the PFD,  I've tried on everyone of my accounts that went to collections, a total of 5.  No luck on any of them.   I would never tell someone don't try and get one,  I say more power to you if you can and you should try.   But you can't advise someone not to pay the debt if the person can't get one.   If the CA is obviously not budging on the issue you at some point have to move on.

And I'm not shilling for the credit industry, not all, just informing people that the CA's can get nasty and they can sue you, and if the debt is valid than can get a judgment.    Alot of people don't know what the CA's can do legally.  alot including myself just thought oh it'll come of my report in few years and that'll be the end of it not knowing what these people can do legally to you/us.  

If you choose take the high ground on paying than at least know what you are up against and what they can do.  and then the person can choose to decide from there.

[Anonymous]

Just throwing my 2 cents in. I had a repo with a $8300 charge off several years ago. I settled for under 40%. Some of the advice here would lead one to believe you are doing something noble by paying the original amount in full and not accepting the settlement, and that this will somehow help with car dealerships, bank underwriting, etc. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. If you want to spend an extra $5K so that you can feel all warm and fuzzy inside, more ethically responsible, more power to you. But I've spent 4 years hammering my accounts to get my situation cleaned up, and my experience tells me otherwise. First, you only need a heartbeat and a job to qualify for a car. Heartbeat optional. You can buy a house with a 600 FICO at 90% LTV. Loan officers shoe horn people into houses they can't afford every day. Sure, your interest will be high at first. As for the effect on your bureaus? Once I settled, my creditor (very large auto finance company) didn't even bother to verify after I disputed. I disputed AFTER I paid them of course. So it went bye bye. No more repo, no CO, nothing. The account was deleted from all 3 bureaus. I've had similar experiences with other accounts. Don't get scared into PIF for the original amount unless it's a moral issue for you. I would take the settlement.

[Boswd]

Did you have to pay taxes on your settlement?