The

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the FICO Forums!  I noticed you seem to be having some trouble posting. It is possible to edit your own post if you have posted an incomplete message. To edit your post, go to the post. To the right you'll see "Options." Click on "Options" and select "Edit Message" from the drop-down menu.  If you have accidentally posted a duplicate message, you can use the “Report Abuse to a Moderator” link to asking the moderation team to remove one for you. To find this link, go to the duplicate post, click on "Options," then select "Report Abuse to a Moderator" from the drop-down menu. If you need any help with anything, let me know.  Thanks for your contribution to the FICO Forums!

[wynona01]

Sorry bout that.....I  have been working so hard to get my credit scores together. I thought i did not have any outstanding collections floating around. Today i checked my experian credit report only to find an collection agency by the name of Lamont Bentley and Associates for an old insurance bill from my old car insurance company Bristol West for a lousy 80 bucks, this took a big drop in my score. I called the company and they explained to me the bill over the phone. The information they have is correct, BUT they had my old address and my phone number so that is why i did  not get any notice. I spoke with the supervisor and asked him if i pay this can he delete this from my report. He gave me his word he would, i WAS going to give him my banking information over the phone but i told him i would call him back tomorrow. I want to take this word because i do want this off of my report, should i just pay it and once the funds clear dispute it on my credit report. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I just want this off my report, not reported as paid but off.

[Anonymous]

One suggestion would be to call him back up and ask him to fax you something stating that it will be removed NOT updated once it is paid in full. Tell him as soon as you receive that fax on company letterhead, you will call him right back and make payment. Tell him you need this for your records or whatever reason you want to give.

While we want to trust people, if they don't follow through you have no way of proving anything.

[Junejer]

Wynona, DO NOT take his word for it. I know we all like to believe in our fellow man to do the right thing, however, this is too important and CAs tend to get amnesia about these sorts of things. Have them state on their letterhead that they will delete upon payment of the debt. Do not give them your banking information. Pay them in certified funds, but first get it in writing that it goes away upon payment.

[wynona01]

Thank you all for your responses, I am going to see if i can get him to fax something BEFORE i give him a payment. Question, lets just say he says something like he cannot do anything until he gets the payment first, how to best go about that? What do i then do?

[Junejer]

Then sorry, you can't pay anything until you get that assurance that it will be deleted. After all, you don't even know for sure that they are even authorized to collect from you are you? This debt is still in dispute, unless you sent a full media validation and they responded affirmatively in all accounts. Since that didn't happen, you need that on the letterhead, and then you can pay them.