Question Regarding and Old Collection Account?

[Anonymous]

First I have been visiting this forum for several months now and am undergoing a financial makeover. Like many of the other posters I did not understand the importance of credit in my 20's and was left with quite a mess as I moved into my 30's. As a result of this forum I have managed to climb back into the credit game and get my scores up to a respectable level. My question is regarding a collection that is set to be removed from my report in December 2015. It is the last negative item on my report and I am wondering if I should offer a PFD or just let it age off next year. Obviously I am looking for the option that would have the best impact on my score going forward. any help would be appreciated. Thanks to all of the regular posters who provide great information and have made a positive impact on my families financial future.

[Anonymous]

If you have no pressing need to improve scores in the next year, I would suggest just letting it age off. You can start requesting an early exclusion 6 months prior. Work on maintaining you positive lines and keeping UTI low.

[RobertEG]

Other than $ out of pocket, it would, in my opinion, be best to pay now.

Credit report exclusion will hide the delinquent debt by preventing others from becoming aware of its presence by way of a simple pull of your credit report, but the debt still remains, and if it becomes known, can affect your ability to obtain new credit.

Paying immediately removes any issue of an unpaid, delinquent debt.  If a PFD is obtained, it also DELETES the collection from your file as opposed to simply excludiing it from your tuture credit reports.

While unpaid, interest can continue to accrue.

Your call, but there are clear advantages to paying, particularly if deletion is obtained.