@Remedios wrote:
Umm, no. Settling doesn't extend reporting period, nothing does.
Pay for delete works just fine with settlements.
Do not dispute valid negatives, that's a credit killer. If just one comes back verifed, all the effort goes down the drain.
I have to agree with @Remedios .
Settling debts do not extend the 7.5 year reporting period. Nothing can change the DoFD once the account is closed with a negative status (CO, repo, fc, etc.).
You can settle for less and PFD, but do not expect it from all CAs. Some CAs may require you to PIF for the PFD or you settle for less and the derog remains.
Disputing valid accounts can hurt your scores when they are updated/verified. Credit Karma literally states on theur app/website that dispute cannot hurt your scores, but this is most definitely untrue. The longer since the last update, the bigger the hit to your scores. Depending on what is reporting, the creditor may even tack on additional (valid) lates that they may have not previously reported.
I have a couple accounts that look much better on one bureau than the others, and I have opted to not dispute (even with valid reason) because from previous experience, even if disputing with only 1 bureau, the creditor updated all 3 bureaus, and changed the less negative account info on the one bureau into a much worse account history, which was valid, but still really hurt, and now I am stuck with it. This is called "poking the bear". So I also suggest to look over all 3 reports to decide, even if it is a valid dispute, if what you are disputing is really worth it.
Good luck!
