[lenci]

My experience is this, they will negotiate with you and lower the amount. But only the originator has the power to remove it from your credit report and 9 times out of 10 they don't, so it still stays on as late payment for 7 years, paid or not. I requested a letter in writing saying if I paid this debt off they would remove the debt, but they would not do it, mainly because they can't without the originator of the debt okaying it. Some of these credit repair agencies as the one I used just take your money knowing that they cannot remove it.