Question about paying this off in full

[afcobra2]

Okay, 2 1/2 years ago, DirecTV completely lied to me over the phone when signing up for my account. Well, I never paid the $430 bill and told them to retreive phone records for PROOF that they lied to me, and in return, tried to bill me $430. Well now, on my Credit History, that $430 is showing up as a Negative. I spoke to the Debt Collector today, and he said, that if I pay it off in full, it will still be on my Credit, but will say Paid In Full. Is this worth fooling with? Will paying this off in full actually help my credit? Any advice would be appreciated!

[Hal Jordan]

No it will not. Only removal will help your credit score. A paid collection is factored by FICO the same way as an unpaid collection.

See if you can negotiate a pfd with them. Oh, and ask for a supervisor. The simple telephone collector who calls you almost never has the authority to do a PFD. You almost always have to talk to a supervisor to get it deleted after payment..

And lastly. Get it in writing before you pay. Just something simple that says "once bottom feeder collection agency receives $XXX the account will be considered paid in full and will be removed from all of John Doe's credit reports (namely equifax, transunion and experian).

[afcobra2]

They said they cannot remove it from the Credit Report, but can mark it as Paid in Full, which does nothing, like you said. Are they feeding me BS that they cannot remove it from my Credit Report? It's NCO Financial (the collection agency) and it's an account from DirecTV

[Lian]

A PIF will do one thing. It will end the debt, and thus the chance of their bringing legal action and securing a court-ordered judgment. As has been stated, FICO scores derogs, and not the underlying payment or non-payment of the debt that led to the derogs.

That begs the question of whether you have an expiration of SOL defense should they resort to legal action. If the asserted delinquency was 2 1/2 years ago, you will probably still by within your state SOL, but if your state SOL is three years, it may soon expire.

I would first check out your state SOL statute prior to sending a PFD request.

[Hal Jordan]

Originally Posted by afcobra2

They said they cannot remove it from the Credit Report, but can mark it as Paid in Full, which does nothing, like you said. Are they feeding me BS that they cannot remove it from my Credit Report? It's NCO Financial (the collection agency) and it's an account from DirecTV

They absolutely can delete it. It happens all the time. Again, paid in full does nothing for your score. The amount is small enough that they will probably never sue you over it.. but there is a chance they could.

Personaly, I would ask to speak to a supervisor. Tell them you are willing to pay the debt in full at 100% TODAY but only if they'll completely remove all entries from all of your credit reports. If they tell you no you could always affirm that this is not your debt and start the dispute process.

Take this advice with a grain of salt because as I tell everyone, it's easy to offer advice when you don't have to share in the consequences.. and I don't have to share in the consequences (or rewards) of you taking my advice so I would call and ask for a supervisor. Take the position of you do not feel the debt is yours but it's not large enough to throw to big a fit over so you'll pay it off in full BUT only for complete deletion from your reports. Stick to the whole. "The only thing that's keeping you from getting paid on this debt is you! I will pay it right bloody now if you'll just remove the negative tradelines from my reports".. approach. If they won't budge tell them you want validation and to be expecting your written requests and that as long as their tradeline appears on your reports you won't pay them.. That's what I would do.

Remember as with all things in life.. Caveat Emptor!

[Orrickc]

NCO can PFD. They PFD on 4 accts. for me. They sometimes can settle for alot less too. It is my experience that utility bills can not be settled BUT most things like cell phones and cable bills can be.

Try again with a different rep or supervisor! Make sure you have a letter in writting stating the terms you agree to.