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We went through a rough patch a few years ago after a disabling accident and got behind on some payments. When things turned around, we squared our accounts with our creditors and our credit report is nearly clean.

I have one derogatory mark from a dentist (now a collection agency) for about $500. Unlike our other creditors, who were great to deal with as we dug our way out of debt, this local collections guy has been a jerk from the get-go. I offered to pay the debt in full if he'd remove it from our credit report, but he flat out refused and did so in an insulting manner. My wife had a similar experience with him. He's a local guy who apparently got in the business so he could be angry all day.

Based on what I've seen from the two agencies he uses, this debt from 2016 is costing me about 30 points on my credit score. There's no disputing it. The record is clear.

I'm not interested in paying the guy, mainly because he's been so awful to deal with. But if he won't remove the derogatory mark, will it improve my score to pay off the bill, if it remains as a (very ) late payment, but not an item in collections?

Do I have any other options?

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    No. Not at all. I tell medical creditors the bill is bogus. Then I offer to pay half, solely to settle the question, if, they admit the bill is probably a mistake and was never a valid debt, and agree to cease claiming it is a valid debt to anyone, including the IRS and credit bureaus. It may help to have your attorney do this.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Aug 31, 2019 at 1:12
  • @Harper But ... it’s not bogus, so won’t this approach end up worse for the OP if they call his bluff?
    – Lawrence
    Commented Aug 31, 2019 at 3:36
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    @Lawrence they're not in the business of calling bluffs. They're in the business of getting paid. They would call his bluff if there was a busines advantage to do so, but that's only relevant at verdict. And there's no business advantage to litigation or they'd have already done it. Against a client known to be feisty, litigation is a good way to lose a lot of money.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Aug 31, 2019 at 4:01
  • Based on my interactions with the guy, I'm pretty sure he'd be happy to go to court. He's got a winning hand, and he's a bit of a dick about it.
    – Hildy Johnson
    Commented Sep 3, 2019 at 17:20
  • But, back to my original question: Is there an advantage to paying it off and converting it from "in collections" to "paid more than 90 days late". Or, if it's already 3 years old, should I just not bother?
    – Hildy Johnson
    Commented Sep 3, 2019 at 17:21

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