What should I do?

Question

I have a single outstanding debt on my credit report. It's for $984, from a towing company that towed an abandoned / broken down car of mine, years ago. They submitted it to a collection agency. I was unaware of the bill before it went to the collection agency, because I moved out of state, just before they marked the car "abandoned" in my old apartment complex parking lot, and then was towed.
I'm not even aware of the original amount before it got to the collection agency, however I'm sure it's legit because of the details they have about the car.
I'm interested in paying this bill off, however when I contacted the collection agency to try to negotiate a "deletion" with full payment, they wouldn't have anything to do with it.
It's been about five years now that it's been on my credit report.
What would make the most legal sense? To pay it off in full, don't pay anything unless they accept some sore of deletion agreement, or settle it for as little as possible even without deletion

Answer 1

If it's 5 years old it's probably not having a major impact on your credit score. If that's the case, it's your call as to whether you wish to clear the item or not.

You may wish to check the statute of limitations on the debt. If it has expired, you are no longer under any legal obligation to clear the debt; if they took it to court it would be tossed out if you raised the SOL issue. If that is the case, a word with the manager of the collection agency -- NOT one of the phone trolls! -- may get some favorable action. If the SOL is expired, offer 10% in exchange for compete expungement of the item from your record; as if it had never been there at all.

Even if the SOL has not expired and won't expire any time soon, contact the manager of the collection agency. The phone trolls have no authority to act. And it's possible that the first level supervisors have little authority either. Go straight to the top and you may get a more favorable response.

Answer 2

The amount is not necessarily legit. I had an outstanding amount for a cell phone bill awhile back and even though the company had agreed to a lesser payment, it never got reported. Then someone else bought out the company who tried to gouge me by more than tripling the amount. I filed complaints with all three credit bureaus and the company then had to send me a corrected bill. But the collection company they used allowed me to pay it off in installments. It usually takes 7-10 years for it to clear your credit report.