Credit glossary
Pay for delete
An offer to pay a collection in exchange for the collector removing it from your credit reports, which many collectors refuse.
Asking isn't illegal, but credit reporting industry rules discourage deleting accurate collections, and many collectors refuse. The law requires furnishers to report accurately, and nothing forces a collector to honor a verbal promise. If a collector does agree, get the deletion promise in writing before you pay, then check all three reports afterward.
Whether it's worth pursuing depends on the score that matters to you. FICO 9, FICO 10 and VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 already ignore paid collections, so payment alone helps there. FICO 8 and the older mortgage versions count paid collections, which is where deletion would matter most. Paid medical collections are already left off reports under the bureaus' voluntary policy.
Guides that go deeper
- Pay for delete: what it is, whether it works, and what to expectPay for delete is legal to ask for, but collectors don't have to agree and industry reporting rules discourage it. When it's worth trying and how to do it.
- Should you pay a collection account? How to decidePaying a collection doesn't remove it, and the score effect depends on the model. How to decide, what to verify first, and how to pay safely.
Sources
- What You May Not Know About The Practice of Pay-for-Delete, insideARM
- 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2: Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- How do collections affect your credit?, myFICO
- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion Remove Medical Collections Debt Under $500 From U.S. Credit Reports, Experian plc
This is education, not legal or financial advice. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.