Debts in collections typically stay on your credit report for seven years and can harm your score for as long as they appear. Some credit repair tactics can potentially get collection accounts taken off of your credit report sooner, but that’s generally only if the information is inaccurate.

Some people may recommend asking for a pay-for-delete agreement if you have an unpaid account in collections. The practice, however, falls into a legal gray area, and newer credit scoring models make pay-for-deletes less relevant.

How pay-for-delete agreements work

A pay-for-delete is a negotiation tactic between a consumer with outstanding debt and the third-party collection agency trying to recover the unpaid debt.

Not all collection agencies will consider pay-for-delete agreements, but some are

See Full Page