What will my credit report show if I choose to settle an old credit card account with a debt collector?

[hae]

I would like to settle a few closed credit accounts that have been charged off and bought out by debt collectors. The collection agency is offering me a discounted rate to pay off this account. If I choose this option, will my credit report eventually show this account closed and paid off, as stated by the agency?

[RyanM620]

It will show up as "settled", which will have a negative impact on your score.

[surojabu216]

It will show that the item was paid off after it went into collections. It will be less of a bad mark on your credit than if it it's in collections and remains unpaid (which is probably how it shows now).

**ADD**
In response to a comment below: the statute of limitations does not go by the age of the debt itself. It goes by the age of the last contact by the creditor or collections agency. So even though the debt may be incredibly old, it won't matter....the statute of limitations timeframe runs from the last contact the creditor tried to make with you not the age of the debt itself.

[munnybags022]

Before you waste your time and money settling these debts, you should check out FCRA (fair credit reporting act) There is a statute of limitations on debt and collection. You may be beyond the statute of limitations, in which case it is ILLEGAL for these debt collectors to report you to the credit bureaus. If you are beyond it, and they ARE reporting you, contact that the credit bureau(s) with your proof of age of debt and they have to remove it...unless there was a court ordered lien. Even then, the lien expires and if it was not renewed on time, you are still in the clear.

[elnora]

Think very carefully before you do this. Depending on your state, debts are only legally collectible for a certain period of time. In addition, they can only be reported for a certain period of time. Depending on when the last activity was on your account, you may have passed this time threshold, or are approaching it, but paying a lesser amount will re-start the reporting time clock. Do some research and find out what the statute of limitations are in your state. You may have to live with a crappy credit report for just a little while longer until such time when the negative stuff begins to fall off.

if you are looking for the free credit report usa national site, check out this site

http://free-credit-report-national.com/

Here you can check your 3-in-1 Report from all three credit reporting agencies and your credit score rating.