re: Credit & Collections

If it was a legit collection, and all you did was pay it, the bureaus aren't going to delete it even if you dispute it. If they can validate the debt was your's and valid with the collection agency, they will just leave it on there. If the collection agency is lazy and don't want to bother with proving it's your's, you may be good.

What you SHOULD have done was offer a "Pay For Delete" to the agency where they would delete the collection once you paid your outstanding bill. If the bureaus don't delete it after the dispute, you can always call the collection agency and ask them to delete it or write them a "goodwill letter" asking them to do so.

I had a collection removed that was less than a year old and my FICO score jumped about 50 points. I had one removed that was about 5 years old and didn't see any increase. You still don't want it on your credit report even if it doesn't affect your score.