How will a settlement listed as “not paid as agreed” affect my credit score if I have other accounts in good standing?

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An account listed "not paid as agreed" means that you settled with the creditor to pay for less than the full amount on your account. Debt settlement almost always has a bad effect on your credit report and will be listed there for 7-10 years, which means it will wreak havoc on your overall credit score regardless of your other accounts in good standing. If you negotiated with the issuer to settle for less than the full balance, then you can try asking the lender to change the notation on your credit report from "not paid as agreed" to a better notation of "current" or "paid as agreed" since you paid the agreed settlement amount. A more positive notation on your credit report could yield a better score.

But there are no guarantees that debt settlement will work for you or that it will even save you money, so the best you can do is try and pay your debt in full through instead or just deal with a less-than-perfect credit score for the time-being as you are settling your debts.

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(3 Total Comments)

I co-signed on a car loan with my daughter from a name brand dealership about 3yrs ago. About 4 weeks after she had the car the motor blew up in it. It was going to take more to fix it than the car cost, so she call for them to get the car. They got the car and later we found out that they said that the car had been reopened and that the payment had not been paid for six months.is there anything I can do?"

AJJ1968 at 1:02 pm Jan 28

If I pay off my Visa Credit Card will it inprove my Credit Score?"

Tina09 at 12:31 pm Jan 16

I was ripped off by a company called Lease Com. several(5) years ago. Their product was defective, worked for one week, and they would not repair it but wanted me to continue paying for it. It was a check processor for my business. I did sign a personal agreement with them, to my shame. My attorney said it wasn't worth suing them over, but I refused to pay on principle and I believe it is affecting my score still."

msamerica at 6:26 am Nov 30