Can paying off a debt collector hurt your credit?

Question

I have a debt collection letter that is trying to collect a debt I owed to Verizon wireless. I fell on hard times and was unable to pay my verizon wireless bill and it got sent to a debt collector.

If I pay this debt collector will it improve my credit score? Or will paying the debt collector hurt my credit even more?

Answer 1

Yes paying off a debt collection agency can hurt your credit even more than it is now.
A debt collector buys your debt from the original creditor for pennies on the dollar. They paid less for you debt than what you owe and technically your debt is paid off once the debt collector buys it.

The original creditor sold your debt to the debt collector and has written your debt off as a loss. The original creditor is no longer interested in getting the money from you.

Even if you pay off the debt collector it still won't be reported right away or at all that you've paid the debt.

The only one benefiting from your payments to the debt collector is the debt collector.

Take a look at your debt collection letter and it might state they'd be willing to take less than what you owed?
That's because they didn't even pay that much for your debt and it's mostly profit for the debt collector.

Any debt you owed will be off your credit report in 7 years and if you start paying a debt collector the clock will start over and then they'll even be able to sue you.

Never tell a debt collector you're the person on the phone. Always just hang up on them and get rid of the debt collector letters.