What to do

Once you have verified that the debt is accurate and read your rights under the FDCA, you need to consider your options. In most situations, you should negotiate a deal, pay the collector, and work on rebuilding your credit. However, if you have other debts that are not in collections and need to paid, you should probably work on paying these debts first. Keep in mind that this collection record will remain on your credit report for 7 years, whether you pay or not. In most cases, it doesn’t make sense to pay the collection debt before you can afford to do so comfortably.