"settled for less than..." dilemma

[creditreportdilemma]

Hi,

I have a $9,500 credit card balance that will go 90 days past due on on April 5. I have received a settlement offer for half of this, but am concerned about it saying "settled for less than..." on my credit report if I do this especially if I want a house loan in a few years. As I understand it from reading posts in this and other credit-related forums, it is possible to get "settled for less than..." removed from my credit report, but I would have to wait for an inaccuracy (e.g., misspelling), untimely, misleading, incomplete, ambiguous, unverifiable, or unclear (questionable) to appear on the report. As others have stated on other forums, up to 80% of all credit reports show inaccuracies or something I can use to dispute the TL--This seems promising and would suggest that there is a high likelihood I will find something that would allow me to dispute the TL so that I wouldn't have to wait 7 years for it to fall off my credit report. How likely is it really to be able to remove a "settled for less than.." from my credit report within a few years or so, and if not, why not, especially given the high likelihood for inaccuracies in the report to dispute against?

The other option is to pay the entire balance completely, which may be possible with the help of a friend. However, if I pay the complete $9,500 balance on the account, the credit card company rep says that it will be reported as

"-0- balance

R01 paid as agreed

account closed

paid up to date"

Is this the best way for it to be reported to minimize a negative impact (or maximize a positive impact) on my credit rating, and if not, what is the exact wording of the report I should request the credit card company use? Is it worth getting a written letter from them confirming that this is how it will be reported?

Thank you.

[Guest usctrojanalum]

It depends on how much your credit report is worth to you. Yes, settled for less than amount owed is a little bit of a ding but in 3 or 4 years time it should not hurt that badly. Once it is on there, I have never seen anyone successful in getting it off. Not saying that it can't be done, but I don't know if it's likely.

[emceeaye]

Hi

If it's possible to get rid of a "settled for less than..." then I would take the settlement offer. But, if it's unlikely, then there's a good chance I'll be able to get the full amount. I spoke to the guy today, and he agreed to send a letter in writing confirming that it'll say:

"-0- balance

R01 paid as agreed

account closed

paid up to date"

How easy is it to request that they remove the late payments remarks off the credit reports? Is it realistic to have all the late payments remarks removed from the credit reports?

So, it's better to have it deleted than to say R1? I didn't ask them, but if it looks better, I'll ask them to delete it.

There is "late by 30 days", "late by 60 days" and "account closed by grantor" remarks that they reported. Would they likely remove these in exchange for paying the full balance if I asked?

Thank you in advance.