The collections agent who told me to stop paying so fast

Had a chat with a collections rep in Phoenix who said my habit of paying off old debts immediately was actually keeping my score lower. He explained that settled accounts drop off differently than paid-in-full ones, and he was right, I checked the math after hanging up. Has anyone else had a creditor recommend slowing down payments to help their score?

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emmap1613h ago

My cousin worked in credit repair for years and told me the same thing, but he explained it differently: the key is whether the account shows a balance when it's reported, not how fast you pay. Settled for less than owed can look worse than a paid-in-full even if it takes a few extra months to clear. So the agent wasn't totally wrong, but "slowing down" alone won't fix your score if the account still says settled.