 TITLE: Should I Dispute a Collection? CONTENT: How Can Collections Affect Your Credit, Your Life and Your Employment Prospects?\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\nFrom a scoring perspective, collection accounts are either considered neutral or negative, but are never considered positive. In some cases you may be required to pay off a collection account before you can take out a new loan.\nCollections often lead to lower credit scores. The practical impact of this is that you may either be denied credit outright or be approved with a higher interest rate and less favorable terms if you apply for credit while the collection account is on your credit report.\nFinally, it is perfectly legal for an employer to view an applicant's credit report as part of the pre-employment screening process. There is a chance an employer may not hire a person if they have defaulted debts in collection on their credit reports. For example, if you have over $7,500 of defaulted debt on your credit reports, you would be disqualified from working for the Transportation Security Administration. END