 TITLE: Can Paying off Collections Raise Your Credit Score? CONTENT: How Do Collections Affect Credit?\n---------------------------------\nCollection accounts are considered by both FICO®'s and VantageScore's credit scoring systems and can be highly influential to your credit scores. Collections fall under payment history, which is the biggest factor in your FICO® Score☉ calculation, driving 35% of your score. Consumers with collections on their credit reports are likely to have lower credit scores than consumers who have no collections.\nIn addition to the potential impact to your credit scores, the presence of collections also can influence lender decisions. For example, Fannie Mae, which provides financing to mortgage lenders, has several policies requiring that collections be paid off prior to you closing on a mortgage loan.\nIt's always a good idea to pay collection debts you legitimately owe. Paying or settling collections will end the harassing phone calls and collection letters, and it will prevent the debt collector from suing you. The debt collector will then update your credit reports to show the collection account now has a zero balance.\nWhile it's natural to assume that paying or settling a collection account will lead to a higher credit score, this is not always the case. As with most questions regarding credit scores, the answer to whether paying a collection will be helpful is: \"It depends.\" END