Personal Finance: Don't Settle Debt. Pay Up!
Q: Source: Bankrate, Inc., N. Palm Beach, FL, 2008 Dear Debt Adviser, If collection agencies are call-ing me and I settle with them on an agreed price and terms, can the original party that I owed the debt to come after me? Or once settled, is that debt no longer alive ? Harvey Dear Harvey, Before I answer your question, let me ask one of my own. Why do you want to settle the debt instead of paying it in full? America is increas-ingly becoming a society in which anything you can get away with is an acceptable alternative to actu-ally meeting your obligations. I may be old fashioned or I may be ahead of my time often the two are the same but if you owe the money, why not pay it? Here are some good reasons I think you should: Your credit report and score will suffer less if you pay in full. The chance of this bill reappear-ing in a year or two with a new collec-Source: Bankrate, Inc., N. Palm Beach, FL, 2008 A: By Steve Bucci  Bankrate.com january 2010 // COMPANYDRIVER // 15 CD0110_don't settle debt.indd 15 12/6/09 5:45 PM