Hi everyone! I am only a newbie to posting here. I have been reading the posts here for months. It really inspired me to stop being such a credit report chicken and take control of it. I got two of my three reports and my scores were actually much better than I ever expected them to be (Experian 672, Eloan 645, haven't gotten TU or Equifax yet). I don't have a very long history, though. The positive tradelines are as an AU on my dh's cards, so while my scores are not too bad I have to settle for subprime cards to establish my own credit. I can live with that- what choice do I have? For all these years I was too scared to get my reports, thinking my scores and history were hopeless. Boy, am I glad I changed my mind- knowledge is power! Anyway, here is my question: I have one collection account for a utility bill (electric) from an old residence. I was under the (false) impression that the deposit they required of me would have taken care of it when I moved out. Well, my stupidity gave me a collection from 1998 of $348. I am hoping to pay it in full for a complete deletion. I know that certain kinds of debt can be taken care of this way, but I'm not so sure that it can be done with utilities. Any advice as to how I should approach this? Should I do it in writing first or should I call? I want to make good on this, am trying to do the responsible thing. Also, what if they say that they will not delete, just note "paid" on account...is it going to do me ANY good at all? I'm a bit confused as to how to get this done. Thanks in advance for any replies! Kerry
