Once an item goes into collections, it’s included on your credit report and will remain there for seven years, although the negative impact will fade over time as the negative event is “diluted” by more positive activity. You still owe the money (and should pay it to avoid liens or judgments), but a payoff or settlement at that point won’t help your credit score. If a debt you owe recently slipped into collections and you have the means to pay it off in full, you just might have a window of opportunity, says Barry Paperno, consumer operations manager for MyFICO.com. Paperno says you can request a “pay for delete” agreement or “good will adjustment”: you pay everything off in full and they remove the black mark from your report.