If your in collections you have a lot of late pays - Late pays lower the credit score. If you pay off the bills the debts will be satisfied but late pays do not go away. According to Phillip Tirone "7 Steps to a 720 credit score" you need to find out if your account is in collections with the creditor or has been charged off. Charge offs are where the creditor felt that there was no way to cllect the debt and has sold the debt to a 3rd party for usually pennies on the dollar. See if you can get a current copy of yoru credit report to see the status of your accounts. Its possible to negotiate for a letter of deletion with your creditor when paying off your bills. There is some great information in the 150 pages of this book. There are other books available - check out your local library. Be careful.