[MarkL]

I already asked them and Experian (in writing) to remove it as it’s wrong, but they never did. A buddy of mine who works in the biz says to just pay them their extortion $ and send proof to the credit gods to atone for my alleged sin.

This could be a very bad thing for your credit! You want to write to the credit agencies again, stating that this is an incorrect entry. By paying the creditor, especially if you didn't owe it, will pretty much guarantee that you'll have a "late pay" note on your credit report for the next 7 years, starting at the date the creditor reports the payment. If you don't owe it, you need to write to all three agencies, and dispute it.

Credit companies WANT to remove "dings" you don't deserve. They can be sued huge amounts of money if they're wrong and you can show you've disputed it.

Mark

[WOBBLY BOB]

thanks. I will try again based on you and justlurking’s info.
hopefully it’s not going to take 3-6 months to resolve.