Looking for some advice on what I can do about a collections account that's showing up on my credit history.
Backstory~
A few months ago my mother began receiving phone calls from a law firm demanding to speak to me. She gave me their phone number and I called them back to see what was going on. They were trying to collect some debt ($26) from four years ago. They wouldn't tell me what it was for over the phone. It seemed super sketchy so I asked them to send me some additional information with more details. Apparently this equated to a dispute. They mailed my mom some information (postmarked nearly a month after the phone call) although I didn't receive this information until yesterday. The additional information said it was for an x-ray I received but didn't pay for.
It seems like legitimate debt that I somehow neglected to pay. It's already showing up on my credit history, not sure what to do about it. I could care less about $26, it's my credit I want to look out for. It was 760 and has now dropped down to 711. It's fucking annoying because I was planning on buying a house or condo soon. Apparently simply paying off the debt marks it as paid in full, which is still damaging. I've read you can sometimes reach agreements with collections agencies to pay them and they can get it removed, no idea if this is true. Does anybody have experience dealing with this?