Collection are debts that have been disputed or unpaid. Could be a cell company or gym or one of a thousand things. The debt that is reported is usually pretty accurate but the balance owing is the tougher part. All sorts of places do all sorts of calculations and it can seem like the Wild West. But by and large they are pretty accurate.
There was a client not long ago that had 2 totally strange collections. Client never dealt with them , never got money or product or service. The client was sincere but the bank was not happy. We said the client probably did NOT owe that money and should you force them to pay something that they don’t owe? Many banks will. So, we resolved it out and it was fixed. It was a time where this firm threw a bunch of stuff against the wall in hopes that some would stick and they would get pennies from heaven from fraud.
A collection can show PD CL which means paid and resolved.
OR it can show UP CL which is unpaid and has negative connotations.
Resolving this is key. You may be angry or annoyed, maybe rightly so but if you get annoyed and the collection goes as UP CL it is a ticking time bomb of expense and hassle. DO NOT let something casually go into dispute. It’s not worth it.