Because once a debt has been turned over to a collections agency it is not in your interest to pay it. The window of opportunity to not have a credit strike ha

Because once a debt has been turned over to a collections agency it is not in your interest to pay it. The window of opportunity to not have a credit strike has closed. Paying the bill will not improve your credit. The counterparty has already written off the debt, if suing was a credible option they wouldn't have sold it to collections. They harass because it's their only recourse. It's a mistake to communicate with collections regardless of the legitimacy of the debt.