That’s not what I was thinking about, maybe I meant Cease and Desist Letter.
Ah. Cease and Desist works very well for debts that are out of statute. You end up living with a ding on your report, but its impact fades with time.
The very super-duper bestest way I've found to deal with small items is by writing them a check for the entire amount of the debt plus $1 in return for complete removal of the offending item. I laser-printed the agreement on the back of the check with a conspicuous note on the front referring them to the back. This is a twist on an Accord & Satisfaction but made safer by including the extra dollar. In a normal A&S the dispute provides the consideration for the agreement and isn't valid in all states. In this case the extra dollar does and is close to bulletproof, at least in my experience.