House,
On the subject of whether or not this possible “bad debt” will affect your ability to obtain credit, I think it probably varies with the type/amount of credit you are seeking. My personal experience, FWIW:
Many years ago, I had a dispute with the good folks at Mastercard. I’ll skip the boring details, but suffice to say the amount involved was petty (less than $100), and I refused to pay them on principle. I informed them of my refusal and reasons for same via multiple certified letters. I finally stopped hearing from them, and figured case closed. Not so.
Flash forward about 3 years. I applied for a mortgage, and the mortgage counselor at my bank, after reviewing my credit report, clucked her tongue and informed me that my otherwise spotless record was marred by this “bad debt” reported by Mastercard, Inc. After I explained the circumstances, she strongly advised me to put the facts in writing and send it to the credit bureau, to avoid trouble with the underwriters. So, I dutifully wrote a two-page explanation, complete with copies of correspondence, certified receipts, etc., and requested that it be included with my credit report. Mortgage went through, no problem. Case closed, right? Not so.
Skip ahead a couple more years, and you find me applying for a car loan at Honest Al’s House 'O Wheels, or whatever. Honest Al pulls my credit report, and as he reads it he starts laughing. When he stops giggling, he turns to me and says “You confessed to the crime, but there’s no body”! When your confused reporter desired clarification, Honest Al told me that he couldn’t care less about some petty dispute with Mastercard that happened 5 or 6 years earlier, but that my letter of explanation included in my report was drawing attention to the dispute needlessly. His advice was to ask the credit bureau to remove the letter. He happily financed my vehicle, and I never did take his advice, figuring it wasn’t worth further hassle.
So, bottom line. If you are thinking about asking for serious credit, like a mortgage, in the next few years, you may want to think twice about allowing this petty “bad debt” to be included in your credit report. It could conceiveably cause you some aggravation and grief.