Hi tryingtomak
Even if you have paid out your debt in full, charge off debts will list in your credit report for seven years from the date of initial missed payment. However, it will show as "paid charge off" and I don't think that there is any way to remove the charge off listing from your report before that period.
Yes, scott is correct. Actually once charge off is listed in your credit report, it cannot be removed till seven years of from the date of first missed payment. So it is always advisable to avoid charge off listing in the credit report by coming to a repayment agreement with the creditor.
Sometimes a collection agency will agree to remove something if you pay it in full. It is best to come to this agreement with them BEFORE you pay it. Also, collections agencies that are operating on behalf of a company will sometimes take the instruction of that company when it comes to deleting the collection versus marking it paid. You'll have more luck with customer service oriented companies like car insurance providers and cell phone companies than you would with medical bills when it comes to this. The cell phone company wants your business in the future and doesn't want you going around telling everyone who will listen about their hard-nosed collections policies.
Hi Samantha
Charge off cannot be removed from your credit report by the CA once it gets listed and it stays there for seven years from the date of the first missed payment. However, if the debt is still with the original creditor, and if you can make him agree to remove the charge off, it can be removed.
A charge off listing can lower your credit score by as much as 100 points. But if the OC do not agree to remove the charge off listing, you can ask him to change the status of the listing to "paid as agreed" instead of "paid charge off" after you pay off the debt.
You should always pay off a charge off account, even if the creditor does not agree to remove the charge off listing, because a "paid charge off" listing is certainly better than a "charge off" listing although your credit score will not improve. Charge off does not mean that you are not required to pay off the debt. In fact you are still liable for the debt and the creditor can bring judgment against you to recover the debt. Now, if the creditor bring judgment against you, it will again lower your credit score. So to avoid judgment, you should pay off the charge off debt as soon as possible.
So many ways your score can drop. That's pretty scary in 'my book'. Judgements automatically stay on there for 7 years? Gosh. I guess if you try to take care of OTHER things, on your CR, it would look a bit better. The score, I mean.
If you have old charge offs that are still with the original creditor and paid (like 2 years ago) what kind of letter should I send? I've seen all sorts of letters here but they seem to be dispute letters rather than requests to change status.
If the debt is still with the original creditor, the charge off listing can be removed by pay for deletion agreement with the Creditor. For this you need to contact the creditor by sending a Debt validation letter by certified mail. If the creditor responds by validating your debt, you should send this PFD letter asking him to remove the charge off listing. You need to negotiate because the creditor may not agree to remove the listing at the first instance. However, if the creditor agrees to remove the listing, get it in writing from the creditor before you pay off the charged off account.
Ok...I NOW know you can send PFD letter to the OC. What if the CA refuses to take the debt off, but the OC agrees to? Some things, on myCR, are a 'double' post...I mean it's the same debt, but...the OC and CA have reported it. How do ya take care of that? The same way..contact the OC, only?
I have a charge off I was going to pay off this week.
Should I ask the OC about a deletion agreement BEFORE I pay it?
She told me it would just be marked paid in full and taken off the negative side and moved to another section but that it couldn't be deleted. Is she right? Or should I press her about a deletion agreement before I send the $$$? Thanks
I have charged off on my accounts and I already made an repayment plan to my credit card debt. creditor sent a letter stating my account is paid in full and closed. How long will my debt stay on my credit reports and delete the charged off eventhough the balance are $0?
As you have already paid the dues, the collection agency may not agree to remove the negative item off your report. You can first pull a copy of your credit report. Check the status of your account. If the balance reflected is zero, and is shown as "Paid in full", then you need not worry much. Moreover, with time the negative impact of the item will lessen.
If you have not paid the entire debt and just settled for less than full amount. You can revisit the issue and offer the creditor or collection agency the remaining balance for deletion.
If you have already paid in full, you might try a goodwill letter asking for forgiveness and their reconsideration to keep the item on the credit report.
If you find any errors like double reporting you can contact the credit reporting agency by phone and talk with a rep about the reporting, give them the report number and they can pull up the same report you are looking at, ask them to look at the two items and ask that they remove the duplicate. Now a duplicate is just one account under the same company reported twice. If it a listing that covers the same account by two different companies - than that is not a duplicate listing.
If you find any errors in the credit reporting like incorrect balance, incorrect open / close date, late listings, status notation, credit limit, high balance and so forth you can submit a dispute. Say like "Incorrect balance, please update or remove" just like that. Send it in and wait and see what happens.
If the creditor or collection agency for any reason ignores the dispute it can be removed since you would have worded it just right for the credit reporting agency to do just that.
The creditor or collection agency can catch the missing item later and add it right back. BUT the credit reporting agency would then be obligated to notify you of reinsertion within 5 business days. If they don't you have them on a technicality - you can write back requesting permanent deletion due to failure to notify of reinsertion.
Be sure to send all disputes certified mail, return receipt requested, watch the 30 days plus 5 days for mail time, if you don't hear back 35 days from the date on the green card you can also write back and prod the credit reporting agency to complete the investigation even if they are not done. That is another way to force the matter.
I have been browsing all of the above incidents. I have had a credit score of 750+ for the last two years. I moved out of an apartment due to I was sent to Iraq. I thought I had paid all utilities in full, yet the gas bill was left at $50.00. The gas company had no way of forwarding the bill or the collection information. Six months later when I checked my credit score, it went down to 648 due to this one bill! I paid it off immediately and now I am wondering if all of my hard work of keeping my Credit score in good standings was all in vain, especially when my goal of purchasing a home was around the corner. I had already paid the debt prior to knowing that you can negotiate whether they take the debt off your report. I wonder if they will still take into consideration that I have never been late on my bills and overlook that one negative debt that bought my score so low.
I would get a letter from the service showing that you were away on duty, take that to the company and ask if in consideration since you did pay immediately upon returning if they can remove this off of your credit report.
Let them know you are looking to apply for a home mortgage and that this incident has dropped your score and you are trying to get the best rate possible.
I think in your case since you are a service member you can play that side up and get their assistance in this matter. Good luck
THANKS NIGHTSTAR,
I took the confirmation confirmation number for payment and did a dispute on via the internet. Two days later they sent me a notice and advised me that it had been deleted off of my credit score. My score will show the low number until the quarterly assessment and then it will return to the higher score!!!!
Thanks you again!
the collection officre is telling me that if i pay it off he will give me a letter that will say that i paid it in full .he said that i can call the credit agacy and ask them to remove it is that true ???
No, a charge-off cannot be removed by the collection agency. Charge-off can only be removed by the one who entered it. That is either the creditor who had charged off the account.
For the charge-off to be removed, you will have to first request your original creditor to pull back the account from the collection agency. If the account has not been sold off, then the creditor may agree to remove the charge-off. Get the agreement in writing. After you pay off the debt, the creditor will request the credit bureaus to remove the charge-off. If they do not, you can use the written agreement to dispute the charge-off with the credit bureaus.
i have several medical bills that went to collections due to being in a car accident in which the other driver at fault did not have insurance.my insurance eventually paid them but it still shows as paid/collections in my credit report..can i get that taken off?
I had a collections account from a bill from college and paid it off in 09 but it was still a negative mark although it was "paid". I did the online dispute from experian and said no knowledge of account and within 1 day it was deleted. Credit score went up 11 point. Worse case they say no, best case its deleted. Pay it off and say you have no knowledge. worked for me.
Can I know when was the collections entered on your credit report? Moreover, as the insurance company made the payments it was their duty to request the collection agency to remove the negative from your credit report. However, as it is reflecting "Paid", this won't have much negative effect on your credit. With time, the negative effect will lessen too.
I sent a check to the hospital and paid my account in full. The hospital marked my account as paid in full. They (the hospital) sent me a letter 3 months later telling me the due to a problem with their bank scanning equipment, my check was not deposited in the hosiptal's account or any other account. The original document was destoryed and cannot be retrieved so the hospital is requesting me to reissue the payment.
My question is do I have to pay them since my account is marked "Paid in Full"?
Hi tryingtomak
Even if you have paid out your debt in full, charge off debts will list in your credit report for seven years from the date of initial missed payment. However, it will show as "paid charge off" and I don't think that there is any way to remove the charge off listing from your report before that period.
Yes, scott is correct. Actually once charge off is listed in your credit report, it cannot be removed till seven years of from the date of first missed payment. So it is always advisable to avoid charge off listing in the credit report by coming to a repayment agreement with the creditor.
Actually... sometimes you can...
Sometimes a collection agency will agree to remove something if you pay it in full. It is best to come to this agreement with them BEFORE you pay it. Also, collections agencies that are operating on behalf of a company will sometimes take the instruction of that company when it comes to deleting the collection versus marking it paid. You'll have more luck with customer service oriented companies like car insurance providers and cell phone companies than you would with medical bills when it comes to this. The cell phone company wants your business in the future and doesn't want you going around telling everyone who will listen about their hard-nosed collections policies.
Good luck!
rebuild my credit
i have some charge offs on my credit and some credit cards behind can you help me by telling me what i should do
Hi Samantha
Charge off cannot be removed from your credit report by the CA once it gets listed and it stays there for seven years from the date of the first missed payment. However, if the debt is still with the original creditor, and if you can make him agree to remove the charge off, it can be removed.
A charge off listing can lower your credit score by as much as 100 points. But if the OC do not agree to remove the charge off listing, you can ask him to change the status of the listing to "paid as agreed" instead of "paid charge off" after you pay off the debt.
You should always pay off a charge off account, even if the creditor does not agree to remove the charge off listing, because a "paid charge off" listing is certainly better than a "charge off" listing although your credit score will not improve. Charge off does not mean that you are not required to pay off the debt. In fact you are still liable for the debt and the creditor can bring judgment against you to recover the debt. Now, if the creditor bring judgment against you, it will again lower your credit score. So to avoid judgment, you should pay off the charge off debt as soon as possible.
debt
So many ways your score can drop. That's pretty scary in 'my book'. Judgements automatically stay on there for 7 years? Gosh. I guess if you try to take care of OTHER things, on your CR, it would look a bit better. The score, I mean.
If you have old charge offs that are still with the original creditor and paid (like 2 years ago) what kind of letter should I send? I've seen all sorts of letters here but they seem to be dispute letters rather than requests to change status.
Thanks :)
If the debt is still with the original creditor, the charge off listing can be removed by pay for deletion agreement with the Creditor. For this you need to contact the creditor by sending a Debt validation letter by certified mail. If the creditor responds by validating your debt, you should send this PFD letter asking him to remove the charge off listing. You need to negotiate because the creditor may not agree to remove the listing at the first instance. However, if the creditor agrees to remove the listing, get it in writing from the creditor before you pay off the charged off account.
debt
Ok...I NOW know you can send PFD letter to the OC. What if the CA refuses to take the debt off, but the OC agrees to? Some things, on myCR, are a 'double' post...I mean it's the same debt, but...the OC and CA have reported it. How do ya take care of that? The same way..contact the OC, only?
I have a charge off I was going to pay off this week.
Should I ask the OC about a deletion agreement BEFORE I pay it?
She told me it would just be marked paid in full and taken off the negative side and moved to another section but that it couldn't be deleted. Is she right? Or should I press her about a deletion agreement before I send the $$$? Thanks
I have charged off on my accounts and I already made an repayment plan to my credit card debt. creditor sent a letter stating my account is paid in full and closed. How long will my debt stay on my credit reports and delete the charged off eventhough the balance are $0?
charge off paid
Hi Jovan,
As you have already paid the dues, the collection agency may not agree to remove the negative item off your report. You can first pull a copy of your credit report. Check the status of your account. If the balance reflected is zero, and is shown as "Paid in full", then you need not worry much. Moreover, with time the negative impact of the item will lessen.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Aaron
If you have not paid the entire debt and just settled for less than full amount. You can revisit the issue and offer the creditor or collection agency the remaining balance for deletion.
If you have already paid in full, you might try a goodwill letter asking for forgiveness and their reconsideration to keep the item on the credit report.
If you find any errors like double reporting you can contact the credit reporting agency by phone and talk with a rep about the reporting, give them the report number and they can pull up the same report you are looking at, ask them to look at the two items and ask that they remove the duplicate. Now a duplicate is just one account under the same company reported twice. If it a listing that covers the same account by two different companies - than that is not a duplicate listing.
If you find any errors in the credit reporting like incorrect balance, incorrect open / close date, late listings, status notation, credit limit, high balance and so forth you can submit a dispute. Say like "Incorrect balance, please update or remove" just like that. Send it in and wait and see what happens.
If the creditor or collection agency for any reason ignores the dispute it can be removed since you would have worded it just right for the credit reporting agency to do just that.
The creditor or collection agency can catch the missing item later and add it right back. BUT the credit reporting agency would then be obligated to notify you of reinsertion within 5 business days. If they don't you have them on a technicality - you can write back requesting permanent deletion due to failure to notify of reinsertion.
Be sure to send all disputes certified mail, return receipt requested, watch the 30 days plus 5 days for mail time, if you don't hear back 35 days from the date on the green card you can also write back and prod the credit reporting agency to complete the investigation even if they are not done. That is another way to force the matter.
Discouraged with the system
I have been browsing all of the above incidents. I have had a credit score of 750+ for the last two years. I moved out of an apartment due to I was sent to Iraq. I thought I had paid all utilities in full, yet the gas bill was left at $50.00. The gas company had no way of forwarding the bill or the collection information. Six months later when I checked my credit score, it went down to 648 due to this one bill! I paid it off immediately and now I am wondering if all of my hard work of keeping my Credit score in good standings was all in vain, especially when my goal of purchasing a home was around the corner. I had already paid the debt prior to knowing that you can negotiate whether they take the debt off your report. I wonder if they will still take into consideration that I have never been late on my bills and overlook that one negative debt that bought my score so low.
I would get a letter from the service showing that you were away on duty, take that to the company and ask if in consideration since you did pay immediately upon returning if they can remove this off of your credit report.
Let them know you are looking to apply for a home mortgage and that this incident has dropped your score and you are trying to get the best rate possible.
I think in your case since you are a service member you can play that side up and get their assistance in this matter. Good luck
THANKS NIGHTSTAR,
I took the confirmation confirmation number for payment and did a dispute on via the internet. Two days later they sent me a notice and advised me that it had been deleted off of my credit score. My score will show the low number until the quarterly assessment and then it will return to the higher score!!!!
Thanks you again!
charge off
the collection officre is telling me that if i pay it off he will give me a letter that will say that i paid it in full .he said that i can call the credit agacy and ask them to remove it is that true ???
charge off
Hi Guest,
No, a charge-off cannot be removed by the collection agency. Charge-off can only be removed by the one who entered it. That is either the creditor who had charged off the account.
For the charge-off to be removed, you will have to first request your original creditor to pull back the account from the collection agency. If the account has not been sold off, then the creditor may agree to remove the charge-off. Get the agreement in writing. After you pay off the debt, the creditor will request the credit bureaus to remove the charge-off. If they do not, you can use the written agreement to dispute the charge-off with the credit bureaus.
Thanks,
Aaron
medical bills..
i have several medical bills that went to collections due to being in a car accident in which the other driver at fault did not have insurance.my insurance eventually paid them but it still shows as paid/collections in my credit report..can i get that taken off?
I had a collections account from a bill from college and paid it off in 09 but it was still a negative mark although it was "paid". I did the online dispute from experian and said no knowledge of account and within 1 day it was deleted. Credit score went up 11 point. Worse case they say no, best case its deleted. Pay it off and say you have no knowledge. worked for me.
medical bills
Hi vivian:
Can I know when was the collections entered on your credit report? Moreover, as the insurance company made the payments it was their duty to request the collection agency to remove the negative from your credit report. However, as it is reflecting "Paid", this won't have much negative effect on your credit. With time, the negative effect will lessen too.
Thanks,
Aaron
Account was marked Paid in Full, do I still have to pay?
I sent a check to the hospital and paid my account in full. The hospital marked my account as paid in full. They (the hospital) sent me a letter 3 months later telling me the due to a problem with their bank scanning equipment, my check was not deposited in the hosiptal's account or any other account. The original document was destoryed and cannot be retrieved so the hospital is requesting me to reissue the payment.
My question is do I have to pay them since my account is marked "Paid in Full"?