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i had been trying to set up payment arrangements with a creditor. they wanted me to pay more than i could honestly afford and i just couldn't do it. They eventually listed my account as a charge-off on my credit report. I have been religiously trying to improve my credit so when i called this creditor to see if i could at least make it a "Paid charge off" they told me they had "absolutely no information on this account" my soc. was erased from their system and the account as well and they couldn't even tell me who to call to pay the bill!!! so i tried to dispute it and they responded with verifed. so can someone tell me how it can be verified if i cant even talk to anyone about my account?! what do i do now?
Since your account has already been charged off by the original creditor, it will stay in your credit report for seven years from the date of your first delinquency and cannot be removed. If you make the full payment towards the debt, then the status will automatically change to "paid charge off". But since you cannot agree with the creditor for the repayment agreement, it will show as "charge off" in your report and for this your credit score will come down. So you have right now no other option, but to wait for the creditor to take the first step to collect the debt.
Since the creditor cannot provide you with details as it has been erased from their system, you simply send a debt validation letter to your creditor by certified mail with return receipt. If they cannot validate the debt within 30 days from the date of receipt of your letter, you can send a dispute letter again with a copy of the return receipt to the bureaus telling them that you do not agree with the listing. You can find a sample debt validation letter and dispute letter if you visit the letters of credit section.
credit
WOW!! Just seems like a 'Catch 22' in a way. I mean,..how can a Creditor validate a debt if they, THEMSELVES said they no longer have a record of it?
charge off
ok. i read somewhere about the debt validation letter. I am going to do that on Monday. I called the original creditor again last night and they STILL said they dont have any more record of my account! so I then asked them then how do you suppose you validated it with the credit bureau? the lady said and i quote "i am not of sure the answer for that" ...don't we all just love this stuff??
credit
This stuff is crazy....that's for sure. Then how do you pay for a debt, if you don't know WHERE it is?
You are in a better position to get the listing out of your report, because it is most likely that the original creditor will not be able to validate the debt. If the OC cannot validate the debt, they will have to get it removed from your credit report as per the Fair Debt Reporting Act. If they do not remove it from your report, you can simply send a dispute letter to the bureaus who will remove it from your report.
charge off
Once a creditor charges off your debt can you still pay the original creditor or do you have to pay the collection agency?
Hi Dez
If your debt is charged off by the original creditor and the original creditor still owns the debt, you need to pay off the debt to the OC. But if the debt is charged off by the OC and the debt has been sold off to the CA, you need to pay it back to the CA as you owe the debt to the CA. However, before you pay off the debt to anybody, always ask for debt validation.