Credit Card Charge-Off Negotiation

I have tried to keep up with credit card payments; however, I have 1 charge-off and 1 collection forwhich I am seeking removal.
I called US Bank to ask if they would erase my charge-off if I paid the balance in full. I told them that prior to an emergency I had honored my commitment to US Bank, but that I had a family emergency that required me to give up my career and relocate overnight.
I was told by a US Bank Recovery Managerthat due to US Bank's agreement with the credit bureaus it could not remove the negative item and that it would only state that it was paid in full.
To request reconsideration I am going to send a letter using your format detailing my family situation and stating that am trying to get back on my feet. Should this not work, what do you suggest? Should I write the CEO, or is there another way? Am trying to get my career back and don't want to be turned down on a job offer b/c of my credit score. Are there any services out there that negotiate pay for delete?
What does paid in full do anyway?
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paid in full helps ALOT over time
say 1 to 2 years
i would go with that
and establish new good credit

College student with charged off verizon cell phone bill

I'm a just a graduated college student, and I got notice from Verizon who handed chanrges on my account to a collection agency. I couldn't pay it in full two months ago, and I called the collection agency the next day, trying to negotiate a payment plan. The only option they gave was a two credit card installments in the same month, or a direct full payment from a bank account. This happened on 12 March. I was in the middle of school work and lab work, and didn't know who to ask, and what to do. The balance is $259. I purchased DSL connection on February 4, 2007, and when I spoke to the representative, I asked several times if the contract is month-to-month and if there will be an early termination fee if I end it prior to one year because I didn't know if I will stay at my current address. His answer was no. The service was terminated by Verizon in December 2007. I paid my bills until September, then I called a month later to terminate the service, in the first week of October. Turns out the service was not terminated, and continued to accumulate charges. They also charged me an early termination fee $79. There was no dial tone in the outlet in November, but I didn't even check in October, and I assumed that they terminated the connection right away. They say they have no trace of my call to terminate the service. I don't know if I can prove that there was no dial tone. In your opinion is it more harm than good to dispute the charge, do I have anything to hang-on to, or should I just pay the full amount? They hired a collection agency, and they contacted me on March 12. It has been one month-and-half and I don't know how to pay the amount so that it does little damage to my credit score and report. I can pay it in full, but I would much rather pay it with my credit card over several months. Please advise!
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i would talk to verizon
beg plead
beg plead
ask for a manager beg plead
be willing to pay in full right then ask for a letter of paid in full and as agreed with no lates and that the collection be removed
signed on company letterhead if they want do the paid in full
pay them anywayand be donebut get something in writing that either the collection or the verizon comes off you credit if possible

negotiate and settlement on a charge off account

I am trying to find someone to negotiate a pay-off for me on several charge-off's. I have the money to pay, but would like to get a good report on my credit once paid. Lexington law does not do this. Can you recommend someone are a company. There are a lot of debt consolidation companies, but I have the money now. I am unable to do this myself no matter how easy it seems.
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why not?
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Not that skilled in those tactics, better for me to pay someone. Hate to deal with creditors. Do you know anyone?
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the thing is they have to speak for you
have all your vital information
who are you gonna give that too

i guess a debt consolidation company
Debt help
i would go here and talk to an agent. see what they say
these are reputable people that i trust

Help negotiating charge offs with creditors

Do you help with charge off's and negotiating with creditors.
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i have all the info you need free on my site

if you can pay
ask if i pay in full will you remove totally from my report
if not say you will pay 30 cents on a dollar for paid in full but still on report
if not pay in full and ask them to not re date the date of last activity

if you have collections from second or third parties
use debt validation

oh
get any deal on company letter head signed by whomever you agree with
other than the last and least benificial option of paying in full with no real help

Macy's charge off credit card did not change last name.

In 2004 I returned to my maiden name. All credit card companies promptly changed my last name per my request except one: Macy’s. A year and a half ago I had moved and informed Macy’s, but they still did not change my address (and subsequently my last name). I apparently had a small balance (less than $100) on the account which I had thought was paid off, but because the last name was not current the post office did not forward any bills. 6 months later I received a call from Macy’s wanting a payment, which had now doubled due to late fees. I immediately paid over the phone, but for some reason it did not go thru, nor did Macy’s return the call to inform me so my account continued to be delinquent. I checked the account online out of curiosity a month or so later and saw the balance and promptly mailed a payment this time by check. I also wrote to Macy’s informing them of their incorrect name and address and that being to reason as to the delinquent payment, and asked to close the account. This has hurt my credit score and I was wondering if there was any way to rectify this problem. Will adding a comment help?
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all of the reasons do not fly
last name and did not forward because of last name change and move


you already paid
when you pay before negotiating the account stays on your report
get new good credit and forget abot past old bad credit

you did what i would do and that is pay and go on with your life

Reopen a past charge off credit card and pay them and extra 300.00. pay more than you charge each month.

I wish I read your blog before I made a payment on my Charge Off. Here's my question:

I received a charge off in July 07 from Victoria's Secret. I used the credit card once. I forgot I used it and they never sent me a bill. They contacted me six months later telling me the card was charged off and asking me if I would make the payment. Emergencies occured in my life 3months later and when I contacted them again they gave my account to a collections agency. I contacted the collections agency and agreed to pay them half of the amount. They told me that I could go to any Victoria secrets store to make the payment which I did. I still have the other half to pay. My question is...since I made the payment to Victoria Secret which I have a receipt that I paid half of the amount to Victoria Secret. Is there anything I can do to get them to remove the "charge off" from my account. Im hoping to go to school in a yr. I have a feeling because of this I wont be eligible for student loans or private student loans. I hope you can help me.
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pay it off in full
then add 300.00 extra dollars to it and re open the account
pay them at least 10.00 a month every month more than you charge.
after one year ask to have the charge off removed
revolving credit
ie credit cards
usually only report the last 24 months activity
so at the very least they should help you in 24 months
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no
pay them 300 extra to re open the account

everything else is right
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Hi Bo,

Has this plan helped anyone remove there charge off from there credit report?

If I have I pay the extra 300 dollars to open the account. Wouldn't that just them owing me and 300 dollars that wont be debt but a plus. Would I have to then charge on the card more than 300 dollars to be in debt with them?
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i did it with my bp oil credit card
i was charged off for 345 bucks in 1992
i paid that off
called them and told it wanted better credit and to be a real person
and i was wiling to send them 300.
if they opemed the same account
they did
i paid them extra each month till my high credit limit went from
300 to 500 in one year because i built up money they owed me.
after one year i asked them to take the bad stuff off
they did and thats the best move i ever made
and the best move for anyone trying to help their credit

Got a lowes card charged off Ge Citi 7300

I “had” perfect credit and a very high credit score. I have never paid a bill late in my life.

I purchased cabinets at Lowes a year ago and applied for a Lowes card with 12 mo/no interest/no payment. I didn’t open the first few statements since no pmt was due.

A few months later I got a call that I was late. I explained it was no interest/no pmts. I got a third call in Dec that at first said I was late. Then the Lowes rep checked and said “you ARE under promotion and it wasn’t entered correctly”.

I admit I am remiss in that I didn’t verify it was fixed, but I received no more calls from Lowe’s, so I assumed it was ok.

In Spring 07, I received a call from a collections company. I do not know if it was Lowe’s GE credit company, or an outside company. I assumed they had outdated info and refused to deal with them. I answered no more “out of area” calls.

Shortly before my one year mark, I attempted to pay Lowes online, but my account wouldn’t allow a pmt. By now, I had misplaced my contract, so I called the local Lowes and asked them to send me a copy. It took several calls and faxes and ended up being only the install portion. By now, I was past the 12 mo date.

So I went to Lowes and talked to the head manager. He was very nice and assured me they would get it fixed. I told him it might be in collections and now it was past the 12 mo mark, but he said they might be able to undo that. He contacted GE and GE wants me to send a dispute letter, but the manager is trying to get me a copy of the contract first.

Coincidentally, one day after I talked to the Lowe’s manager, CTI, a collections company, called me at work and said I can only pay THEM now. They started to offer a lower amount, but I said I didn’t want to “settle”, as that would stay on my credit report and get reported to the IRS. I said I wanted to pay the original amount (no interest or late fees), but I wanted assurance that nothing negative would be on my credit report.

When I told them about the no interest/no pmts mistake, they said they would call Lowe’s/GE. I regret talking to them now, in case they muck up what the manager is trying to do from the Lowes/GE end.

#1 – If Lowes/GE sees the 12 mo no interest/no payments on my contract, can they legally pull it back from CTI and let me pay them? If I have to I will pay the interest, even dating back to the purchase date since I went past the 12 mo mark, but what would I need first from them to assure me they will clean up my credit report?

#2 – Any chance they will refuse to give me a copy of the contract? If they get wind that I have lost mine, will they lie and delete the no interest part? (I’m a bit worried it was never put on there, but I have hope since the one agent did admit seeing it).

#3 – If the contract does not state “no interest” and I have to deal with CTI, what should I get from CTI prior to paying? CTI mentioned a “paid as agreed”, but I see you suggest “paid as agreed and on time”. What else can I ask CTI to do to remove any trace of negative info?

#4 – Even if I get CTI to do these things, won’t Lowe’s keep reporting negative info? I would think I have no leverage to demand Lowe’s fix anything if I am not paying them.


My main consideration is in undoing the damage to my credit, not paying the least amount.

Original - $6600
Charge off to CTI – either $6600 or $6900 (couldn’t clarify)
CTI’s current amount - $7300

I know I brought this on myself by procrastinating and not following up with Lowe’s. But I feel they made the first mistake and should be willing to consider that.

Thanks for any help you can give me. (Please reply to all, so that I can get it at home).
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BO
you didnt do right on the lowes from the start
they alerted you there might be a problem and you ducked it.
that will get you burned no matter who is right or wrong.

all you can do is pay it and go on
negotiate but pay it no matter what they agree to
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You are so right.

But what should I ask either Lowes or CTI to put in writing prior to me paying them anything?

Is “paid as agreed on time” all I need to make sure my credit is fixed?

Thanks for replying – I read your blog too and you have very useful info.
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Bo
this is the best full answer for an uneven but frequent question I get
Citi is lowes
but maybe lowes can you you on their end too
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How can i negotiate a credit card debt collectors i cannot pay?

My name is Lawena. I live in Hawaii. I’m a single 28 year old female with major credit problems. Just recently, I have attempted to get this under control. I don’t know what to do or what should be my next step. Please help me. Here’s a little of what happened so far.

I received all 3 credit reports. My credit score average is 576. BAD!!!! I’ve had three credit cards when I was 18-22 years old that I have neglected. These accounts were charged off and have since been issued to a collection agency. These balances are 1600, 5500, and 6500. Within the last month, I went over my credit report and paid any small delinquent accounts that I could. One of them reflected that I paid it in full. The others are still on there as they originally were. My question now is…..how do I go about negotiating with these collectors? I don’t have the money to pay them in one payment in full. Can I work with them on a payment plan? Will my credit score increase? Should it increase because I cleared some of the old debt that I had?

I have two credit cards presently. They have small limits but I keep them balance on both of them very low. Thank you so much for any help that you could give me.
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make sure the two you have report to bureaus. 1
work out a payment plan if you can.
if you can't, then tell them and go on.
they usually have to charge these off.
Use the debt validation letter on anyone that might try to collect on these accounts in the future

negotiate and pay bad credit. Get and keep new good credit

Hi Bo -I used your advice and sent Citibank another negotiation letter. I received delivery confirmation early this week. On Friday, I got an alert from Equifax stating that my Citibank balance had been adjusted. My balance of $1529 was completely taken off and is now $0, however now it says: "Settlement accepted on this account, Paid charge off" and of course, the account status is still CHARGE OFF. I am a little curious about this because I never agreed to a settlement. I only stated that I would pay the remaining $1529 if they removed the account from my report completely. This did, however, raise my credit score from a 598 to a 628. I am hoping that you might be able to guide me with this.. should I just let it be since it increased my credit score.. or should I take other action? Your advice would be greatly valued. Thank you for your time,
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Bo
you got lucky
leave it alone and keep new good credit going.
great job
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I will do that, thank you. Also, thanks for having a website that helps so many people. Best regards

Charged off bank debit account, sold debt to third party. Who should I negotiate with?

I have a credit account that was charged off, but the creditor has sold the debt to a third party. and they say they can't help me. Should I still try to negotiate with the original creditor or deal with the third party? Will the third party be able to update my credit reports with "paid as agreed"? thanks,
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Can't help you do what?

A creditor can only update it's records, not another party.
Debt validation helps with second and third parties

I re-opened a charged off bp oil credit card.
After sending them 340 dollars to pay the debt and fees, I also sent bp oil 300 (after talking to them about what I wanted to do) to reopen the past bad account and that I wanted to join the world of reasonable people who have good credit.
After 12 months I asked them to remove the old bad marks.
BP Oil removed everything that was over 2 years old (since revolving credit, credit cards, usually only report the last 24 months and I asked them, begged them) and paid more than I charged each month for 12 months straight.
I have a BP oil card in my pocket right now saying member since 1992, the year they charged me off.
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I want to pay off the bad debt and clean up my credit report. It's a debit card on a checking account I closed in 2000, but they say the checking account is still open and I owe $50 on the checking account. They don't have any records, but they suspect that the $50 charge is what ran up the debit card. Thankfully the debit card had a max of $500. That is what they charged off. But for some reason I have three accounts on my credit report from them that say "charged off". All three with the $500 value. 2 of the accounts are related. The third they can't find any record of. of the 2 accounts that are related, one of them was sold to a 3rd party. This 3rd party has sent collections people to find me.On the account that was sold, the bank says they can't help me and I need to talk to the 3rd party. After I do that I can talk to the banks credit bureau to get the other two accounts cleaned up.
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Dispute the third one they can't find.
Negotiate with the collections or third party to make sure if you pay, the account will not be placed on your credit report or, that they will take it off if I pay in full now.
Even if they have already put this on your report and will not take it off completely if you pay, still pay them so it will show paid off and drop your debt to high credit ratio for that one account.
oh.
and you might as well just forget about, the other one, they said they can't help you with.
in 24 months or less it will not matter much anyway

Desperate Student with credit card problems. Charge offs.

On campus, 18yo freshman are bombarded by credit card companies and Before I knew i was in some serious debt and stressed out to the max. I know have ruined my credit and at the age of 25 my independent life is just beginning. I actually had to take some time off school b/c of the high stress levels. I am currently back in school, Graduating next year. I would like to buy a home, car ect. However I don't know where to begin on fixing my credit. This summer I did pay off four accounts that had gone to collections but I still have three accounts that are not paid also in collections. How do I get the accounts I paid, off my report? Also, How should i go about paying off the accounts in collections? Should I pay them off? Its been awhile since they were charged Off? Is this too many questions?
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Pay off a couple cards and reopen the same card with the same account number if possible.
Send them upfront goodwill money to do it.
After 1 year your score will leap.

Citibank credit card is a charge-off. How do I get it removed?

I have a Citibank credit card account that has been in charge-off status for about a year and a half. In July of this year, I paid $2200 of the $3500 balance. A month ago, using your template letter, I wrote Citibank requesting that "charged off" be removed from my credit report in which case I will pay the remainder of the balance (in 3 payments). I sent the letter via certified mail with return receipt. My question is: does it seem odd that I have not received a response in over a month? Should I give it another month or write another letter?
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write another letter and certify delivery
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I used your advice and sent Citibank another negotiation letter. I received delivery confirmation early this week. On Friday, I got an alert from Equifax stating that my Citibank balance had been adjusted. My balance of $1529 was completely taken off and is now $0, however now it says: "Settlement accepted on this account, Paid charge off" and of course, the account status is still CHARGE OFF. I am a little curious about this because I never agreed to a settlement. I only stated that I would pay the remaining $1529 if they removed the account from my report completely. This did, however, raise my credit score from a 598 to a 628. I am hoping that you might be able to guide me with this.. should I just let it be since it increased my credit score.. or should I take other action? Your advice would be greatly valued.
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you got lucky
leave it alone and keep new good credit going.
great job
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Credit card and collections and bad debts. Help my credit score.

I had a credit score of 595 a couple of months ago, but a credit card company that was reported as a charge-off back in January 2006 just started reporting negatives on my report from then until now (15 months worth) which brought my score way down. I tried to contact them by letter and no response. They turned my account over to a collection agency and still no response from them. This dropped my score to 522. They are saying I owe way more than I do but I can’t get them to validate the debt. Any suggestions on how to get them off my report and/or stop reporting? I have another credit card that is listed as a charge-off, also transferred to a collection agency (the collection agency has not reported yet). I need to get them off there as well. These are the only 2 things that are on there as current negatives.
I also have a few other minor collection accounts that were paid but still on there. I have disputed those as well, but still no luck in getting them taken off.
Also, there is another account in collections but not on my report. I was making payments to the original creditor, but they decided to turn me over to collections anyway. It was turned over in 2005/2006, then recently turned over to another collection agency. The debt is about $1400.
I have 2 car loans (both current), 1 current credit card w/ $200 limit (just received, dropped score), student loans (totaling about $30,000 but still deferred), 1 loan for a timeshare (loan was made through a collection agency and we were not made aware of that when we bought it). Altogether my current debt is around $60,000 and my credit score has dropped to 499. I need to get this up over 600 ASAP so we can buy a house. Please help!
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If they cannot validate the debt with a debt validation letter sent certified delivery, then dispute the file and send in copies of what you sent them to validate.

Write 50 word or less explantion with your disute

You should pay the second card and get it re opened
One year from now they will take the charge off, off

All paid collections never come off it seems.

Try to keep the new collections bay by making payments and asking them not to report.

The 200 dollar limit cannot go over 160 borrowed and you need 1 year on the books. should help in the long run. 1 year

Pay anything to below 80% that you can.
Pay off anything you can

The deferred student loans almost assuridly show 100% owed.

Get that down to 80% and that will help

Collections and Judgments

I had an account show taken to collections and later taken to court. The one taken to court now shows up as a paid civil judgment and the other as collections. Is there anything I can do about this double hit even though it's the same account?
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They are both levels of deliquency on one account.
You were charged off then collected on.
Might help to get one off but not as much as new good credit would help.
I would dispute the item as not mine or duplicate.
Universal Dispute Form

Charge offs.

My girlfriend and I are looking to buy a house in the next couple years and we need to clean up her credit if we are to finance a house. She has accounts that are "charge-off"-ing on her delinquent accounts month after month. Is this a legal way to represent a charge off? The charge-offs have been on here credit report for 48 months, each month with a charge off indication.
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If they submit it to the bureaus and the bureaus accept the entry which it seems they have. Yes they can.
I would verify the debt or dispute the accounts if you think they are not right.
Remove completely
Universal Dispute Form

Chapter 7 bankrupcty. Dishcharge bills on report

Hello Mr. Majors!
In 2001 my husband and I have jointly filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. I recently got a copy of my credit report and I saw that one of the accounts that was supposed to be discharged is listed as open/in collection, the balance and the fact that it was last reported in May of 2007!
What to do???
I have a copy of the file and the discharge letter. Can I get a copy from the court with a list of all the accounts that were discharged?
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I would dispute it as paid included in bk
see what happens and go from there
Free universal Credit Dispute From

charge offs, dont recognize, old charge offs

Hi Bo…I have several accounts on my credit report that are charged off. However, some have no open date nor original debtor and I have no idea when or even if I opened them. A couple show to be closed but collection companies picked them up and are wanting money after the fact. Who do I pay to correct this?
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Dispute anything old or unknown as not yours.
Use this free credit dispute form.
Send it certified mail.
read directions
addresses on form

Charge offs, Cap one, new credit cards,

I emailed you a couple of months ago and opened a couple of new credit accounts and stated improving my score, however I followed your site's advise and got my 3 bureaus report and now it seems I have old accounts (telephone,cellular) as charge offs and this is odd I have information on a mortgage (41000) that my father did when I was 8 years old an appears on my report as joint.Any advise??? I am closing the Cap1 card ASASP.
On freecreditreport.com it says 632 ,why???the difference. I am working for the Fed Gov't and need to raise my credit.Thanks and regards
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Dispute the account that is not yours with this and say so with circled copies of the errors.
http://www.oskie.com/credit-dispute.htm
If you pay any of these off your debt ratio goes down and it helps more if you do this
http://www.oskie.com/credit-repair-negotiate-with-creditors-remove-delete-bad-credit-collections-charge-offs.htm
Closing cap one might mean a 50 point increase.

Errors on charge off paid less than full balance open credit card. Non reporting mortgage. Refinance soon.

Errors on charge off paid less than full balance open credit card. Non reporting mortgage. Refinance soon.
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My credit scores are (638) experian (590 equifax) and (578 trans union).
(I’ve worked on my experian score for a bit.)

While they say you should not close open credit cards…I have several capital one cards that have
An “Open” status even though they list as “paid/less than full balance/charge off.” I paid these off two years ago.
Total number of open accounts for experian are 5, Equifax open accounts are “10” open accounts, thus I was thinking
Of closing the “open” capital one accounts, as I can see no real difference between experian and Equifax accounts other
Than 5 more open accounts.

I also noticed my home lender while lists on Equifax, reports no data N/a for payment history.
I am going to refinance in November for a better rate so I thought I’d start the process. I haven’t seen any info
On closing open credit card accounts that are in a charge off/paid less than full balance” status so thought I see what your
Opinion was.

Thanks for any input
--------------------------------
"majors@oskie.com" / to webmaster /
Dispute the errors with this form
http://www.oskie.com/credit-dispute.htm

A credit card cannot be open and charged off.

Capital One is not the credit one needs so close all of them you can. They report whatever you owe as being your high credit so your card is always maxed out. That is bad.

I would concentrate on making sure I had 3 open accounts that are being reported and wonder aloud why your mortagage is not showing details. I would call them. Now.

Charged up and off several credit cards. I paid them off now how do I get them off my report?

A couple of years back i went abroad to study and i loaded about 9 credit cards with stuff. the plan was that my parents were going to pay it back while i was gone, but my father lost his job. long story short, a couple of things got charged off and i've got a lot of negative remarks on my credit.

i dont know my score, but i know that i've got a whole bunch of stuff on there that doesn't look good and are now PAID OFF. is there anyway i can get them taken off considering they've been paid in full, or am i going to have to wait for the whole 7 years thing to go by? i can't even get a small credit card, but i've got an excellent job and no debt. anything i can do? i heard that if i'm persistant with the credit agencies and write them letters explaining the situation, they may be able to clear it up.... is that true? please help. i've just gotten married and we want to buy another home together, but i'm scared that'll look bad...

thanks,
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First get your free credit reports and see what is wrong.

http://www.oskie.com/free-letter/open-new-good-credit-sample-form-letter.htm
you got to open new good credit and get 2 years of it on the books.

Dispute anything on your report that might be wrong in any way.
http://www.oskie.com/credit-dispute.htm

Try to open 1 or 2 of the old charged off accounts numbers by calling and begging if you pay in full and add a couple hundred to open up with a positive balance. Work with them one year and then ask them to drop the old bad. Credit cards usually report the last 24 months mainly and will often agree to drop old bad if they have new good.
http://www.oskie.com/raise_credit_score_fast_quickly_free.htm

let me know what you think