Charge Off not Charge Off?

Hi Oceanslyric. I am familiar with AAFES--its actually the military star card, correct? (I have one!) Did they ever do a charge off on you? You said you were ignoring them, usually after a creditor doesn't get a payment over several months, they do a charge off. Its usually around 90 days to 120 days after not receiving a payment from you. So do you know if they did a charge off on this account? It sounds like you started the payments after they charged you off.

Once an account goes into 'charge off', its hard to get it back out of that, most of the time, it just doesn't happen. And if you pay the full amount off, the very best you will get out of the deal is a 'paid charge off'. AAFES should have updated your charge off to a 'paid charge off' once you paid it in full. If they didn't do that, then you will need to dispute this with the credit bureaus. You have to point out to them that its been paid off and should be reported as a 'PAID charge off'. (it won't go away until the seven years are up). A paid charge off still isn't good because its a 'charge off' but a Paid is sure alot better than it just showing as a charge off. The bureaus will then investigate it with AAfes and update their findings on your report. Its not just going to go away (until 7 yrs are up), but you paid it off, you need for your report to show that you paid it. It does help a little. dispute it with the bureaus. Hope this has helped. I know it all gets confusing and sometimes its like trying to speak a foreign language. lol semper fi? shirley

AAFES (STAR card) really messed me up. I had my own cards (one NEX and one DPP). I was very low Civil Service, stayed overseas with small child after legal separation. When the branches combined into one STAR card, they didn't combine my accounts as I thought and I had two different STAR accounts (kinda defeated their purpose of combining). I didn't even know I had this other balance until I asked for written verification of payment on the other account.

Here is what AAFES told me after I learned of the second balance:

Normally, after a TOP (treasury offset letter) is sent to a customer, the customer is given 60 days to either pay his delinquent account in full or make suitable payment arrangements. You received a letter and were put on a payment plan for your account 6019-4441-xxxx. Your other account, 6019-4534-xxxx, has been certified to treasury offset, which means that any federal funds due to you could be taken to pay this debt. (i.e. treasury tax refunds, disability pay, social security pay, etc)

I never got the letter like I did on the first account. They never said anything about it to me in any of their correspondence. Irregardless, they did let me make payments on the second account and it is almost paid off (it is not listed as Charge Off... it says transferred to another agency on my CR). But ALL of my payments on both accounts were made to AAFES. I am so confused and frustrated. This has the potential to end my career. My score is in the low 500s and I've been working very hard to pay this stuff off over the last five years of my separation (divorce just final last year). Now I live in the expensive DC area and half of my income goes to rent.... but I'm still paying things off slowly.

I feel like I take one step forward and five steps back. I am really upset over the whole charge off thing... I think if you pay the creditor directly in full, it should be erased or reflect paid as agreed. How do they ever expect people to recover from hard times?



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Shirley,

I'm so sorry. I forgot to thank you for answering my original post so quickly. I had typed out a whole other reply and lost it all when I posted it... I was frustrated because I had to type it all over.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and advice.

You're very welcome!! I hope I helped. I understand your frustration, I really do and totally agree with what you're saying about the creditor should report as 'pays as agreed'. Have you talked with AAFES about the charge off and how you paid it off but hasn't been updated on your credit files. The reason I ask is because I have SEVERAL accounts that have went into the charge off mode. Most went to collection agencies and I had to go back and forth with them trying to find some kind of payment that would make everyone happy. I have two accounts (out of several) that were being reported as 'charge off'. a BP gas card and a Home Depot card. They didn't go straight to collections, so before they could, I started sending them payments right away. Since I was doing this on my own, after a few months of making regular payments to them every month, they updated my credit report. What was 'once' a 'charge off' had been updated to a 'pays as agrees'.

The reason I'm telling you this is because maybe since your account didn't go to a collection agency and you paid it off, maybe you can talk to someone about changing the status from charge off to paid as agreed?

You just never know why or how they're going to report what they report. I was late making my husbands very LAST truck payment. It was due at the last of november that year. well my daughter got married-the holidays-blah blah blah---I got thrown off. I didn't mail the payment in until January. But I CALLED them just like I always did when I was going to be late or what have you. In january, I mailed the payment and got the title. end of story? so I thought. Last year when I found this forum and started studying my credit report, I noticed that they reported us as a charge off. I KNEW nothing about this! it was our last payment. I called and told them it was going to be late and so forth. It wasn't even 60 days. I have wrote them four times certified return receipt and have disputed with all three bureuas over and over again. nada, they ain't budging! again, I knew nothing about any charge off until I looked over my report last week. hope I have helped. BTW, thank you so much for voting for me! I really appreciate it!!! if you need anything else, just yell! shirley

I am govt civilian going though security clearance process. I had Household Bank cc that was charged off 6.5 years ago at 13K. It comes off CR in 6 mos. Problem is Asset Acceptance Corp. bought. This security process dictates I have to settle this debt because it is with in the 7 year timeframe they go back. I sent validation letter to asset and just got a statement of account which says 21K now. If I settle with Asset at this late date my CR will be Paid Charge off and I am stuck for another 7 yrs with bad credit? Is there anyway to negotiate with them on this. Doing the right thing will penalize me for another 7 years and it is the only remaining black mark I have on credit. I can not stretch this process out until Dec. If I agree to make payments with them how will it be marked, maybe it is better not to settle in a lump sum? Any help appreciated.

P.S. - I am overseas civilian and can understand these AFFES problems. Always dispute your CR report. I had 35 of these type things due to bad luck in life, and managed to get 33 of them changed or deleted. Hang in there, have patience and be persistent.

Hi Globetrotter!! welcome to the forum!!!
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Shirley,

Good morning. Thank you so much for your time and you're quite welcome on the vote : )

I have some questions for you, if you have the time:

1) IRT AAFES, should I contact them and ask them to change the charge off to paid as agreed since I made payments to them as we agreed? If so, should this be in writing and how is that letter written?

2) I have two relatively small medical bills that involve TRICARE and BCBS. It gets a little confusing because I had BCBS on my own but TRICARE was secondary until the divorce was final. Here are the situations:

- Traumatic injury (had to jump off balcony after we were locked out and got no response from neighbors. BCBS didn't want to pay anything. I fought it for months and they finally paid about half directly to me (I still owe that to the medical ppl as I used that check to pay off another debt nearing CO status). TRICARE should pay the rest but has not responded to my claims. In the meantime, a CA has taken over the account and added another $200 to it. How should I do this? Should I file the TRICARE claim again and see what and to whom they pay (should be the other half and be paid directly to the medical ppl)? Or should I request validation of debt thru the CA?

- The second bill is only for $100. I haven't paid it because it was sent to a CA/attorney and it is something TRICARE owes to me but hasn't paid. Should I file again with TRICARE before doing anything? Should I pay it and then ask TRICARE to reimburse me? Should I contact that CA/attorney before making payment so that I know he is going to remove the bad entry on my CR?

This is all so confusing. I am half tempted to write my congressman. If people pay off their debts in full without filing bankruptcy, I really feel those accounts should be marked paid as agreed. I would have been better off filing bankruptcy... as my seven years would be nearing. Instead, I paid off thousands of dollars of debt and my credit will be harmed for a much longer time.

3) There is a CA that has a CC debt of over 8K on my credit report. This CC was paid off in full a few years ago directly to the CC company (which is not on my credit report). How do I get this huge, false collection off my report?

Thank you VERY much!!

O.L.

p.s. to Globetrotter... what kinds of things did you have on your CR and how were you able to get them changed/removed? I need to get my score up QUICKLY. Thank you!!

Forgot to ask... not sure if anyone knows. Is there a SOL with TRICARE to pay a claim? I ask because my divorce was final (and hence TRICARE for me ended) March 2005. However, the claims I have occured while I was still a TRICARE dependent in DEERS.

Thank you :?

Hi O.L.!! good morning!!!


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Also on your claims with tricare, while you were still a dependent, is STILL theirs to pay. They can't get out of paying that since at the time you were on tricare.

I also meant to add that you can ask for validation from the CAs holding the medical debts. Especially since one added another $200 to the debt. I would definitely be asking for validation on that one to find out how they came up with this.
On the other, you could pay and ask Tricare to reinburse you but they haven't paid so far so you will probably be out of the $100 bucks. But if this is really important to you, you could pay it off for the sake of your credit report. Make sure they are agreeing to report it as paid once you pay it though. Also after you pay it and they don't update (which you will find that some say they will but don't) then you could notify the credit bureaus and let them know that you paid it off and have them investigate it and they will update your file, doing it that way. See, theres ways around some of this stuff but its a slow process.
I am going to be honest with you. This is not going to go fast, or happen over night. But you can do this yourself without paying anyone else to do it for you. But it will take time, patience and determination.
You could dispute everything with the bureaus and let any potential future employeer know that they're being disputed. Not sure what good that will do. I don't think they look too hard at the medical accounts on your report. Its mainly the rest of the stuff. your medical stuff is small anyways. nothing that wouldn't be too hard for you to fix if yourself if you have to.

May I ask where you are overseas? this is neither here nor there, just me asking personally. I am all too familiar with tricare and deers---from 20 years in the marine corps and also we dealt with being overseas while we were in okinawa.

Hi Shirley. I am currently Civil Service, but if I don't get these things straightened out I could be unemployed. I was active duty Navy for 4.5 years and spent two of that in England. I later married the Navy and ended up spending 8 yrs in Japan... the last two being just my daughter and I (had entered Civil Service and they took over SOFA sponsorship).

Let me see if I understand what you advise me to do:

1) Write the CA with the $100 debt asking for validation. Could that be paid directly to the creditor I owe it to and ask then ask the bureau to delete the CA account from my report? The CA has added no additional charges.

2) Write the @$%! CA that added another $200 to my medical bill and ask for validation. Once they validate, then what? Should I wait until I can afford to pay the full amount or make payments? I am not paying anything unless they agree to remove the debt from my report in writing. This is one where Tricare owes me another $250 - $300 dollars.

3) Dispute the CA account for the old CC with the bureaus and send a letter to the CA requesting validation (or do I just say this debt was paid a long time ago, get your @#$! together and remove it from my report... lol). Oh what I'd really like to say to these people.

4) Write AAFES and tell them that I paid the first account (the one being reported as CO) and tell them that I paid them directly as agreed and it should be removed or changed to paid as agreed. Should I wait until this second account is paid off? They are reporting the second account on Equifax as NEXCARD tranfer/sold (status n/a), on Experian as Military Star as transferred to another office, and on TU as AAFES as "unrated." No reports of payments on the second account since 2004, but this is the one I am currently making payments on. The first one (that I paid off in Jun 04) is being reported on all three as a CO... but after they sent me the letter, I immediately responded and paid it off as agreed.

4) This one was not previously mentioned. I have a phone bill of $213 that is still with the phone company but says collection account as "status." Can I write to them and send a check, stating that by cashing the check they agree to remove the debt from my CR or change the status to pays as agreed?

Thanks Shirley!!

forgot to say... I am willing to pay the $100 Tricare owes for the one medical bill, but I don't want to pay anything without knowing that the derogatory on my report is going to be removed once payment is received.

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Am I driving you bonkers yet with all of my questions? :cry:

1. The CA (the lawyer) is on my report for $100.

2. For the CO account, I have an e-mail (a very long one) that is me and AAFES going back and forth. One part of it states the CO was paid and then proceeds with the "but" you owe for this other account (this is how I found out about the 2nd account... when trying to get written confirmation from AAFES that my debt with them was paid). So... yes... I have that e-mail... and I guess all of my previous salary statements because those payments came directly out of my check.

3. The phone bill that shows as a collection account (doesn't say CO) may not be able to go away... but I thought I read somewhere that I could write a certain type of letter with my payment stating that by cashing the check they agree to report it as paid as agreed.

Should really old accounts be removed from credit reports? I have some that were paid off a LONG time ago but still show up on my credit report.

Yes... 8 yrs in Japan. I hated it at first too but I grew to love it. I had a really good time with the nightlife and sightseeing after my separation!! hee heee... It is a very good place to raise your kids too. I would go back in a heartbeat!

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You're a sweetheart Shirley. Thank you so much.

Any other thoughts on exactly how to proceed with the CA's medical debt and AAFES?

~ Susan

Oh you're welcome. As far as the medical collection agencies go, are they still within the SOL? if so, then the one that is charging you $200 more, you should send them a validation letter asking them to validate this debt for you. You need to find out WHY they have tacked on the extra $200. Don't pay them anything until they show you the details. As far as the other one goes, you can go ahead and file a claim on it again with tricare, or you can go ahead and pay it. Make it clear to the CA that you're looking for a 'paid' report to the bureaus. Give it some time and if they haven't updated your credit report-showing paid, then dispute it with the bureaus. You can then tell them that the debt is paid and they will do an investigation on it. If they find it to be paid, they will update it themselves. So see, theres another way to get a paid debt updated on your report if the creditor or CA is unwilling to work with you.

As far as the AAFES account that is paid off and is showing as 'charge off'. You need to dispute it with the bureaus. Tell them that this account has been paid and it is not being reported correctly. That you need for them to investigate it and upon their findings, you would appreciate them updating the status of the account and would appreciate a credit report having shown so.

Now as far as the second account that has popped up. what is actually going on with it at this time? I know you said you are making payments to AAFES but its not showing that on your report. Who are you making the payments to??? if its to AAFES and not to a collection agency, you will need to dispute this with the bureaus too, and tell them that you ARE making payments to them on this account and they can investigate and update their findings.

I am in the process of opening my own credit repair business, just on a small scale. I have helped out several friends for free, and I have gotten their scores up a little bit.

Here's what I say: dispute the trade line. Dispute it as paid. The agency has 30 days to respond. Best case scenerio...they don't respond. Bye-bye, negative trade line! If they do verify as reported, you can prove that you paid the other agency. By law, they cannot report it as just a "Charge off." They CAN report it is a PAID charge off, but it has to say PAID. The debt also cannot be listed on there twice unless it specifically states "transferred or sold."

Shirley,

You're awesome!! Thank you AGAIN. First things first. I will write the validation letter for the higher medical bill. I need to file with Tricare for both of them. I am not going to pay either until I get my EOB from Tricare and see what they pay. I am going to bug the hell outta Tricare this time too, in order to ensure payment this go 'round. I will then dispute them with the bureaus. So, after they validate the higher bill, how should I approach it? Tricare owes about $250 on that bill... I owe the remainder but do not want to pay that extra $200. I think I will do this... first file again with Tricare... hopefully Tricare will pay quick. Once Tricare makes their share of the payment, I will do the validation. Once that is done, I will write the CA and pay it... the letter that states if they cash the check, it will be reported as paid as agreed.

Should I put any comments on my credit report about my problems with my insurance companies getting these bills paid?

The Star card that I am currently paying on is also being paid directly to AAFES. I can either go into the BX or mail in my payment to them.

Beatlemyn02,

Thank you for your advice. I will dispute the CC debt (says CA has) because it was paid years ago. I did pay the CC company directly and I do have the proof. How much of a difference, if any, will changing a CO to a PAID CO in my credit score?

Thanks again to both of you!!

Hey there again!! just as I said...dispute dispute dispute!!! :D It sounds like you have a plan. I know the tricare thing can really REALLY get on your nerves when they seem to take their friggin' time!! I feel ya on that! (been there done that)
On the star card, how many payments have you made since the mistake was pointed out? I'm thinking that since they are the original creditor, that after you make several payments in a row and on time, they will put in a positive report to the bureaus. That happened with me and BP and Home Depot. They had me as 'charge off' but since I've been making payments for months now, they updated my report and did away with the charge off and have it as 'pays as agreed'. shirley

Hi Shirley! Hope you're enjoying your Sunday. Yes, indeed... Tricare is one @#$! of a system.

Well, the original balance on the account I am paying off now was about $800 in the beginning. I pay $50 a month and owe about another $300, so I guess I've been paying on it for 9 or 10 months. They haven't updated anything on my CR tho... just says "transferred or sold to another agency" and has a n/a status... I read somewhere that a n/a status is neither neutral or positive... it's just "there." I would love for the CO to be changed like that. It took about two years of timely payments to be paid in full, but it was paid off about two years ago.

Come on over for a cup of java some time : )

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Yes, dispute that one for sure.

It is not uncommon for mistakes to be made in the transfer of debt. The data the computer has says that it has been sold, but another creditor has it.

DISPUTE!!!!

Shirley or anyone,
Asset say I owe 21K on a 15K Houselhold Bank debt that was charged off. It is past SOL for PA and I am overseas. It will come off CR in 01-07 if I do nothing, but need to take care of for govt security purposes. I do not want to pay them unless I know they actually bought the account. Household does not report on CR, only Asset. On experian they list as AAC, and TU as Asset Acceptance, and equifax it is not reported.

I called Asset Reference account and sent a validation letter. Received back just a form letter stating they got the details from original creditor and amount due, but no details. Today on my credit alert there is a notation from Asset that says Cannot locate creditor. They have my address from my letter, so do not understand.

If I suck it up and pay the entire balance will it still come off in 01-07? I am leery of dealing with Asset after reading most threads here.

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Okay, say an account is off past 7 years, SOL, and off CR. You want to pay it off in full to do the right thing. Does it still stay off or go back on then? Thanks.

It will stay off as long as you pay a lump sum--Not payments.