Charge Offs

I'm by no means an expert but this is what I'd do. If you cannot pay your current debts and the CO's I'd keep the current ones paid, try to keep as many positive tradelines as you can.

If you decide to pay off the CO's or pay them when you are caught up with your current debts, try a "pay for delete" rather than just paying. You should be able to find a "pay for delete" letter on here.

I agree with the lonegunman, it is better to keep your active accounts as current as possible or they will end up being charge offs like the others, if you keep them current then you are actually building a good credit record on them that may eventually outweigh the delinquent ones.

Have you pulled your credit report, charge offs never really go away, even after you pay them off you will still see them as charge offs on your credit report, they will just go to a settled or as settled, they will still show charged off/paid off. They never take that status off your credit report, even if they promise you that will happen.

One thing that you will want to beware of, a lot of companies are now suing for smaller debts these days. If you read through this forum and the credit forum you will see several individuals being sued for the smaller amounts that creditors or collectors would not have sued for in the past.

Be aware also that the company may have reported the amount they charged off to the irs under your name, this is considered a gain to you and will be filed as misc. income. If you don't hear from the irs this year, you will in a few years to come, they seem to always catch it.

Goodluck, hope you find a solution that you are looking for, please keep the forum update, someone else may come along in your shoes and read the post and learn from it.

"Have you pulled your credit report, charge offs never really go away, even after you pay them off you will still see them as charge offs on your credit report, they will just go to a settled or as settled, they will still show charged off/paid off. They never take that status off your credit report, even if they promise you that will happen."

I disagree with the above, "pay for deletes" do work, of course there is no guarantee they'll agree to one but if you can get them to agree in WRITING you have recourse if they do not hold up their end of the bargain. Do not rely on a verbal deal.

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jos, i think the best way to deal this is to contact the credit bureau you pulled your report from. I know when we went to the bank last night, we're trying to get approved for a home, there was charge offs on th ereport. with the report she gave us, there are numbers that are associated with all of our debts. we were advised to contact the phone numbers associated with charge offs, deliquincies etc. to see what they could do...if you contact the number that's associated with your charge offs you may be able to change the status on some of your COs. good luck

Were these old accounts that you have settled that were still on your report? Where did the bank representative get these numbers? Are they on the credit report? I am very interested in getting a few items off my report. I was just going to leave it alone since I think two of them will drop off in here in the next year or so anyway.

debtstinker, In my opinion the bank people gave you bad advice, I would not contact the CA's on your credit report by phone. I would only deal with them via certified mail return receipt requested, you are dealing with people who are trained to get you to do things on the phone which may not be in your best interests (not saying all collectors are bad).Please do some research before you do this.

If you call them on the phone and tell them you are trying to work something out because you are trying to buy a house they know they got you now and will demand nothing less than paying in full and they will not remove the CO's, they will only mark them as PIF. They have no motivation to do anything else. You may get your house with the PIF CO's but at what interest rate? If you were able to get them deleted you'd be much better off.

I would dispute the CO's and then go from there, if the CRA says the CO's were verified I'd then send whomever now owns the debt a DV, if they can't validate the debt then you can get it off. If they validate offer them a "pay for delete".

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Hello I am new to the form, I have pulled my credit report and I have several accounts that are currently in collections. My question is if the creditors do not agree to the pay for delete letters, what other options do I have to get this negitive info off my report? I am trying to buy a home in 2 years and I have credit scores of 546(eqifax) 571 (trans union) and by the time I would be searching for a loan I would like to get my score up over 700.

Thank you

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Hello--I recently applied for a Sears credit card and was denied....since I was denied--I of course called to get the "free" copy of my credit report. My credit report is horrible! I have numerous charge offs and collections. I decided that NOW is the time to do something about it. I contacted some of the collection agencies to start making payments. Is this wise to do even with the Charge off accounts? My current score is 517 with Transunion and I will work feverishly to increase my score. What should I do or not do to increase my score?

before you pay collections get a letter from them stating that the collection accounts will be removed after payment is made.dont do it over the phone.

before you pay collections get a letter from them stating that the collection accounts will be removed after payment is made.dont do it over the phone.

I was told to go to DISCOVERY, or USE DISCOVERY and found out how much a debt charge-off was bought for. I was also was told such a place with such its info - when the matter goes to judgement Court -the debt can be fully challenged for validation and only be required to pay the new debt owner for their purchase amount paid plus their reasonable fees. HOW DO I FIND THIS INFORMATION OUT? I'd love to get mine totally deleted and charged off, but for the original account amount and for the amount these buyers bought it for or near it, instead of being strapped to an agency whom doesn't deserve any money. It is hard to completely pay it, and then the Card Company discards it, only for an adhock legal firm to for buy it. and badger us. How do I do this and get Edge on it?

I was told to go to DISCOVERY, or USE DISCOVERY and found out how much a debt charge-off was bought for. I was also was told such a place with such its info - when the matter goes to judgement Court -the debt can be fully challenged for validation and only be required to pay the new debt owner for their purchase amount paid plus their reasonable fees. HOW DO I FIND THIS INFORMATION OUT? I'd love to get mine totally deleted and charged off, but for the original account amount and for the amount these buyers bought it for or near it, instead of being strapped to an agency whom doesn't deserve any money. It is hard to completely pay it, and then the Card Company discards it, only for an adhock legal firm to for buy it. and badger us. How do I do this and get Edge on it?