Credit Reports, Telecheck, SCAN...

eamuscatuli, remember to get the 'Paid in Full' letter from the loan company once a loan is paid off. This will make sure that after a settlement amount was paid off towards a particular account, the extra amount was waived off completely and posted in their books. The letter from the loan company will ensure that the remaining balance cannot be sold off to another company and attempt collections.

I will, but the one lender that I have a settlement setup through says that they will charge-off the remainder and consider the loan paid in full. Is this something they could, technically, report to the credit bureaus as a "charge off"?

They can if they want to. The creditors are bound to follow the FCRA laws. This means that no inaccurate information can be reported in your credit. Otherwise, they will violate the FCRA laws.

If the charge off has actually taken place, they can report it negatively in your credit. Are you working with the lenders yourself or a consolidation company is involved in it?

Go through the FCRA laws in the FTC website. It will give you all the required help.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf

I'm doing it myself. But this is so frustrating. It seems like a lose-lose no matter what I do, aside from paying the entire balance due... but I don't know how I could possibly do that. So, more than likely, my credit is screwed even worse. If all three of my PDLs did that, that's three negative reports in less than three months, and I can kiss my mortgage goodbye.

If you have made a settlement agreement, then you need to make certain that you have the agreement in writting in before actually sending payment. They can report that it was a "settlement" to CRA, but as for Scan, telecheck, etc, they should clear any reoprts. While that may remain on your reports, it should clear you for writting checks at participating merchants again.

You could try and ask as part of your settlement that any reports be deleted, or if nothing has been reported, that they will not make any reports to any CRA.

eamuscatuli..
Hang in there! Like you, I'm looking forward to getting a mortgage next year and probably have a few "bruises" on my credit report due to pdl's and collections.
I have thought this over as well, and all you can do is just explain to the mortgage company looking over your pdl's...which should be close out, paid in full, or some other desirable ending!, and admit that you resorted to them when you were having financial difficulties. You also have learned from it, and are now, hopefully, in a responsible position to hold a mortgage.
Be sure that you stay on track with paying bills on time in the meantime.
I have 2 small credit cards that I pay off each month, so that helps too.

.. Don't give up so easily. The lenders want their money back. If you can do the negotiations tactfully and ask them to report fairly with telecheck or SCAN, they will review your payments first. If you sound good to them, they will return you nicely. And, there are very few payday loan companies that report to the CRAs. If a collection agency is doing the collections for a payday loan, there are possibilities of them hitting your credit report. But a lender reports rarely to the bureaus.

I just called to ask them if they report anything to the credit bureaus once the settlement has been paid and they said that they don't do anything with credit reports. What are the chances they're telling the truth?

As far as telecheck and SCAN, technically as long as I have proof that it was "Paid in Full" after I've paid the settlement then I should be able to dispute any listings on Telecheck or SCAN correct?

So your concerns regarding the reporting to the bureaus are over now.. :) I believe they won't report to the bureaus.

Now, the question is how they will report to the telecheck and SCAN. I will take Clay's advice given above. I understand that the reporting to the Telecheck should be the same as it is given to you in writing. If they have erased the charges and given you the paid in full letter, it should be reported in the same way with the Telecheck/SCAN. (I don't have much knowledge on this part. This is my understanding)