What reason do you give when asked about charge offs amd collections

[CreditGuy03]

When a credit analyst asks you this what do you say that will sway them towards an approval 

[disdreamin]

Personally, I'd go with whatever the truth is.  But that's just me.  

Honestly, I'd say the analysts can probaby tell pretty well when they're getting played.  If you can think of it, they've probably heard it.  I know in my line of work I've gotten pretty darn good at knowing when I'm being fed a line in order to try and influence my decision.  For that reason, to me the truth is the most sound way to proceed.  It may be crazy, it may not be a good excuse, but it's always truthful.

[Callandra]

I agree with telling the truth. I'm a CSR too (although not for a bank/CCC) and trust me, I've heard everything and then some. Just be honest and you should be okay (also, if your collections/charge-offs have been paid, you can always throw in that you've paid now and are working on fixing past mistakes and being responsible now). 

[Anonymous]

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@CreditGuy03 wrote:

When a credit analyst asks you this what do you say that will sway them towards an approval 

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As others have said, honesty.  Assuming you paid them off and have a good record now I would simply own up to whatever the truth is and point out that you learned from it and are doing things in a proper responsible manner now.  That is how I responded and the one analyst thanked me for an honest answer (because I can only imagine the stories they have heard).

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

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@Callandra wrote:

I agree with telling the truth. I'm a CSR too (although not for a bank/CCC) and trust me, I've heard everything and then some. Just be honest and you should be okay (also, if your collections/charge-offs have been paid, you can always throw in that you've paid now and are working on fixing past mistakes and being responsible now). 

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I've been on both sides of the phone and agree that honesty is really the best policy. I also think that after being on the phone for a while it desensitizes you to some things because you're so used to people making things up to be what they think you want to hear.

[EW800]

Another vote here for complete honesty.  My wife and I went through some very ugly financial issues a few years ago.  Through the rebuilding process, I have been completely honest about what caused the issue, what we did to try to avoid it and what we have done since to correct.  This approach has worked well for us.  

[red259]

I would just be honest. That is how I handled my student loan late payments from years ago when asked on recon. What you need to do is explain to them why the problems you had before no longer apply (eg, got a steady job, no longer in hospital, etc). If you are lying and they figure it out then you are out of luck. 

[Anonymous]

Definitely just be honest

[EW800]

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@EW800 wrote:

Another vote here for complete honesty.  My wife and I went through some very ugly financial issues a few years ago.  Through the rebuilding process, I have been completely honest about what caused the issue, what we did to try to avoid it and what we have done since to correct.  This approach has worked well for us.  

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Adding to what I wrote above, I think Barclay has likely been the most understanding (or forgiving?) of what we went through.  When I applied for the Barclay card about seven months ago or so, we were given a CL of something like $1,000.  When I called in to the RECON line, I explained in full honesty every detail of what we went through and how we tried to avoid the issues and steps taken since.  The rep on the phone bumped the CL to $7,000.  

[CreditGuy03]

The trouble im having is nasa federal. These guys are something else