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What type of an account and did you voluntarily settle?
Since you say no lates, I am going to assume it is still with the OC. Is the account still showing a balance due?
The debt was with a credit card. There were no lates with cc. The settlement was initiated by me. The cc company agreed to it, sent a confirmation letter with the terms of payment (one lump sum for xx amount by x date to settle the debt.)
I just pulled credit and was shocked to learn that they lied. I know, I shouldn't be shocked that they "misreported". How do I get this creditor to be honest and report accurately??? Talking to them is not likely to get me anywhere...argh! Btw, the account was NOT late! It was paid off in full, for the agreed upon settlement amount, in 06/2009.
Account Number: XXXX
Current Status: CHARGE-OFF
Account Owner: Individual Account.
High Credit: $25,976
Type of Account : Open
Open Credit Limit: $0
Term Duration:
Terms Frequency: Monthly (due every month)
Date Opened: 02/2005
Balance: $0
Date Reported: 07/2009
Amount Past Due: $0
Date of Last Payment: 05/2009
Actual Payment Amount: $0
Scheduled Payment Amount: $11,358
Date of Last Activity: N/A
Date Major Delinquency First Reported: 07/2009
Months Reviewed: 52 Creditor Classification:
Activity Description: Paid and Closed
Charge Off Amount: $0
Deferred Payment Start Date:
Balloon Payment Amount: $0
Balloon Payment Date:
Date Closed:
Type of Loan: Credit Card
Date of First Delinquency: 06/2009
Comments: Account closed at consumers request,
Settlement accepted on this account
Account Number: XXXX
Current Status: CHARGE-OFF <------- the account was NOT charged off, it was PAID off.
Account Owner: Individual Account.
High Credit: $25,976
Type of Account : Open <-------- the account is closed, it was revolving.
Open Credit Limit: $0
Term Duration:
Terms Frequency: Monthly (due every month) <-------- it was a revolving account. The balance was NOT due every month.
Date Opened: 02/2005
Balance: $0
Date Reported: 07/2009
Amount Past Due: $0
Date of Last Payment: 05/2009
Actual Payment Amount: $0 <--------- the amount paid in May 2009, which paid it off, was $6,200.
Scheduled Payment Amount: $11,358 <--------- where did this number come from?? My balance was $6,200.
Date of Last Activity: N/A
Date Major Delinquency First Reported: 07/2009 <-------- the card was paid, in full, May 2009. It had no balance in June or July 2009. There is NO way it could be late with a zero balance!
Months Reviewed: 52 Creditor Classification:
Activity Description: Paid and Closed
Charge Off Amount: $0 <-------- contradicts saying it was a charge off.
Deferred Payment Start Date:
Balloon Payment Amount: $0
Balloon Payment Date:
Date Closed:
Type of Loan: Credit Card
Date of First Delinquency: 06/2009 <-------- Again, card was paid off in full in May 2009. The balance was zero in June 2009.
Comments: Account closed at consumers request,
Settlement accepted on this account
The information is wrong. There was no charge off. There were no delinquencies.
I called the cc company. After being transferred to several different departments, I finally reached "Recovery". The lady argued that it was rightly classified as a charge off. When she finally looked at the history, she saw that it was paid off -- zero balance -- in May 2009. The card had not been used since then.
The rep resisted the request for a credit bureau update with correct information and a letter mailed to confirm the "error was being fixed".
The rep said I had to wait up to 90 days to have the information updated on the credit bureaus.
I hope this clears up the mud. *sigh* Makes it easier to see where I think they misreported?
Hi, IOBA -
Thanks so much for your post
You are 2-3 months ahead of me and I am looking at the same situation, I'm looking to find out if the settling before it starts to report 30 days late makes any difference as well.
Also trying to see if the amount settled is stated. When working with smaller creditors If its stated I might be able to explain the situation and reason for dispute.
So far it looks like there is no way of telling, is that right? Whan they mark it as a charge off it seems you get the same treatement as if you paid 10% or 90%
My other concern is triggering universal default on other cards (if that happens, It's over, can't dig myself out of 30% interest rates.) Trying to figure out if settling fast makes any difference.
You seem to be of the impression that paying off a settled account is the same as paying off an account. It is not. You paid off a portion of the account balance - the remainder was charged off the OC's books. The account was properly categorized. Yes, there are other factual errors. Setting a DOFD was not one of them. Looks like they set it at the date when they wrote the balance off their books. Not that it is going to make a lot of difference, you may have moved the fall off date up by a month by having it removed (if it is removed). For your information a "Settled" account is just as serious a derog as a "Charged Off" account, so the whole matter is actually fairly academic.
The good news is the matter was taken care of with the OC and didn't become a CA, which is a whole other kettle of fish.
The way it was understood, if we settled, it would be considered paid in full. Huge difference between paid in full and seriously delinquent/charged off/collections.
If the balance was charged off, then the cc company can not send a 1099 C saying they "forgave" the debt. The other debt that was settled reflects settled/paid as agreed.
WarOnChase -- I settled with the Original creditor for 30%. I kept offering, every 30 days. They finally accepted. The other cc that was settled and reports as settled. No lates related to the settlement. You want to settle with Chase? Whomever you do agree to settle with, get a letter FIRST before you pay them. Sneaky companies can "forget" even though the call is recorded, the terms agreed upon.
So far its my understanding that it does not matter as to how much the settlement was for and the only factor is if they mark it as "paid in full," or "settled for less". It also appears from what I can tell the actual amount settled for or the % paid off does not even appear on the credit report.
If anyone has a different finding please correct the above statement.
As far as the impact of settling without or before there are notations of late payments from what I can tell that's like a scratch (being late) compared to having the front of your car caved in (a settlement). In the scope of things a settlement is major compared to being 30 days late.
So in conclusion the amount settled for and the speed of settlement has little or no impact and in the scope of things is not nearly as important as the fact that the account ended with a settlement.
It would seem to me that everyone would be better served if the amount or % settled for was stated and was a factor since it would encourage people to settle sooner and for more, but that's not the way it is.
Instead we have to fight over the wording used on the report.
I guess when a creditor sees the words "settled for less" they don't know if it was for 90% or 10% so they assume the worst and it's considered almost as bad as a total charge off.