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Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

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kmacqua
Regular Contributor

Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

Backstory: I had a Home Depot/Citibank card that got charged off (~$300) and went to collections.  I paid the collection (Midland--grr) before I knew about PFD. As a result, I have two negative tradelines for the same incident, the charge-off/closed card and the Midland collection.

 

As a long shot, I called Citibank today to see if there was anyway that I could re-open the account, if not (expecting a big fat "no"), would they delete the late pmt/charge-off?  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I figured. Double down.

 

Well, to my surprise, the woman I spoke with in Centralized Recovery Dept. gave me a fax # and a list of information to provide. She said that if I showed the Midland statement showing a $0 balance and a credit report showing where the Home Depot/Citibank charge-off was reporting, they would update their reporting to delete the charge-off AND re-open the account!  Either she's blowing sunshine up my --- or this is a major, MAJOR win!

 

If the lates/charge-off are deleted, that is a major negative off my report.  If the account gets re-opened, then it looks a whole lot better than a "closed by creditor" account and helps my overall utilization rate.  It doesn't help my AAoA, as it was one of my newer accounts (2008), but the $5,000 credit line in the denominator is nice. If they actually follow through and do both, that's a win-win (with both wins being mine).

 

I just sent in the fax and will be watching my credit reports like a hawk to see what, if anything, happens.

Message 1 of 18
17 REPLIES 17
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

Reporting of a charge-off is making of record in your credit file their financial determination that, at that point in time, you were not going to pay the debt.

They considered it to have become uncollectible.

 

By later paying, you showed that you do honor your debt obligations.  Thus, they most likely considered removal of the CO as more accurately reflecting upon you as one who pays their debt as opposed to one who does not.

 

Yes, that is a major victory in removal of that very negative comment, both from a scoring perspective and upon a manual review of your credit report!

Message 2 of 18
kmacqua
Regular Contributor

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored


@RobertEG wrote:

Reporting of a charge-off is making of record in your credit file their financial determination that, at that point in time, you were not going to pay the debt.

They considered it to have become uncollectible.

 

By later paying, you showed that you do honor your debt obligations.  Thus, they most likely considered removal of the CO as more accurately reflecting upon you as one who pays their debt as opposed to one who does not.

 

Yes, that is a major victory in removal of that very negative comment, both from a scoring perspective and upon a manual review of your credit report!


Yes, it's more than I expected, frankly, and I am very, very pleased.  Now we'll see if/how they follow through.  In anticipation...

Message 3 of 18
SamsungHDTV
Established Contributor

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

Nice hail mary phone call there. Looks like a touchdown.

Message 4 of 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

That is awesome!! i hope it all comes through for you.

Message 5 of 18
kmacqua
Regular Contributor

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored


@SamsungHDTV wrote:

Nice hail mary phone call there. Looks like a touchdown.


I like your analogy. Now if only I were so lucky with my fantasy football team.

Message 6 of 18
kmacqua
Regular Contributor

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

Well, it appears that Citibank did not re-open my Home Depot card afterall. I haven't heard from them directly. But they DID remove the entire tradeline from reporting to all 3 credit bureaus!  

 

It would have been nice if they'd kept the tradeline reporting but removed the lates/charge-off.  It would have been even nicer but if they had done that and re-opened the account.  But it's a major derogatory off my report and I'm happy!  I got a nice 20 point bump in my TU FICO too.  (Incidentally, my TU08 FICO through Barclay's cc and my TU FAKO through My Privacy Matters/EIDT have been tracking within 5 points of one another.)

 

I don't suppose with the Citibank charge-off removed I have any grounds to remove the associated Midland paid collection, do I?  I know I hope for too much.

Message 7 of 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

Can you PM me the fax number and what did do you have to submit? 

Message 8 of 18
antso91
Regular Contributor

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

Nice job on getting it removed. How old is this account? I emailed the CEO directly because of a charge-off that never went to collections and I was able to pay them directly after they closed my account back in 2013. He had someone in his office call me back and deny my good will adjustment of removing the charge-off because it wasnt close enough to when it should fall off (6-7 years or so) I was so dissapointed.

Message 9 of 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Could it be real? Citi charge off restored

"Either she's blowing sunshine up my --- " or this is a major, MAJOR win!

 

ROFLMAO!! too funny, gotta remember this saying for future use!

Message 10 of 18
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