Dealing w/Cap One

[Anonymous]

Here's my story. Back in 02/2005 my wife had to close down her business.  The final year she was in business she used our personal credit cards for inventory to try to keep the business afloat (I know, but that's another issue.) After closing, she had no job/income and we were forced to file Chapter 13.  A couple months later, prior to BK being finalized, she gets a job.  I contact Cap One and tell them we are considering withdrawing from the BK and ask if they will accept payment of $150 per month on each of the two accounts.  The guy tells me "sure, no problem."  So, we withdraw from the BK prior to it being finalized and low and behold the very next month Cap One turns both accts over to collections.  So this collections agency starts calling me saying that I "have to" pay them.  I told them that I had an agreement w/ Cap One and that I would be living up to that agreement.  I refuse to deal with collection agencies. So every month I send Cap One two checks for $150 each.  I pulled my credit report the other day to find that Cap One has reporting both of these accounts as "120 days late" every month for the last four years instead of paying as agreed.  I tried calling them, but every time I enter my acct number, I get transferred to this collection agency.  Would I be better off trying one of the "backdoor" phone numbers and offering them a PFD?  I currently have saved enough money to be able to pay off one of the accts in full and should be able to do the same with the other in a couple of months.  I can only assume Cap One still owns the accts since they are the one reporting them as 120 days late every month.  If I would just be wasting my time or hurting my credit by doing so, then I'll just continue living up to my original agreement and keep sending them two checks every month for the next couple of years.

[medicgrrl]

Unfortunately, they are reporting it correctly.  Because it was already in a CO status they can continue to report that way.  The only way to have gotten around that would have been to request that agreement with an agreement that they change the status and report it as paid as agreed.  You can try a PFD with them.  You are probably still with the SOL so just be prepared to PIF if necessary.  You may want to wait until you have the funds to PIF both accounts before you request the PFD.  They have been known to sue even when borrowers are in a repayment agreement. 

As far as paying on this the next few years, the sooner you PIF the sooner you can begin to rebuild.

[Anonymous]

Since they are reporting this as "120 days late" each and every month I have another question.  It is my understanding that these things can only stay on your credit report for 7 years.  Does that mean that they will stay on my report for 7 years after I pay them off?  By my calculations one acct will be paid off in Dec 2010, with the other a few months later.  Does this mean that these two negatives will be on my report until 2017? 

[medicgrrl]

They stay on for up to 7 1/2 years from DOFD.  Have you pulled your reports from annualcreditreport.com?  If not then I would start there.  The 3 bureaus list on these specific reports (you won't find this information from anywhere else) what the drop off dates are.  I know they are showing my Cap 1 accounts as due to fall off in less than 7 years   If your first delinquency that led to the CO was 2005 then you are looking for them to fall off sometime in 2012.  Your reports will show the month also.