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Help! Debt management plan/american express/charge off status

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Anonymous
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Help! Debt management plan/american express/charge off status

I'm not sure if anyone here will be familiar with this situation...I'll try and explain it as brief as possible...I have always had impeccable credit and in 2005 due to an unemployment hardship I was getting behind on a few of my bills and after missing a payment or two the interest rates skyrocketed.  I needed to do something fast or I wasn't going to be able to make the minimum payments.  So I entered into a free consumer credit counseling program through my credit union.  They set up the plan and all of my creditors agreed to participate, including american express.  Since starting on the plan I have paid off approximately 40,000 in debt and I only have two accounts left to pay off.  The terms set forth by AMEX for the DMP were that I was to pay $172 per month until the balance was paid at which time the interest and fees would be waived.  I began making the payments on the plan which amounted to approximately $1000 per month.  It was a struggle but I did so under the belief that I was protecting my credit in the long run by paying off the debt.  At first I continued to receive statements from AMEX which reflected the $172 payment but the statements were asking for a higher monthly payment.  As a result the $172 was not covering the amount due and I was incurring late fees, etc.  I was concerned and when I called AMEX about it I was told I needed to speak with NCO.  NCO told me not to worry, to keep making the payments on my plan and that in the end the interest and fees would be waived.  They said not to worry about the statements and that I could call them to obtain my balance at any time.  So I continued making the payments. In 2007 the account was reported as charged off.  Again I was told not to worry about this because once paid off it would reflect "paid in full".  I received a letter on AMEX letterhead in 2008 which reiterated this.  The account was fully paid off last month and I'm waiting to see what if any change there will be in my credit report.  My concern is that they might leave the charge off status and just add "paid in full" which really would not help my score.  I don't believe the account should have ever been charged off given that I was making the payments and I never indicated any non-willingness to pay.  I was never told that this would be a possible outcome or else I would NEVER have entered into the program.  Of the 9 accounts I had enrolled in the DMP, AMEX is the ONLY account that was reported this way.  The others say "handled by credit counseling service" or paying as agreed but none say charged off.  Has anyone ever been through this with AMEX and what was the outcome?  The other concern I have is that it was reported in 2007 and I made payments until 2009 so does that mean they could leave the negative status on the report for 7 years from 2007 (the date reported charged off) or, worse, from 2009 (the date of last payment)? 
Message Edited by lily1417 on 06-21-2009 04:28 PM
Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
Anonymous
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Re: Help! Debt management plan/american express/charge off status

It won't remain from the date paid off.....it will remain up to 7 1/2 years from DOFD. DOFD is the date you went delinquent and never caught up prior to charge off/collection/etc. 

 

Did AmEx report lates prior to the charge off? 

 

Have you gotten your reports directly from the CRA? If not, see link below to get your free annual reports. EQ should show a DOFD, EX/TU a removal date. 

 

Is NCO reporting?

 

Have you contacted AmEx since paying the account off? 

Message 2 of 5
Anonymous
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Re: Help! Debt management plan/american express/charge off status

On the credit reports it says nothing about there ever being any late payment.  Not sure if there ever even was a late payment except maybe while the program was being set up.  If anything it would have only been late once or twice in the whole history of the account.  I've had the account since 1994.  Never paid it late.  The whole cause of this is that the payment they asked me to make on the plan was not enough to cover the minimum due, apparently.  It's AMEX that is reporting on the credit report with a notation underneath saying that the account is handled by NCO.  When I called AMEX to tell them it is paid off they told me I have to communicate with NCO regarding the account.  When I call NCO they tell me it is American Express Credit Reporting Bureau who I need to talk to.  I'm going to call them today.  I was told by NCO that it could take a few months for the waiver process and updated credit report.  I guess I could wait and see what the final outcome is but if they are going to leave it as charged off and simply note that it was paid I don't think that is going to help my score.  Right now my score is only a 590 with this being the main reason.  I have a stable job now as an attorney and I'm trying to buy a house and I need to raise the score significantly.

 

I got the reports from this website yesterday ( I had already obtained my yearly report and didn't print it out so I can't access it now).  Also got one from Experian and the score with them was 628 but it wasn't a FICO score.

 

I'm going to call AMEX credit reporting today.  thanks

Message 3 of 5
Anonymous
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Re: Help! Debt management plan/american express/charge off status

Oh and the other thing that's very strange is that AMEX stopped sending me statements in 2007 which must have been right around the time they decided to charge off the account.  When I called they referred me to NCO who told me not to worry about the statements and to get my balance from them.  It's like AMEX had no idea that I was paying on the account through NCO, even though all of the correspondence regarding the terms of the DMP was on AMEX letterhead.
Message 4 of 5
Anonymous
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Re: Help! Debt management plan/american express/charge off status

did you ever get this solved? I am in the same situation and the credit management company is acting like this is not a big deal. I have a clean credit report and the only company that put Charge Off on my credit report was American Express. I have never been late on a payment and they were the ones who came up with the payment plan.

Message 5 of 5
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