Old charge off question

[johnpalley]

"the negative balance is still calculated into the UTL...and KILLING scores...it's up to you...." unless the dept was sold to a collection agency because it says balance 0 after that.

[Anonymous]

If a CO was sold to a CA...it's done...all you can do is write the OC a GW letter...to remove the lates and such...and bring the account negative...or ask for the entire TL to be removed...it's not very easy though...what I was saying was in reference to COs with a balance...and still with the OC...

[johnpalley]

i hear you. i thought they would only remove the negatives with a good will letter if you paid the co first?

Message Edited by johnpalley on 09-09-2008 03:24 PM

[Anonymous]

No...if you paid the CA...or PFD the CA...you can go back to the OC with a GW letter too...

[johnpalley]

but why would the ca get rid if the negative history if you never paid them in the first place? than you would never need to pay them? it seems like it would only be in their interest to get rid of the negatives if you paid them first

Message Edited by johnpalley on 09-09-2008 05:32 PM

[Anonymous]

When COs are sold to CAs...the OC writes that debt off...and the burden is for the CA to get you to pay...everything is done with the OC...and if you write them a GW letter...saying you PIF the CA...and the account was settled...they may agree to do a "goodwill" adjustment...by removing the lates...that's why its called a goodwill...out of the goodness in their hearts...but nothing is guaranteed...they can shut you down quick...with a NO!!!...but if the account is transferred to a CA...to collect on the behalf of the OC...things don't go the same way...

[johnpalley]

so your saying if they sell the dept and charge it off and then it says a 0 balance under the oc than the gw letter might work but if the oc hasnt sold the debt to a ca and they are still showing you have a balance with them than the gw letter wont work right?

[Anonymous]

If the OC is showing a $0 balance then it is highly likely they have sold the account.

Once they sell the account, they can not collect payment on it. You must deal with whoever owns the account.

If the OC is showing a balance, there is a good chance they still own the account. You want to call and speak with them regarding the account and find out of they own the account and if they will accept payment.

It is up to the OC, sometimes they will accept payment, other times they make you deal with the CA.

Closed accounts with balances being reported as a TL are included in your util.

When you pay that account to $0, it is not being included. This could change your util drastically and it could not. Not only is the balance removed from util, the CL Is as well.

Let's say you have a an old CO showing a balance of $1000 and a CL of $1000 and a current CC with a CL of $200, balance of $200.

Your util right now is $1200/$1200 = 100%

You pay/settle the old CO so that it has a $0 balance, your new util would be $200/$200 = 100%

Now, I realize that it will likely never be exactly 100%, but you get my point.

If it changes your util greatly, then chances are you'll gain some points. If it doesn't change your util or changes your util little, the less score gain you will get.

Once an account is CO, having it show settled is not going to hurt it worse. FICO reads the worse derogatory for each account and dings you for that......so with a CO account, FICO will ding you for a CO.

[Anonymous]

Sending a GW letter to an OC that is still showing a balance isn't going to work. I don't see any creditor removing negative comments on an unpaid CO account.

If the OC has sold the debt or you have paid the debt, then you would want to send GW letters for the negatives. But beware that some creditors find it easier to remove the whole account instead of the negatives. If this is an older account helping age, then it could hurt you more than help you.

If the CA has the debt and it is unpaid, you want to DV, then PFD. You first want to check SOL before doing anything though.

If the CA has the debt and is reporting and it is paid, you want to send the CA a GW letter.

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johnpalley wrote:
so your saying if they sell the dept and charge it off and then it says a 0 balance under the oc than the gw letter might work but if the oc hasnt sold the debt to a ca and they are still showing you have a balance with them than the gw letter wont work right?

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