Paying a 6 year old chargoff

Anonymous · ‎02-15-2016

Ok so I have been bitten by the "Do the right thing bug" and want to pay off mt 6 year old chargoff that I just found about last month. I didnt check my credit report since 2009 and knew then that all was clean, however after I ETS from the military it seems DFAS has overpaid me somehow or some way that I have yet to figure out. SO in January i checked my CR to see what my student loans looked like and to see out of curiosity what my scores were. Well to my surprise DFAS, like clockwork reports the chargoff every month.

I contacted DFAS and spoke very friendly to their CSR about the old charge and the lady told me she wouldnt open the account due to the possibility of interest fees being applied. I then asked her if it was a loan and she said no. I then said how will interest apply? She didnt have answer. The chargoff is $2122 and I made 2 payments of $88 for Jan & Feb.

My question to you is should I ask them to open the account, get a paymet schedule started and report its status as good with payments made vs as a chargoff being paid off or should I just say teh heck with it and let it ride until Aug 2017 when its scheduled to fall off?

I also disputed this with the 3 CRA's and it came back as verified to me.

CH-7-Mission-Accomplished · ‎02-15-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
Ok so I have been bitten by the "Do the right thing bug" and want to pay off mt 6 year old chargoff that I just found about last month. I didnt check my credit report since 2009 and knew then that all was clean, however after I ETS from the military it seems DFAS has overpaid me somehow or some way that I have yet to figure out. SO in January i checked my CR to see what my student loans looked like and to see out of curiosity what my scores were. Well to my surprise DFAS, like clockwork reports the chargoff every month.

I contacted DFAS and spoke very friendly to their CSR about the old charge and the lady told me she wouldnt open the account due to the possibility of interest fees being applied. I then asked her if it was a loan and she said no. I then said how will interest apply? She didnt have answer. The chargoff is $2122 and I made 2 payments of $88 for Jan & Feb.

My question to you is should I ask them to open the account, get a paymet schedule started and report its status as good with payments made vs as a chargoff being paid off or should I just say teh heck with it and let it ride until Aug 2017 when its scheduled to fall off?

I also disputed this with the 3 CRA's and it came back as verified to me.

What's done is done, but this was not a good way to deal with this. Your heart is in the right place.

By making those payments on the account, you have reset the statute of limitations. So if they don't want to do a payment plan or you can't keep up with it, they have extended the time they can sue you.

The best way to do this, for those who read this down the road, is to request a pay for delete. By poking the bear and making a payment, your FICO scores are going to take a hit becuase this old chargeoff will now update and appear to be new.

The best plan would have been to wait for it to fall off your credit report at seven years, not make any payments, and offer to settle the account with them after the statute of limitations has passed.

Again, not trying to make you feel bad at all, but just for those who read these threads down the line.

Anonymous · ‎02-16-2016

@CH-7-Mission-Accomplished wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Ok so I have been bitten by the "Do the right thing bug" and want to pay off mt 6 year old chargoff that I just found about last month. I didnt check my credit report since 2009 and knew then that all was clean, however after I ETS from the military it seems DFAS has overpaid me somehow or some way that I have yet to figure out. SO in January i checked my CR to see what my student loans looked like and to see out of curiosity what my scores were. Well to my surprise DFAS, like clockwork reports the chargoff every month.

I contacted DFAS and spoke very friendly to their CSR about the old charge and the lady told me she wouldnt open the account due to the possibility of interest fees being applied. I then asked her if it was a loan and she said no. I then said how will interest apply? She didnt have answer. The chargoff is $2122 and I made 2 payments of $88 for Jan & Feb.

My question to you is should I ask them to open the account, get a paymet schedule started and report its status as good with payments made vs as a chargoff being paid off or should I just say teh heck with it and let it ride until Aug 2017 when its scheduled to fall off?

I also disputed this with the 3 CRA's and it came back as verified to me.
What's done is done, but this was not a good way to deal with this. Your heart is in the right place.

By making those payments on the account, you have reset the statute of limitations. So if they don't want to do a payment plan or you can't keep up with it, they have extended the time they can sue you.

The best way to do this, for those who read this down the road, is to request a pay for delete. By poking the bear and making a payment, your FICO scores are going to take a hit becuase this old chargeoff will now update and appear to be new.

The best plan would have been to wait for it to fall off your credit report at seven years, not make any payments, and offer to settle the account with them after the statute of limitations has passed.

Again, not trying to make you feel bad at all, but just for those who read these threads down the line.

I was told that it wouldnt reset the statute of limitations since it has been charged off, however if it were in collections and I made a payment then it would reset. Now I am confused. I will call them tomorrow to see if we can make a deal to have the status updated to paying as agreed and maybe all of the negative past wiped clean. Its worth a try.

Thank you for the reply.

Anonymous · ‎02-16-2016

From Experian

Although the account will show if the debt was paid, the fact that the account was charged off prior to when it was paid remains as part of the credit report for seven years from the initial payment that led up to the charged off status, called the original delinquency date.

RobertEG · ‎02-16-2016

CH-7 gave you good advice.

The taking and reporting of a charge-off does not affect the continued obligation for the debt, or toll the running of the SOL.

For all practical purposes, reporting of a charge-off is simply the placing of a statement in your file that you are not expected to pay the debt.

It has no relevance to if or when they can bring civil action to recover the debt.

Anonymous · ‎02-16-2016

@RobertEG wrote:
CH-7 gave you good advice.
The taking and reporting of a charge-off does not affect the continued obligation for the debt, or toll the running of the SOL.
For all practical purposes, reporting of a charge-off is simply the placing of a statement in your file that you are not expected to pay the debt.
It has no relevance to if or when they can bring civil action to recover the debt.

Agreed, It seems that many people like myself get the SOL confused between the 7.5 year record delete from teh CR and a civil suit. Im not worried about any civil suits. I just want to do the right thing. Even after its gone from my CR I will still pay until it has been paid off.

A quick question, why is DFAS repoprting this as a revolving account?