Bear with me, I've been lurking on this forum for over a year and this is actually my first post, but for all of the information I've received here I thought it worth it to post this for anyone in a similar situation.
I had a Capital One charge off from an account in 2007, the ending balance at the time of the CO was 5,684 (original limit was $5K). I was only 21 and in a relationship with my then ex-fiance who had bad credit and dragged me down with him essentially (stupid, yes, I know.)
The account was forwarded to United Recovery Systems, which I was making steady payments on. I got the balance down to $1,752 and then for some reason, checks were bouncing (not sure why as I had money in my account). Around this time, I also started using Lexington Law, but disputing this account bounced it back to Capital One. The account was updated to being open and in the dispute process, which dropped my credit score SIGNIFICANTLY, and so with no other option I decided to call Capital One to see what they could do for me about a PFD.
The CSR was useless (and mean), and even after explaining my situation she was still flatly denying any sort of solution. So I sent the EO an email (found a sample off here), and sure enough about two weeks later someone from the EO called me to discuss my case. I explained my irresponsibility back then, my relationship that was detrimental to my well being, and my determination to turn my financial life around (Since my CO, I was able to not only get a new CapOne card, but get a CLI to $5K, and an offer for a Venture Rewards and Quicksilver card). I plead the notion of paying in full for a delete, but she advised that a settlement may be all I need.
Update to today, and on my Experian credit report the balance is ZERO! And the notes say 'reached amicable agreement with lender for partial payment of original debt'. My score has actually gone up 15 points, and is now at 685, which is the highest it's been because of this looming CO.
I'm trying to buy a house, so I'd like to line all of my ducks up and this was one that was truly hurting me.
Just wanted to post this in case anyone was looking for hope with them, don't give up. The woman from the EO office was not only kind and understanding, but really helpful with just getting me going in the right direction. Don't stop at just the CSRs!
