topic Re: AMEX Charge off, best options? (Optima, PIF?) in Rebuilding Your Credit

AMEX Charge off, best options? (Optima, PIF?)

jer2305 — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 05:10:11 GMT

Hey everyone,

Thanks for everyone's help in the board! The last negative in my CR is a charge off from AMEX (opened account 2011, was charged off 2012) and I owe $2100. Around 2013, they offfered me an optima program if I paid the balance within 12 months. I never took that option (though I wish I would have now). As of now, the account is still all the same on my report, and hasn't moved to a collection account under a different company on my report, though I was contacted by another company that I imagine was contracted to collect on their behalf...and I made some payments in 2016.

I'm now in a position to be able to pay the entire balance off, but want to know if I should called AMEX directly or work with their contracted collection agency. Would love to get ideas on the best way to salvage this and make my report better (e.g., ask to be removed from CR by paying in full), or maybe ask if they still have the Optima option. I read somewhere if you were accepted into the optima program, they would remove the negative listing from your CR on the account....would love to know if anyone had success from that or any other suggestions for dealing with AMEX.

As of now my scores are sitting around 640 and CKs and other simulators put it around 700 once i reduce until on other cards I currently have...so with AMEX potentially fixed.. I imagine I could be in a pretty good place. The other alternative is to wait until removal date of around 2018, though I'd rather pay in be able to open a new AMEX card at some point in the future.

Thanks all!!

Re: AMEX Charge off, best options? (Optima, PIF?)

RobertEG — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 06:17:47 GMT

I assume that Amex still owns the debt, and any collection authority is based only on assignment by the OC, and not their sale of the debt.

As such, legally, either the creditor or their assigned agent can accept payment.

However, the creditor can, at their option, decline to accept payment directly, and insist that you pay through their assigned debt collection.

You could first decide to make a pay for deletion offer to either party. A PFD offer is made to a party only for deletion of their own reporting, so a PFD offer to the creditor would apply only to their reported charge-off (and/of other derogs), and a PFD offer to a debt collector would apply only to their reported collection.

If there is a debt collector who has not yet reported, then you would substitute a pay for not reporting offer for a PFD offer.

A collection and a charge-off are both major derogs and have the same exclusion dates, so a consumer might wish to pursue either.

Re: AMEX Charge off, best options? (Optima, PIF?)

jer2305 — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 06:20:51 GMT

Great info, thanks!

Have you heard of anyone getting back with AMEX after paying in full, assuming rest of credit file is in good order and scores back up near 700? Really wanting the platinum as I'm about to be traveling more frequently towards the end of this year and into next year.

Thanks!