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Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

New here, so unsure of all the abbreviations and what not. Or how to exactly phrase this but, long story short I put my Verizon fios internet account on what I thought was vacation hold, and at the time I had a small balance remaining. I found out last week that it already reported to Experian. And that dropped my score from low 700s to around 580... I’ve tried the vp route asking for pay to delete, they won’t budge. The most they can do they said was to report it as paid in full. But being that my score dropped so many points is it even worth paying it off? Prior to this I’ve had no collections, I have an AMEX GOLD card, capital one card and Bank of America. Make all my payments on time. My current utilization I believe is 40%.

What i’m basically asking is do I just give up on trying to request pay for deletes and settle for paid in full. Or is there other things I can do in the meantime to get my scores back up? I really need to get a car, was hoping to finance or lease one. And apply for an apartment complex.

Many thanks in advance to whomever can give me some guidance on what to do here to get my scores back up.
Message 1 of 13
12 REPLIES 12
Brian_Earl_Spilner
Credit Mentor

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

Unfortunately, your score won't go back to it's former glory until that derogatory is removed, which is 7 yrs 6 mos from first default. You should still pay it off. As long as it exists it'll count towards your utilization and can report monthly as well as increase in amount from collection fees and interest, which will worsen your utilization. Sorry, I'm sure that's not the answer you want to hear. I would bombard Verizon with Goodwill letters to get them to remove it, but realistically, Verizon rarely deletes 

    
Message 2 of 13
Remedios
Credit Mentor

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

@Anonymous   welcome to the forums 

 

Actually, if you pay it, and that's your only negative, your score will gradually improve over time.

You wont get all the points back till it's completely gone from your report, but some will come back over time. 

If it remains unpaid, and continues to update, it will keep your scores suppressed right around where you are now. 

 

Because you have a double whammy (Verizon CO and associated collection), best thing you can do is call Verizon and ask them to recall collection then pay them directly. There might be some push back, but it can be done. You may need to make several calls. 

 

As far as Verizon deleting their reporting, that would be a minor miracle and I would not count on it happening.   How late were you?  What's the last statement date and when was this placed for collections? 

 

Message 3 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

To my knowledge it was only one collection. It’s only showing the collection under Verizon. They still own the debt. My last payment was on May 14 2019. They sent it into collections this month. What does it exactly mean to tell Verizon to recall the payment. Thanks so much For replying by the way
Message 4 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

Thx for the reply. Do you think my score will improve over time? Or am I just doomed until 7 years. If any other tips you have to get my scores in a better place I’d appreciate it.

My plan is to just continue paying off my 3 credit cards and lowering utilization in hopes of it slowly raising my score over time :/
Message 5 of 13
Brian_Earl_Spilner
Credit Mentor

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

Like remedios said, it'll get better as the derogatory ages, but if you ignore it, you'll stay where you are until it falls off the report.

 

When a lender hires a collection agency to collect for them rather than sell it, they retain the option to call back that debt. Doing so would remove the collection from your reports and leave whatever Verizon is reporting.

    
Message 6 of 13
Remedios
Credit Mentor

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?


@Anonymous wrote:
Thx for the reply. Do you think my score will improve over time? Or am I just doomed until 7 years. If any other tips you have to get my scores in a better place I’d appreciate it.

My plan is to just continue paying off my 3 credit cards and lowering utilization in hopes of it slowly raising my score over time :/

It will improve some but not much. I would not say you're doomed, but it may be hard to get additional credit or loans under decent terms in the next few years and that's assuming your cards stay intact.  

 

You have relatively high utilization and now you have a collection on your CR. Your lenders may take AA, so I'd really see what you can do about this collection before it gets worse 

To reduce risk of AA by your lenders, you either need to take care of this collection or lower utilization because right now you may appear as a very high risk customer to their algorithms. 

Or nothing bad happens. Either is a possibility. 

 

 

 

Message 7 of 13
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

Verizon debt is not revolving credit, and is not scored as part of your % util, which applies only to revolving credit.

Message 8 of 13
ChargedUp
Senior Contributor

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?

Sorry to hear about your situation OP. Just a thought though... If you're sitting on a large amount of rewards on your credit cards, you might think about using them just in case you end up suffering AA from this. Paying down the 40% UTL would be wise at this juncture as well.


I'd keep sending out GW letter attempts to anyone at Verizon with a pulse and hope that you get the right person on the right day. The worse they can do is continually refuse. In the end, it could be worth the effort. Deletions from Verizon are indeed rare, but they have happened before.

Message 9 of 13
Brian_Earl_Spilner
Credit Mentor

Re: Verizon took a toll on my report - what now?


@RobertEG wrote:

Verizon debt is not revolving credit, and is not scored as part of your % util, which applies only to revolving credit.


Whoops, yeah, forgot that. doh.gif 

    
Message 10 of 13
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