IMHO, getting them to close the account wont help your scorenow , and may hurt it.
Account status as open or closed records current account status. Changing this status is a separate credit file field code, and does not erase the separate payment history field codes in your file, such as the prior derog CO status.
Your current account status, if you have paid it off, should now be current,but still showing the prior related CO fileds and DOFD fields, which are not erased by paying the account or closing it. Closing an account does not erase prior derog info in your file. That is only done by way of an entire deletion of the account from your CR, Apparently, that is not what you have asked them to do.
In fact, closing the account may harm your score. If they close the account, which is now in good standing, you will lose the CL of that account in subsequent %util calculations. It will also begin the tolling of the ten year clock in your file from closing date that will utlimately cause you to lose the aging history of the account after ten years.
The only gain you can get right now is to ask them to delete, and not just close, the account. Then its derog payment history will go away, but also you will instantly lose both its CL and account age in your avg aging calculation.
Yes, they are correct in stating that creditors are instructed in the CRA reporting manual that it is iimproper to delete a prior derog report unless it was improper in the first instance. In a GW letter, you are askiing them to disregard this, and show you good will. From my experience, a creditor wont be motivated to do this based solely on your acounting of reasons why you did not pay on time. Rather, I feel that the best motivation to get a credtor to do a GW deletion is to include some statement of how it will affect your future business with them. "I will love you forever, and only use your card forever, if you extend this GW to me!"
Message Edited by RobertEG on
09-09-2008 08:37 PM
