@Zebra74 wrote:My husband and I went through some financial struggles in 2014-2016 and I defaulted on a few credit cards. I tried debt consolidation but defaulted on that because the payment was too much. So original defaults were in 2014 then they were paid for a bit and defaulted again in 2015-2016. I have 3 accounts left from this. My discover card has around $1000 left and is easily being paid. I could pay it off but it is my oldest account and I think it is helping my credit history. (Closed accounts count on age metric for up to 10 yrs. Some sooner.)I have a U.S. Bank account with a balance of around $12000 and a chase account with a balance of around $7000 left. They have both been charged off but neither went to or stayed in collections. The USBank account has fallen off of my TU report last year and it says the chase account was supposed to fall off months ago but is still there. Neither has come off either of the other two reports yet. I disputed one of them with one of the other CA last year and it hurt my score because the bank then started reporting the charge off again when they hadn't been.
I now have the ability to resolve all of the accounts. But I don't know the best way to do it. I was told I can try to settle but I am afraid if I acknowledge the debt or they don't allow it, the statute of limitations will restart and I will be vulnerable to a lawsuit. I also am afraid of what this will do to my credit score. Will the accounts stay on my reports and the 7 years start over? What is the best way to try and get a settlement and will it start the statute of limitations over as I fear? I appreciate any feedback from anyone who has more experience or knowledge about this than me. TIA!
Welcome @Zebra74
Paying it in full with a lump sum payment will not reset the DOFD. Even settling it will not reset the DOFD. The problem people can run into is entering into a payment agreement then defaulting again which can reset the SOL. Theres a grey area there. If you have the means to call and be done. Get that chapter closed and over with. It wont reset anything at all. Show $0 balance and move on. But theres the fine line. Its past the DoFD and should have fallen off but payments were made and kept it alive? Need a second opinion. I'll ask @gdale6 to to clarify.
Are these accounts you are paying on closed, or are they open so you can use them?
If they are closed accounts that you are paying down, what payment information is being reported each month, account status, credit limit vs balance, etc..?
@Zebra74 wrote:The accounts are closed. It seems equifax and experian are now reporting that the dofd is in 2016 and prior delinquencies in 2014/2015 indicate "no information". I have old credit reports that are different from current ones and it's a bit frustrating that the accounts are still on there when they should have fallen off this year. They were all closed in 2015 so first delinquency had to have been before they were closed right? Could it be because I used a debt management plan for a period, the reporting was different?
Is it recommended to try to settle or pay in full? I can do either right now. I just want to be done with it and move on.
If you have the DoFD on those older reports make a copy of it and dispute the account as too old by mail... Even with a debt mgmt plan the DoFD is a date set in stone it cannot be changed by anyone. I would try to save some money and negotiate a settlement. If there are any CAs involved then deal with them for a PFD if they dont already have a stated policy. The OCs wont give you any PFDs but as I said if you can prove the older DoFD you can dispute.
