Disputing Charge Off

[Itsastart22]

Hey everyone, I have a CO that's 5 years old that's been reporting as having a past due balance. I've been told charge offs should not be reported as current balances. So I disputed it. 

I'd like to know why disputing it made my score drop? It wasn't removed. It was already being reported and I know it's illegal to re-age an account. So how is it possible that just submitting a dispute negatively impacted my score?

It hasn't been sold to another company. It's still WF just collections dept. They don't offer pay for delete. All they offer is writing PIF 0 bal. 

I worked hard to improve my score from having this on there. Went from a 515 to a 672. Now my score has dropped 40 pts after disputing. This is my only negative mark on my credit report. It's supposed to fall off 2026.

why did disputing put me in a worse position? The status is the same. They just claim to have verified it. WF rep called me and said they're investigating the situation and will send me proof of verification if they're able. Either way. This is old. So why would it drop instead of stay the same? 

[FicoMike0]

Sounds like the old 'pokeing the bear' penalty.

They had almost forgotten about you.

[Itsastart22]

But , I don't think they did forget about me considering they were already reporting consistently lol I could see if they weren't updating. No they were literally updating every month that I had a past due balance while in CO status. So how can you make it worse if it's illegal to re-age. So they can't act like it's a new debt just added. The only way it should show up as new is if they were to sell it to a collection agency and they didn't. I have to contact them directly and they asked me if I was going to pay it before the investigation is complete. I said I want to wait for the findings because honestly the balance seems shady. I don't understand how closing the account left me with a bill. Either way, if paying isn't going to up my score at least 20 points and then have it stop reporting completely then it's pointless. I've seen people pay and then they report it every month as CO PIF until the 7 year mark. So it's still negative for a lender to see anyway. Also "poke the bear" is so irritating to me lol because it's petty and just seems like retaliation. I don't even get how that's ok. It's spiteful and weird. Why do they care that much. 

[vntrsc]

The furnisher had to update its reporting by verifying the accuracy of the disputed item.  That update made the charge off appear more recent.  

There's a difference between "current" and "new".  The charge off is not "new".  However, "currently" (at this time), it is still charged off with a balance.    

[Blender]

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@Itsastart22 wrote:

Hey everyone, I have a CO that's 5 years old that's been reporting as having a past due balance. I've been told charge offs should not be reported as current balances. So I disputed it. 

I'd like to know why disputing it made my score drop? It wasn't removed. It was already being reported and I know it's illegal to re-age an account. So how is it possible that just submitting a dispute negatively impacted my score?

It hasn't been sold to another company. It's still WF just collections dept. They don't offer pay for delete. All they offer is writing PIF 0 bal. 

I worked hard to improve my score from having this on there. Went from a 515 to a 672. Now my score has dropped 40 pts after disputing. This is my only negative mark on my credit report. It's supposed to fall off 2026.

why did disputing put me in a worse position? The status is the same. They just claim to have verified it. WF rep called me and said they're investigating the situation and will send me proof of verification if they're able. Either way. This is old. So why would it drop instead of stay the same? 

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and if they can't, you file a claim and have it removed.

Which bureau shows 40 point drop? 

An unpaid charge off carries weight. The charge off and the total utilization. 

2026 feels like forever away, we've been there. Just sit on your hands and ride the time out

[myscoresucks2]

Because when you dispute, they update the account which makes it look more recent than it really is!! It sucks because you get punished for disputing, American Express will update monthly until you have dispute code removed. 🙄

[7774x]

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@Itsastart22 wrote:

Hey everyone, I have a CO that's 5 years old that's been reporting as having a past due balance. I've been told charge offs should not be reported as current balances. So I disputed it. 

I'd like to know why disputing it made my score drop? It wasn't removed. It was already being reported and I know it's illegal to re-age an account. So how is it possible that just submitting a dispute negatively impacted my score?

It hasn't been sold to another company. It's still WF just collections dept. They don't offer pay for delete. All they offer is writing PIF 0 bal. 

I worked hard to improve my score from having this on there. Went from a 515 to a 672. Now my score has dropped 40 pts after disputing. This is my only negative mark on my credit report. It's supposed to fall off 2026.

why did disputing put me in a worse position? The status is the same. They just claim to have verified it. WF rep called me and said they're investigating the situation and will send me proof of verification if they're able. Either way. This is old. So why would it drop instead of stay the same? 

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Like a lawyer who  wants  to ask questions he already know the answer.. same for you  disputing a c/o ,,no dispute unless sure to remove it ...Creditor is already pissed about his charge off costing him lost money .. some creditors more than happy  stick to a non payer  especially an old C/o . Like other posters here said .. your dispute refreshed your C/o. down went  your score 

[Itsastart22]

Equifax 😭 it really does feel forever away, but I will just wait and continue to add positive history. I'm just bummed disputing didn't at least leave it the same, but brought me down after years of work to build it up. Just that quick overnight. Thank you!

[Itsastart22]

yeah, it's definitely a system that seems to work against us. Like yeah you have a right to challenge it, but by the way by the time you do that we're gunna put you in a worse position lol like what is the point.

[7774x]

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@Itsastart22 wrote:

yeah, it's definitely a system that seems to work against us. Like yeah you have a right to challenge it, but by the way by the time you do that we're gunna put you in a worse position lol like what is the point.

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Time will move quickly .. I counted  months,  weeks,  days  until baddies were removed from my Crs ..patience... now my scores  760 -780 up from 480 at low