I have a charge off from Wells Fargo Secured Card and Capital One Credit Card and I’m trying to figure out what route is better to take a PFD or GW letter. Any there anyone in particular I need to talk to as far as getting it removed? Will they remove it at all or will it stay there? I don’t see that the debt was sold to anyone I just see their information when I look at the negative accounts.
Starting Score: 494 503 521
I'm in a very similar situation. I have two- Wells Fargo and Citi Still looking for addresses (email or physical) to send GW. I had success with Credit One and Cap1.
@cbneale09 wrote:My card that is charged off is also my oldest card. I got it in 2011, my next card I got in 2018. So wouldn't a PFD absolutely crush my credit score due to the sudden 7 year loss in credit age
When is it due to fall off your reports? Because the sudden loss of credit age is going to happen anyway once it reaches the reporting statute and falls off -- and yes, it will probably drop your scores at that point as there is a big gap between the age of that account and your 2018 account.
The way I see it - it's always better to have a clean report -- even if it initially drops your scores - your scores will rebound with time - plus, they'll have greater growth potential when you're on a clean scorecard.
@cbneale09 wrote:According to Experian Credit Monitoring-the status update was June 2014. Which would mean sometime in late 2021. I can afford to pay the charge-off in full as well, but would rather not if I could help it. It's still with Discover and not a CA.
But not sure if leaving it on or the PFD would be better. I guess I could always try, but still don't know
The reporting statute is based of the DOFD, not the last status update of the account. The DOFD is the 'Date of First Delinquency' - this is the month and year the account first became delinquent and was never again brought current -- usually 180 days before the account entered a charge-off status.
The statute requires the account to report for no longer than 7 years and 180 days after the DOFD (though it's generally removed at the 7 year mark).
@cbneale09 wrote:Then that would make it Nov/Dec of 2013. I really just don't know which route makes the most sense.
Ok -- so assuming the DOFD was Dec. 2013, you're looking at December 2020 at the latest for the account to fall off. Your situation is kind of a toss-up...
Option 1: Wait it out and request an Early Exclusion (EE) from each bureau. Transunion will usually remove 6 months early upon request (June 2020), Experian 3 months early (September 2020), and Equifax 1 month early (November 2020).
Option 2: Pay it. If the account is still owned by Discover then it is probably still showing a balance, correct? - If so, that is hurting you because the balance is factored into your overall utilization. If you pay it, the balance will reflect $0 and could have a positive effect on your scores. Paying it will also give you a greater chance to become a Discover card-holder again in the near future. I don't think a PFD will work with Discover as I've seen no success stories with that. PFDs are more successful with collection agencies than original creditors -- but it's always worth a try.
If the account is showing a $0 balance, then that likely means the account has been sold to a debt collector - they just haven't done anything to collect on it - at least not yet.
If Discover still owns the debt, they can still send the account to a collection agency at anytime so long as there is an outstanding balance - however, as long as the debt is out of SOL (Statute of Limitations - for your state), they can't sue you for it; but they can add a collection account to your reports in addition to the charge-off tradeline that's already listed. That would cause even greater damage to your scores. Discover could also decide, on a whim, to update their tradeline -- which will also further damage your scores because it will make the delinquency look more recent.
You may also get totally lucky and be able to ride things out through 2020 without ever hearing a word from Discover or a collection agency...
All I can do is layout options and possible outcomes, you have to decide what's best (sorry!).