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I have an old debt, first deliquent is February 2013. It is still showing as a charge off on my credit. I was thinking to send them a letter and request payment in leiu of removal of the charge off. Is there any bad that can come of me sending the letter? Otherwise it should fall off shortly correct? The debt was from when I went through a messy divorce and I had to pay what was vital. No other bankrupties, repo's, or collections on my credit. I have slowly paid back everything but this old charge off, but I would like to move on with my life and get this off.
If its reporting monthly it won’t affect you more than it already is. If you pay it it could give your some points and it will still fall off next year.
What agency has the debt, some are known to PFD. Its always good to pay the debt, however if its not reporting monthly you might want to wait until it falls off then pay it.
HI Busymom, welcome to the forums!
@Anonymous wrote:I have an old debt, first deliquent is February 2013. It is still showing as a charge off on my credit. I was thinking to send them a letter and request payment in leiu of removal of the charge off. Is there any bad that can come of me sending the letter? Otherwise it should fall off shortly correct? The debt was from when I went through a messy divorce and I had to pay what was vital. No other bankrupties, repo's, or collections on my credit. I have slowly paid back everything but this old charge off, but I would like to move on with my life and get this off.
It depends...
When was the last time the tradeline was updated?
Who currently owns the debt, the original creditor or a collection agency?
You're looking at Feb. 2020 for removal from your reports. If I were you, I'd probably just wait until the account is eligible for an Early Exclusion (EE) from the bureaus. Upon request, Transunion will typically delete negative tradelines up to 6 months early (so Aug. 2019), Experian 3 months early (Nov. 2019), and Equifax 1 month early (Jan. 2020).
The orginial creditor is reporting it as "failure to pay" each month. It does not appear that it has been sold as the original creditor is the only listed "person". The orginial creditor is Citizens One.
My goal is to ideally pay a portion of the debt and have the charge off deleted. If I can not have that deleted then I guess I should just let it roll off. I figured that it would be better on the creditor's eye to get some of the money and be done with me.
Do I need to do anything for the early excustion you refer to?
I really appreciate your very detailed response.
Since they are updating monthly, yes send them a settlement offer for deletion, it might work since its so old. If they dont accept then try full pay for delete. If they dont accept that, then you have to make a choice of paying letting your score recover from them not updating until it falls off, or just letting it fall off.
What do I need to do for the early excusion to get it removed? Here is a copy of the letter I was going to send:
"Dear Account Manager:
This letter is in response to your credit report entry on February 2013 related to the debt referenced above. I wish to save us both some time and effort by settling this debt.
Please be aware that this is not an acknowledgment or acceptance of the debt, as I have not received any verification of the debt. Nor is this a promise to pay and is not a payment agreement unless you provide a response as detailed below.
I am aware that your company has the ability to report this debt to the credit bureaus as you deem necessary. Furthermore, you have the ability to change the listing since you are the information furnisher.
I am willing to pay $xxx as settlement for this debt in return for your agreement to remove all information regarding this debt from the credit reporting agencies within seven calendar days of payment. If you agree to the terms, I will send certified payment in the amount of $xxx payable to Citizens One in exchange to have all information related to this debt removed from all of my credit files.
If you accept this offer, you also agree not to discuss the offer with any third-party. If you accept the offer, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead agreeing to the terms. This letter should be signed by an authorized agent of Citizens One. The letter will be treated as a contract and subject to the laws of my state.
As granted by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I have the right to dispute this alleged debt. If I do not receive your postmarked response within 10 days, I will withdraw the offer and request full verification of this debt.
Please forward your agreement to the address listed above."
Which is basically a blank I found online
@Anonymous wrote:What do I need to do for the early excusion to get it removed? Here is a copy of the letter I was going to send:
"Dear Account Manager:
This letter is in response to your credit report entry on February 2013 related to the debt referenced above. I wish to save us both some time and effort by settling this debt.
Please be aware that this is not an acknowledgment or acceptance of the debt, as I have not received any verification of the debt. Nor is this a promise to pay and is not a payment agreement unless you provide a response as detailed below.
I am aware that your company has the ability to report this debt to the credit bureaus as you deem necessary. Furthermore, you have the ability to change the listing since you are the information furnisher.
I am willing to pay $xxx as settlement for this debt in return for your agreement to remove all information regarding this debt from the credit reporting agencies within seven calendar days of payment. If you agree to the terms, I will send certified payment in the amount of $xxx payable to Citizens One in exchange to have all information related to this debt removed from all of my credit files.
If you accept this offer, you also agree not to discuss the offer with any third-party. If you accept the offer, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead agreeing to the terms. This letter should be signed by an authorized agent of Citizens One. The letter will be treated as a contract and subject to the laws of my state.
As granted by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I have the right to dispute this alleged debt. If I do not receive your postmarked response within 10 days, I will withdraw the offer and request full verification of this debt.
Please forward your agreement to the address listed above."
Which is basically a blank I found online
I'm quite late to the conversation but I'm wondering does anyone have any opinion on this letter?
@BusyMomof2 - Did you send this lettter? Did you have any luck?
I would not impose a 7 day period as stated in paragraph 4, as it is very short and could result in lack of adequate processing and review time.
I would also leave out paragraphs 5 and 6 in their entirety.
Contract law covers any agreement on their part without any need to place restrictions in your offer.
Additionally, if more than 30 days has expired since their dunning notice, then you no longer have debt validation rights under FDCPA 809(b).
I would keep it simple, and confined to your offer without unnecessary restrictions that may annoy or delay.