Paid 2 yr old AMEX charge off, FICO plummets -72 at Experian, -50 Equifax, but not Transunion - HELP

[JJ64]

All,

Not sure how to proceed.  I suffered a job loss and a medical illnesss two years ago and had some revolving debt charged off.  I have been working my way back, implementing AZEO, and had FICO's at all three bureaus that were 680+ and steadily climbing.  I paid an old AMex charge off because it was the right thing to do.  As soon as it was reported Experian Fico 8 went from 699 to 627 and Equifax Fico 8 went from 680 to 630.  Transunion score didn't budge.  I pulled detail reports from each bureau and via myFico and have verified all the balances on all accounts, including the charge-off have been correctly reported and all 3 bureaus reflect the account as a paid charge off.  Is it possible that Experian and Equifax re-aged the debt in the process of updating the charge off to paid?  I can't figure out how to tell from looking at the reports if this is what happened.    It does look like from the payment history I can see on MyFico and Experian that the account is listed as a CO for Feb 2022, the other bureaus don't reflect any payment history for the account since it was originally charged off in 2019.  Is there anything I can do (dispute) or am I just screwed?  I'm in the process of buying a new car (next month) and am trying to get as low a rate as possible.

John

[SouthJamaica]

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@JJ64 wrote:

All,

Not sure how to proceed.  I suffered a job loss and a medical illnesss two years ago and had some revolving debt charged off.  I have been working my way back, implementing AZEO, and had FICO's at all three bureaus that were 680+ and steadily climbing.  I paid an old AMex charge off because it was the right thing to do.  As soon as it was reported Experian Fico 8 went from 699 to 627 and Equifax Fico 8 went from 680 to 630.  Transunion score didn't budge.  I pulled detail reports from each bureau and via myFico and have verified all the balances on all accounts, including the charge-off have been correctly reported and all 3 bureaus reflect the account as a paid charge off.  Is it possible that Experian and Equifax re-aged the debt in the process of updating the charge off to paid?  I can't figure out how to tell from looking at the reports if this is what happened.    It does look like from the payment history I can see on MyFico and Experian that the account is listed as a CO for Feb 2022, the other bureaus don't reflect any payment history for the account since it was originally charged off in 2019.  Is there anything I can do (dispute) or am I just screwed?  I'm in the process of buying a new car (next month) and am trying to get as low a rate as possible.

John

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If any of the facts are wrong in the report you should dispute them.  If they're saying there was a chargeoff in 2022, when there wasn't, I would dispute it until kingdom comes.

[dragontears]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@JJ64 wrote:

All,

Not sure how to proceed.  I suffered a job loss and a medical illnesss two years ago and had some revolving debt charged off.  I have been working my way back, implementing AZEO, and had FICO's at all three bureaus that were 680+ and steadily climbing.  I paid an old AMex charge off because it was the right thing to do.  As soon as it was reported Experian Fico 8 went from 699 to 627 and Equifax Fico 8 went from 680 to 630.  Transunion score didn't budge.  I pulled detail reports from each bureau and via myFico and have verified all the balances on all accounts, including the charge-off have been correctly reported and all 3 bureaus reflect the account as a paid charge off.  Is it possible that Experian and Equifax re-aged the debt in the process of updating the charge off to paid?  I can't figure out how to tell from looking at the reports if this is what happened.    It does look like from the payment history I can see on MyFico and Experian that the account is listed as a CO for Feb 2022, the other bureaus don't reflect any payment history for the account since it was originally charged off in 2019.  Is there anything I can do (dispute) or am I just screwed?  I'm in the process of buying a new car (next month) and am trying to get as low a rate as possible.

John

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If any of the facts are wrong in the report you should dispute them.  If they're saying there was a chargeoff in 2022, when there wasn't, I would dispute it until kingdom comes.

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I wouldn't. A lender is free to report a CO every month a charge off is unpaid, just because the payment is listed as a CO in February doesn't make it wrong since the account was still a CO in February (unless you paid it before February).

Sounds like the account you paid was not updating evey month?

[JJ64]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@JJ64 wrote:

All,

Not sure how to proceed.  I suffered a job loss and a medical illnesss two years ago and had some revolving debt charged off.  I have been working my way back, implementing AZEO, and had FICO's at all three bureaus that were 680+ and steadily climbing.  I paid an old AMex charge off because it was the right thing to do.  As soon as it was reported Experian Fico 8 went from 699 to 627 and Equifax Fico 8 went from 680 to 630.  Transunion score didn't budge.  I pulled detail reports from each bureau and via myFico and have verified all the balances on all accounts, including the charge-off have been correctly reported and all 3 bureaus reflect the account as a paid charge off.  Is it possible that Experian and Equifax re-aged the debt in the process of updating the charge off to paid?  I can't figure out how to tell from looking at the reports if this is what happened.    It does look like from the payment history I can see on MyFico and Experian that the account is listed as a CO for Feb 2022, the other bureaus don't reflect any payment history for the account since it was originally charged off in 2019.  Is there anything I can do (dispute) or am I just screwed?  I'm in the process of buying a new car (next month) and am trying to get as low a rate as possible.

John

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If any of the facts are wrong in the report you should dispute them.  If they're saying there was a chargeoff in 2022, when there wasn't, I would dispute it until kingdom comes.

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Thanks - I would love to dispute it but I can't find any fields in my Experian report (experian.com) or the MyFico data for Experian such as "date of first delinquency" that confirm the aging of the data.  All I see in payment history at MyFico.com is "No Report" for the last 3 years across all 3 bureaus except for Experian shows a CO this month.  So basically AMEX reported the account as closed, charged-off, then didn't report anything until I paid it this month.  The only other wrinkle I can think of in this is that AMex reported me as deceased after the initial charge off.  I disputed it and thought it was resolved but it wasn't.  I got them to finally resolve that I am still alive last week with a direct call to Amex.  I'm now wondering if the account looks to the FICO algorithm like it was just charged off, not charged off 3 years ago...

[JJ64]

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@dragontears wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@JJ64 wrote:

All,

Not sure how to proceed.  I suffered a job loss and a medical illnesss two years ago and had some revolving debt charged off.  I have been working my way back, implementing AZEO, and had FICO's at all three bureaus that were 680+ and steadily climbing.  I paid an old AMex charge off because it was the right thing to do.  As soon as it was reported Experian Fico 8 went from 699 to 627 and Equifax Fico 8 went from 680 to 630.  Transunion score didn't budge.  I pulled detail reports from each bureau and via myFico and have verified all the balances on all accounts, including the charge-off have been correctly reported and all 3 bureaus reflect the account as a paid charge off.  Is it possible that Experian and Equifax re-aged the debt in the process of updating the charge off to paid?  I can't figure out how to tell from looking at the reports if this is what happened.    It does look like from the payment history I can see on MyFico and Experian that the account is listed as a CO for Feb 2022, the other bureaus don't reflect any payment history for the account since it was originally charged off in 2019.  Is there anything I can do (dispute) or am I just screwed?  I'm in the process of buying a new car (next month) and am trying to get as low a rate as possible.

John

---

If any of the facts are wrong in the report you should dispute them.  If they're saying there was a chargeoff in 2022, when there wasn't, I would dispute it until kingdom comes.

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I wouldn't. A lender is free to report a CO every month a charge off is unpaid, just because the payment is listed as a CO in February doesn't make it wrong since the account was still a CO in February (unless you paid it before February).

Sounds like the account you paid was not updating evey month?

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That is correct it does not appear like it was being updated monthly - maybe because they were convinced I was deceased?  72 points just seems like a massive penalty for doing the right thing.

[OmarGB9]

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@JJ64 wrote:

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@dragontears wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@JJ64 wrote:

All,

Not sure how to proceed.  I suffered a job loss and a medical illnesss two years ago and had some revolving debt charged off.  I have been working my way back, implementing AZEO, and had FICO's at all three bureaus that were 680+ and steadily climbing.  I paid an old AMex charge off because it was the right thing to do.  As soon as it was reported Experian Fico 8 went from 699 to 627 and Equifax Fico 8 went from 680 to 630.  Transunion score didn't budge.  I pulled detail reports from each bureau and via myFico and have verified all the balances on all accounts, including the charge-off have been correctly reported and all 3 bureaus reflect the account as a paid charge off.  Is it possible that Experian and Equifax re-aged the debt in the process of updating the charge off to paid?  I can't figure out how to tell from looking at the reports if this is what happened.    It does look like from the payment history I can see on MyFico and Experian that the account is listed as a CO for Feb 2022, the other bureaus don't reflect any payment history for the account since it was originally charged off in 2019.  Is there anything I can do (dispute) or am I just screwed?  I'm in the process of buying a new car (next month) and am trying to get as low a rate as possible.

John

---

If any of the facts are wrong in the report you should dispute them.  If they're saying there was a chargeoff in 2022, when there wasn't, I would dispute it until kingdom comes.

---

I wouldn't. A lender is free to report a CO every month a charge off is unpaid, just because the payment is listed as a CO in February doesn't make it wrong since the account was still a CO in February (unless you paid it before February).

Sounds like the account you paid was not updating evey month?

---

That is correct it does not appear like it was being updated monthly - maybe because they were convinced I was deceased?  72 points just seems like a massive penalty for doing the right thing.

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Unfortunately yes it seems excessive, but it seems like that's what happened. You were hit with a "catch up" penalty since it wasn't updating monthly and then all of a sudden after lying dormant for 3 years, there was an update, so FICO takes it as a "fresh" derogatory. That doesn't mean it's reaged, and it's not *actually* fresh, but the algorithm sees it as such. Not much that can be done except keep being responsible and paying on time on your other accounts. 

[FireMedic1]

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Same situation in a way. One of the reasons why we all say dont dispute accurate info on credit reports hoping to get it removed. If its verified and comes back as accurate. Its a new update and there goes some points. Updates hurt.

[Revelate]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Same situation in a way. One of the reasons why we all say dont dispute inaccurate info on credit reports hoping to get it removed. If its verified and comes back as accurate. Its a new update and there goes some points. Updates hurt.

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I think you meant accurate in that second sentence; inaccurate I'd dispute it till someone listened to me.

CO's suck with how they're handled, probably the least consumer friendly of any derogatory.  CFAs are just a dumb implementation but they don't cost 100+ points on a clean profile or even 50ish on a dirty one for recent.

[FireMedic1]

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@Revelate wrote:

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Same situation in a way. One of the reasons why we all say dont dispute inaccurate info on credit reports hoping to get it removed. If its verified and comes back as accurate. Its a new update and there goes some points. Updates hurt.

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I think you meant accurate in that second sentence; inaccurate I'd dispute it till someone listened to me.

CO's suck with how they're handled, probably the least consumer friendly of any derogatory.  CFAs are just a dumb implementation but they don't cost 100+ points on a clean profile or even 50ish on a dirty one for recent.

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Thanks @Revelate . 05:14 means I was awake 14 minutes. LOL! Maybe 4 sips of coffee.

[WaldenEast]

I faced very similar circumstances, including the health issue, amex charge off several years ago. Since then, about a two years ago I got an Amex Optima, and last December, got Gold and Blue Cash Preferred. Experian still has not added the two newest AMEX cards, the Optima is no longer listed, and the AMEX charge off was switched to have occured on the date I received one of the newest AMEX cards, in Dec. 2021. 

In debating it with Experian, after having disputed it and got a dispute resolution that it was "accurate" -  I finally had someone at Experian explain to me to specifically disupte what is wrong, not the entire account. So in this case, dispute by noting the charge off date is wrong.