Here's the thing...The two major factors in credit score are payment history and utilization. Roughly 2/3. One of those, history, is entirely time based. A month is a month, is a month. We cant slow it down or speed it up. Make timely payments, and the score goes up. The second is utilization. That changes every month when your lender reports.
In your instance, depending on state, that charge off was going to be reported for 7-10 years. Once you made a payment the bell was re-rung for the statutory time. Now, you are in the grey area. I never recommend resetting the time after 50% past due. As with all debt, accept utilization, time is the factor. As the charge-off got older, it's impact would be less. It may have been better to wait out the remaining time as the impact decreaces. The good news is that time will heal the charge-off, it will just show longer.
The score drop will correct with...guess what...time. I thinks two reporting periods. Stay the course charted.
My strategy was this. With 5+ collections, ignored them all. there impact was less and less with time. Payed my installments on time, and at the same time save the eqivilent of a pay-off. once I hit two years of on time payments... I payed the balences to zero! score jumped 150 points!!! recieved 2 new cards, which I use only once a month to show activity, of $4000.
Good Luck with the challenge.
