Mindnumb ... it should read PAID CHARGE OFF, and be certain it does! Current experience has taught me (as well as has Tuscani) that unless the STATUS bar reads PAID somewhere in the wording, the account may not be considered paid. If the OC or CA reporting the account does not also report the STATUS CODES the status might well remain unpaid, bad debt, charge off, or whatever the case may be. I learned this just this morning from an Equifax representative who suggested I re-re-re-dispute an old Sun Trust Bank home improvement loan that was charged off in 2002, but that was paid in 2003. Though the comments on the account show PAID CHARGE OFF, Balance 0, and closed, the status had never been updated so the account appeared to be unpaid and in collections.
I had disputed this 50 times, if once, and every single time the information Sun Trust was reporting came back verified because they were not providing the status codes to the CRA, nor reading beyond their own comments, which read: paid charge off, while overlooking the status, which still reads Bad Debt, sent to collections, charged off.
Today I finally got an Equifax representative to look long and hard at the 81 month payment history, which validated the erroneous reporting by Sun Trust. Sun Trust is, or so they say, attempting to correct the problem again. And I do mean, again. This time let's hope, huh? Equifax, in and of itself cannot remove the past few years worth of erroneous activity. Sun Trust has to, they tell me. But you, and everyone else out there who is about to pay off a charge off, or a collection, make certain the status bar reads PAID COLLECTION or PAID CHARGE OFF. Don't rely on the comments on the account or the account summary. This account has given me years of grief and absolute frustration, not to negate what it's done to my credit rating, such as that 60 point drop just this month, and regardless of the fact that it's been closed for 5 years. Be sure, please.
me
Message Edited by MercyMe on
05-14-2007 01:10 PM
