Charge Off and Credit Rating Fix

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READER QUESTION

I have 2 Charge offs on my credit - how do I fix the same Charge off twice?

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Bills.com Resident Expert
Dec 12, 2011
HIGHLIGHTS
  • Understand that a charged off account is still subject to collections.
  • Fix any inaccurate charge offs that appear on your credit report.
  • Explore settling the debt, if you still owe the charged-off debt.
BILL'S ANSWER

The simple answer to your question is no, two creditors should not report a balance due and owing on the same credit account. When a creditor sells an account to a new creditor, the first creditor cannot continue to report that you owe it money on the sold account (assuming that the entire balance of the account was sold). The old account will continue to appear on your credit report, but it should show a $0 balance. The new creditor’s listing should show the balance of the account.

In addition, the new creditor cannot legally change the information regarding the date first delinquency, which dictates when an account will fall off your report. One creditor selling the account to another is not considered “account activity” in the sense that it does not reset the clock for the account falling off your credit report. You can read a summary of your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act .

If any creditors are reporting inaccurate information to the credit bureaus, you may want to file disputes with the bureaus. First, you need to pull a copy of your report from each of the three bureaus; you can obtain a free copy of each credit report once every 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com

Once you have a copy of each report, carefully review them for any information that you feel is inaccurate, then file disputes with the appropriate bureaus. Each credit bureau has a process for disputing inaccurate information, which can usually be done online. See the Federal Trade Commission document FTC Facts for Consumers: How to Dispute Credit Report Errors for more information.

For more information about credit scoring, credit reports, and how they affect you, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Credit Resources page.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.

Best,

Bill

Bills.com

Comments (9)


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Stephon D.
Oxon Hill, MD  |  May 15, 2011
I want to get a house but I have 2 charge offs, should I pay them off up front or would it look better on my credit if I pay them monthly for 3-6 months then pay them off?
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Bills.com
May 15, 2011
I recommend paying them off now. The sooner the debt is at $0 balance, the better.
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Bills.com
March 10, 2009
Yes, that chargeoff (or r9 status) will still remain on your credit profile.
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Nathaniel .
March 10, 2009
when a charge off is in or sold to a colletions.does the charge off still remain on my credit report.exspecailly if im now paying that same account with collections.
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Bills.com
December 08, 2008
A servicer is a third party that quite literally services the loan, which really means that they send billing statements and collect payment for a fee. It can also mean that they can be in charge of collections if you go delinquent. You could send them what is called a "Validation Letter" and ask them to validate the debt, both proving that it is you who owes the debt and what the basis of the loan is. Good luck.
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Laura .
December 07, 2008
A large collection agency who is calling themselves a servicer for a second creditor (sold account from original creditor who was listed on back - barely legible, I cannot make out account number) who I do not recall owing them money and who I cannot find on any of the big three credit reports I just received, has sent me a notice saying I owe them money. What is a servicer? What if account was sold to someone else in between and I just didn't recognize name? All bills are up to date. There is nothing in the amount that they want that I even owe except for a car payment which is higher. I will write a 30-day letter but I am concerned about about this landing on credit letter and the fact that the collection company is calling themselves a servicer and I don't want to make this into a debt if I do a 30-day letter. It does have the language of notifying them in 30 days so I will. What is a servicer? Is that new language? And what about anything showing on any of my credit reports that relate to any former creditor or present creditor that they refer to? Any help much appreciated!
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Bills.com
June 04, 2007
Chargeoff is an accounting term, meaning that your creditors have not been paid in over 180 days... at which point they must 'charge-off' the debt and take it as an accounting loss. This is reported (frequently as an "R9" status) on your credit report.
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Chef D.
June 04, 2007
i have some charge off 's can you give me some info on thiss
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Bruce S.
May 30, 2007
If I elected to use Bills.com to lower my debt and start getting me out of credit card debt, what will happen to my credit score? Does it show as a negative? Will it stay on my credit history for seven years or more?
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