Can You Get Charge Offs Removed From Credit Report?

Introduction A charge as reflected on your credit report means that the borrower was unable to meet his obligations in paying a particular debt as agreed with the credit provider and the account is now considered invalid. Charge-offs have a devastating effect on one’s credit score and can hinder one from getting credit approvals for loans, mortgages, credit cards, etc. The good news is that one can act to get charge-offs removed from a credit report. This article will in detail discuss charge-offs, the duration that they remain on the credit profiles, and some of the things that can be done to attempt to get rid of them.

A Charge is an account that the creditor has written off as a loss and has no intentions of collecting. A charge-off can be defined as a situation where a creditor takes an account, that is at least ninety days past due, and then makes an accounting entry that shows it as a loss. Normally, an account that has not generated any collections for the last 180 days will be classified under charge-off status. It is at this stage that the lender shuts down the account or is not anticipating any other payment from the borrower. An outstanding balance is transferred to the collections service, but the fact that you have a charge-off remains in your credit report for several years. Charge-offs are very detrimental to your credit score because the credit bureaus are informed that you were not able to repay a certain amount of money as initially agreed upon.

This was to be expected in some respects because while the scrubbing of charge-offs will not eliminate them from the credit reports, their duration is limited to a certain number of years depending on the specific credit reporting agencies involved. Charge-offs can legally be reported for up to 7 years and 180 days from the first missed payment which made the charge-offs possible. However, they do affect your credit score but not permanently and this means that as time goes by their effect is not felt. While two years is often enough for the negative impact to start fading, charge-offs will continue pulling down your credit score until they are removed from your credit report.

Once again, charge-offs may be potentially removed early on if certain steps are followed. To have charge-offs removed before the seven years is not an easy process but it is possible in some circumstances. Here are some strategies that may work: Here are some strategies that may work:

Contesting Errors on Your Credit Report There are always some errors made by the credit bureaus that you should note regarding a charge-off, you can challenge those mistakes. Some of these issues include the wrong date, the status of the account, and the amount owed among others. If the creditor who reported this to your credit report cannot substantiate the information provided, the credit bureaus are obliged to delete it from the report.

Negotiate Directly With Creditors This may be thought of as a long shot but it may be useful to call the creditor who has charged off your account and ask them if they would consider deleting the record early in return for payment. They are likely to ask you to pay some or the entire amount you owe them, they may choose to delete the charge before it is time to fall off the credit report. Make sure to have any promise of early moving out in writing before paying them.

Use Goodwill Letters This is one of the strategies of making goodwill approaches where you write to the creditors asking them to remove charges as a sign of goodwill. Detail how the charge-off affects your financial well-being, describe why you had trouble making your payments, and ensure the creditor understands the measures you are taking to rectify your poor financial standing. When it comes to goodwill removal requests, the most common scenario is that it is effective when an account has been paid and you proceed to make a strong appeal, although the effectiveness of such appeals may differ depending on the creditor.

If you are not able to do it on your own, then you should consider hiring a Credit Repair Company. Some companies that provide debt repair services can negotiate with creditors to have the negative credit entries deleted. They are aware of what verification documentation creditors require and the most appropriate ways of submitting removal requests. The companies often charge monthly fees and it takes a few months before the deletions start to happen. It is advisable to pay your credit cards on time, you are allowed to remove charge-offs about once or twice a year.

Charge-offs are a financial manager’s nightmare; this is because they are costly, time-consuming, and can significantly harm the financial stability of any organization or individual that experiences them. It is much easier to avoid charge-offs than to handle them because you should not let your accounts get to that level, to begin with.

To avoid future charge-offs: 

• Ensure that at least the minimum amount is paid on all the accounts every month
• If you are struggling to pay creditors money back, contact the creditors right away if you are experiencing financial difficulties.
• Find out other repayment schedules to which they agree in case the current schedule is not manageable in terms of cost.
• As for credit card debts, it is recommended to focus on paying off the credit card debts which are likely to be charged off.

It’s crucial to ensure that accounts are up to date with their payment and also, if there are any issues with the creditors, then one must make sure that accounts do not reach such a state that it leads to charge-offs.

The Bottom Line charge-offs remain on credit reports and significantly harm the individuals’ credit standing for extended years. But sometimes, it can be removed a bit early, for example through disputes, negotiations with creditors, goodwill letters, or credit repair services. Avoiding charge-offs entirely should always be the aim as this can be achieved by making timely payments. However, if you have some charge-offs on your credit report, then you may try to contact the credit bureaus to get them deleted as it will help to build your credit.

Ready to boost your credit score? Call +1 888-804-0104 now for the best credit repair services near you! Our expert team is here to help you achieve financial freedom and improve your credit. Don't wait—get started today!