how to get charge off removed from credit report

Charge-off is one of the most severe entries that can appear on your credit report and it can greatly lower your credit score as well as decrease the chances of getting approved for a loan or a credit card. This is where a creditor deems that you are unable to pay them your dues and writes it off as a loss after you have defaulted for around 120- 180 days though you have not erased your dues from the creditor’s ledger.

In other words, charge-offs do not have to remain on the credit report for as long as people may believe. If there is some magic formula to be applied to get charged removed from credit history, it can be done with some strategies. Below are the main techniques to learn for charge-off removal and how to apply them to rectify your credit profile.

Negotiate With The Creditor

Another strategy for deleting a charge-off is when you make a direct call to the creditor or the debt collection agency and come to an agreement of making a certain payment in exchange for the deletion of the charge off. It is an understanding that a part or the entirety of the charge-off balance is paid in return for the removal of the negative item.

During the negotiations, one should not recognize the debt, should not pay any money to the creditor, or give any acknowledgment of the debt until there is a written agreement of discharge. Learn to take time – creditors are not rigid in their demands and are willing to have some compromise and get less than what they are owed. It is better to pay with a cashier’s check and request a receipt of payment, and you will have documentation if the item is not deleted as agreed.

Dispute The Charge Off

If the original creditor is not ready to consider the deletion, then one can report the charge to the credit bureaus namely Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This requires filing a detailed complaint disputing why the charge off information is incorrect or cannot be supported with evidence.

Some reasons to cite for disputing a charge off include: Some reasons to cite for disputing a charge off include:

- It is also indicated that you think the date of first delinquency or amount owed is inaccurate.
- Creditor cannot prove that a debt belongs to the debtor or prove any amount that is reported
- Reporting it would be outside the statute of limitations as the debt has become too old to be pursued.
- Charging off the amount hurts your credit and also goes against your rights as a consumer under laws such as the FDCPA.

It is a good idea to be very detailed in your dispute letter, and if possible, attach copies of documents that would substantiate your complaint. The credit bureau then has 30 days to investigate based on the dispute that was outlined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act procedures. This could lead to the removal of the charge, especially when the creditor cannot support the details provided.

Use Goodwill Letters

In cases where the charge-offs are your responsibility to pay, you another option you can consider is the goodwill deletion letter. This is a request that is written directly to the creditor, bank, or debt collector requesting them to erase the negative item because they do not want to take advantage of your current state even though you do not contest the accuracy of the debt.

This is one of the benefits of goodwill letters; unlike other grievances, you can solicit for removal even if the charge-off has been paid. Appeal to the creditor’s emotions by focusing on how the charge-off has negatively affected the financial status and showing that removal would help the credit profile.

These letters should be sent only after charge-off and must be professional and polite but insistent. Have a short but convincing reason why you had problems with payments in the past and how you are going to overcome it in the future.

Dont Wait For Charge Off To Fall Off Your Credit Report

If you decide to not pay the charge off and you do not have any reason to challenge its accuracy, then the only option that you may be left with is waiting for the charge-off to be removed from your credit reports on its own due to reporting time limitations.

All charge-offs only have legal permission to remain on your credit report for only 7 years from the 180 days of the first delinquency. Thus, although waiting years is not attractive, the charge off should vanish if you did not make the payment of the debt during the previous 7 years.

You may also write to the credit bureaus at a later date requesting for the deletion of the charge since they should have done so after 7 years from the time the account was reported. To monitor the reporting of the bureau and know when the negative item has been removed, be sure to review your credit reports frequently.

There are other ways you can increase your credit as well as it is mentioned in this article.

When engaging in charge off removal as well, ensure that you work on rebuilding your credit by having new healthy reports created to counter the impact of the detrimental item. Some tips include:

• - Ensure that all existing debts in the accounts are paid within the due date monthly.
  
• - This can be done by reducing the balances that are held in credit cards to reduce the credit utilization ratio.
  
• - Make sure that you are the authorized user on some other person’s credit card and that the person has a very good record of paying his or her bills.
  
• - Get a credit builder loan and make payments on it in a timely and precise manner

While charging off a debt is a good way of removing it from your credit report, over time, if your payment behavior is positive consistently, it will start improving your credit score. Stay determined!

Dealing with the removal of a charge requires a lot of time as well as energy.

Getting a charge-off removed is a time consuming, well-planned, and patient process that cannot be overlooked. It is, however, possible to get charge-offs deleted in case one pays, disputes the charge backed with proof, and in the event of goodwill removal.

It will take some time before you begin to reap the benefits so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work the first time. This is not the time to lose hope if removal has not been possible and instead, share attention and effort on the most sensible usage of credit and payments in the future. By working together with your credit reporting agencies you can always bring back your credit reports from the black mark of a charge off to have a better credit status to open up more opportunities.

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