Thread: Chargeoff

My very first line of credit was granted by JC Penny's back in 96' with a credit line of $300. Not knowing about credit at age 16 I did not pay on the account for 2-3 months. The balance was around $280. When the collection dept. called I submitted a payment for the full balance however they reported my account with all 3 credit bureaus as chargeoff. This has been on my report since 98'. Every time I call Jc Penny's they say that they are unable to remove it. It is now over 3 years later and I am still unable to receive credit from hardly anyone due to this .Can anyone help or suggest how to get this removed.

If you were only 16 and they approved you for credit, you should NOT have paid and used the absolute defense of infancy to any collection attempt or Lawsuit. Anyway, I would send the CRA's my Driver's license and dispute as not mine since I legally could not have received credit at the age.

I would probably dispute it first, before starting a big fight. It might just come off. I have no experience with JC Pennies, but with some of the chargeoffs that I had, they came right off. It might be a good first step, then fight the remaining CRA's that "verify" the info.

Dust

LEGALLY, you cannot get credit at 16 (without a co-signer), so dispute it...

Agreed!

I had a chargeoff with Mervyn's, I wrote them a letter similar to this. Write JC Penny's a letter saying that when you closed your account you were under the impression that you had paid your account in full but it shows on your credit report as an outstanding debt. And your attorney advised you that even though it is charged off you are still liable to pay that debt even though JC Penny's is not actively trying to collect it. Then write a nice and long paragraph stating that you love to shop there but this misunderstanding is making you reconsider. Yes, its stretching the truth but they removed the chargeoff for me. I didn't disute it. Of course I wrote more but you get the idea. Don't deal with the normal customer service reps at JC, they will not help. Address the letter to someone high up, you'll have to call and get a name or dept. Or you could just dispute with the credit bureaus and hope that they don't verify.

JCP sold their credit ops. to GE ... they may be a little more strict.

I would dispute with the CRA as "not legally mine" - you were not bound by the contract due to your age.