HERE'S A LETTER MY FRIEND RECEIVED REGARDING A CHARGED-OFF CAPITAL ONE CARD THAT SHE WAS AN "AU" ON. IT'S ACTUALLY HER EX-HUSBANDS ACCOUNT AND IS NOT ON ANY OF HER CREDIT REPORTS. SHE SAYS IT NEVER HAS BEEN EITHER. THE CHARGE-OFF HAPPENED 3 YEARS AGO AFTER THE DIVORCE...SHE THINKS...OF COURSE SHE AIN'T GONNA PAY. Re: Your former charged-off account Dear "Paula", To help you build your credit, Capital One has guaranteed your approval for a new unsecured Visa card with a 9.9% introductory annual percentage rate (APR) on purchases until 2004 and a 0% APR on your charged-off debt. Your account will have an initial $1 credit limit that will increase to $50 after you make your first payment. Your former charged-off account balance of $1677 will be transferred into your new Capital One Visa account. If you accept this offer, you will never pay Capital One a penny in interest on this charged-off debt. Sound good? There's more. With this offer, for every $100 of charged-off debt you pay off, you'll receive a $50 credit limit increase up to a maximun of $800. You'll receive each credit limit increase no later than two billing periods after your payment is received. When you open your new account, we will halt any recovery activities pertaining to your old account. Plus, we'll let the credit bureaus know that your account has been paid in full if the debt is being reported to the credit bureaus.* Simply take a moment to complete and mail the Guaranteed Acceptance Certificate in the postage-paid envelope provided. If you have any questions about this offer, please review the enclosed brochure. Sincerely, Susan J. Morgan Executive Director, Credit Services *Important Disclosure Information from Capital One If your charged-off debt is older than seven years, it is no longer being reported to the credit bureaus. In that case, acceptance of this offer would not result in your charged-off debt being reported as either paid in full or paid by settlement. THIS IS THE STUPIDEST (is that a word?) THING I'VE EVER HEARD OF. THOUGHT SOME OF YOU MIGHT GET A KICK FROM THIS AS I DID. SORRY IF I'M WRONG.
Hey, I have told many people to be careful with these offers. It was sent to me. I didn't accept the offer, and forgot about it. About 2 weeks later, on my Transunion report, this NEW account was on my report, showing as a charge off. It was easy to get rid of, but that wasn't the point I love my legitimate Capital One cards, but I understand why some people don't like them. I hope your friend didn't hurt herself laughing at that huge 1.00 credit limit......
these offers should be outlawed. I can imagine someone actually going for it, in which case they'd be in even more debt due to over-the-limit fees, finance charges, and the fact that the original debt is still on their credit reports as a charge off.
I had accepted a similiar offer a few years ago because 1-It was an unsecured card, 2-my charge-off was not 7 years old and trying to get it off my credit report is what caused me to get this offer I believe, 3-I owed the $$, and 4-They said they'd remove the charge-off from my reports, which they did 6 months after current payments. I didn't pay any extra fees. It worked for me.
Hi, Wow, I'm glad everything worked out for you. I have read horror stories on this board from people who had accepted this offer.
SHE'S NOT. I JUST WANTED TO POST IT. PERSONALLY, I THINK IT'S A SCAM. THEY SHOULD HAVE SENT IT TO HER EX...WHERE EVER HE IS.
You've got to give them credit though... brilliant marketing... if you owe 4 past due accounts... and 3 have collectors beating down your door... and one offers you 0 interest and a new credit card with the ability to regain credit... who would you pay first??? of course, as an AU... she can laugh.. but if they touch her credit reports... she should sue... that is wrong...
I have to agree though... I have heard horror stories about this type of offer and I am glad I got lucky with mine. My charge-off was only about 600 so it wasn't too bad. I also agree that since she's only an AU that she should pass, definetly!
I think it depends on the person's situation. In this case, it is definitely a bad deal, since it isn't even her debt. For someone else, who does owe the debt, if it is within the SOL, it is a chance to make good and start over.
I completely agree with breeze on this. (Like anybody cares that I agree, lol... what am I, the PsychDoc Housekeeping Seal of Approval or something, lol? Alas, I digress again.) This sounds like it could be a super deal for someone who meets these criteria: 1) The consumer wants to repay the debt. 2) The SOL hasn't passed. (LOL, if the SOL has passed, that may change ones mind about #1 in some cases.) 3) The creditor agrees to remove the derogatory mark. 4) There's an opportunity to build credit, especially if the consumer has had trouble doing so up until this offer. 5) The consumer wasn't an AU (like the original poster's friend). This proves something we already knew: Collectors want to get paid, and they care more about that than they do about what appears on your credit report. Frankly, we've seen people on this board ask Mr. Cooke for a deal like this, and all he usually offers is to change the R9 to an R5 in exchange for payment. This brilliant marketing offer (to co-opt Marie's dead-on assessment) beats Mr. Cooke's plan all to hell, imho. Doc
THAT WOULD BE #1 ON MY LIST. IF THEY REMOVED THE PREVIOUS ACCOUNT COMPLETELY. BUT ANOTHER POINT...WITH AN $1 CREDIT LIMIT, $1676 OVER THE LIMIT...COULD YOU IMAGINE THE MONTHLY PAYMENT. GOOD GRIEF!!! IS THEIR ANYBODY WHO COULD DO THE MATH ON THAT, BASED ON THEIR OFFER? I DON'T HAVE CREDIT CARDS SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE BILLING AND FEES.
Hi, Psychodoc, you are Breeze are correct. I am/was angry at what they did to me. I just want people who didn't accept their offer to check their reports, and make sure it doesn't show up on them like it did with me. I don't mean to scare anyone away from the deal if it is good for them ;-)
You don't understand what they're saying. There's no interest and $1 more than the debt on the credit limit. A person accepting this offer would not be wise to try to use the credit extended before they have paid off the outstanding debt. That is the way it is designed. Pay back the charge off, then you have some unsecured credit to use. As long as minimum payments were made on time every month and nothing more was charged on the card, they would just pay back the debt. If the person tried to use the little bit of credit as soon as it was added, they would then start up with interest (at whatever terms were in the offer) and would run the risk of going over limit. I have heard from people who took this offer and used it to start rebuilding, and I have heard from people who accepted it and then acted foolishly (trying to use the credit line before the debt was paid off), paying late, going over limit, etc. They ended up worse off than before. And finally I have heard from people who accepted the offer when they should have trashed it.
