I have contacted amex, and they said that they would settle the account for 50% of what I owe. 12K to 6K I am going to do it. Is there any advice that you guys can give? I want them to remove this completely from my CR, but they said that they will not, they will only mark it as paid. Will this be bad for my CR? should I fight them till they agree to delete it from my CR? please help. Thanks.
It's still a derogatory account. You can argue all you want, they'll never delete it from your CR. AMEX has a long memory, too.
Don't think you will win in the fight. Amex is one of those sleazy outfits that are determined to keep peoples' credit histories in the toilet.
I wouldn't say they're a sleazy outfit. They believe in following the rules. If you're derog, it will show as derog. AMEX wasn't the one who didn't pay on time--it was the customer. If it's truly a late payment or chargeoff, why shouldn't they report it? In fact, I've found that if you're a few days late, they DON'T report it as late.
American Express also will backdate a new account to the time you initially became a member. Therefore, they actually help credit scores rather than harm them. In any event, if you must "settle" it then do so unless it is very old. Upping the date of last activity will hurt if it's say five years old or more. The better option if feasible is to make installments under their Oasis program.
