In August 2001, I moved. My new address was temporary housing, where I stayed for a month and a half, then I moved to a more permanent location. Needless to say, this played hell with my mail service. To this day, I'm certain that at least some letters that were sent to my old address are languishing in purgatory. I of course shut off all the utilities at my old address when I departed. Most of the utility companies were able to find me to send me final bills, which I duly paid. The sole exception was Pacific Gas & Electric, whom I did not hear from and whom I totally forgot, until I applied for a mortgage and found a $77 chargeoff from them on my credit report. I phoned them up and explained the situation: that this was not a willful failure to pay, that it was a simple mistake, that I never got their final bill, etc etc etc. I offered to pay them their $77 if they would remove the chargeoff from my credit report. They refused; best they would do is report the chargeoff as paid. I don't need this. I already have enough paid chargeoffs on my credit history, thankyouverymuch, and I don't need any more. Do I have any recourse? Can anyone offer me advice on how to get them to remove the thing clean?
You can negotiate with them by mail. Below is a sample letter. Not being able to get mail is a legal reason to dispute an account with a CRA but it would be easier to get the OC to fix it. You could dispute the accounts as "mail sent to wrong address." --------------------------------------------------- Date: Creditor Address City, State, Zip Re: Account Number Dear Sirs: This letter is an offer to amicably settle the above account. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of my liability for this debt in any form. I will pay your company the amount of $____ as full settlement of this account. If you accept this agreement, I will send you a money order or certified cashiers check for the settlement amount of $______ in exchange for a full deletion of all references regarding this account from my credit profile and full satisfaction of the debt. This agreement is binding and will be void should you not hold up to your end of the agreement. Furthermore the debt will be deleted from my credit profile at all three credit bureaus or the bureaus your company regularly reports to in the course of doing business. If you agree to the above, please acknowledge with your signature and return a copy to me. Upon receipt of this signed acknowledgment, I will promptly send you a money order or cashiers check in the amount stated above. Notice: This agreement is restricted. This is not a renewed promise to pay but rather a restricted settlement offer only. By not signing below, you agree that the debt has not been renewed nor has any concrete written agreements been exchanged.
