Hi, I am new to this forum and find it very useful.However, the vast amount of info has left me a bit confused. I have 2 questions: 1) My transunion report has a certain account listed as: "UPDATED 11/1998 "OPENED 12/1996 CLOSED 9/1997 <STATUS AS OF 9/1997: CHARGED OFF< WHEN WILL THIS DROP OFF MY REPORT??iIs it 7 years from 1997 or 1996? It can't be in 1998, cause I remember it became delinquent prior to that. My second question: I read this somewhere;how true is it?It seems inaccurate, as I thought the 7 year period dates from the original delinquency:See below "When I pay off a past-due account, such as a charge off or a collection account, it will show "paid" and will no longer be negative. It is quite difficult to restore your credit without somehow satisfying your outstanding debts. However, the act of paying off a debt can actually hurt your credit. Negative credit is allowed to stay on the credit report for a maximum of seven years, except for bankruptcy, which may remain on the credit report for ten years. This seven-year clock begins ticking on "the date of last activity" or, in other words, when the last action took place on the account. By paying an outstanding, delinquent debt you will change the account status to "paid collection," "paid was late," or "paid was charged off" - which will still stand out as a very negative listing. Furthermore, you will create a new date of last activity on the day you settle the account. The seven-year clock will reset and begin all over again. That doesn't sound right!
If you pay a charge-off the clock is not reset. It is reported on your credit report for seven years after the DOLA before the charge-off. Paying it does not improve your credit score. A charge-off will remain a negative regardless of paid or unpaid. You can possibly negotiate with creditor to get it deleted or reported as "paid as agreed" for payment. Before paying a charge-off know the SOL for debt collection in your state. This is different from the 7 year reporting on credit reports. If the debt is past SOL there is no reason to pay it.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THE DEBT FALLS OF MY CREDIT REPORT 7 YEARS FROM 1997, WHICH WOULD BE IN 9/2004? ALTHOUGH THE SOL MAY BE UP, I WOULD STILL NEED TO PAY IT- IM APPLYING FOR A LOAN, AND THE LENDER SAID ALL CHARGE OFFS MUST BE PAID. I DON'T THINK THEY CARE IF THE SOL IS UP-THEY WANT THE DEBT PAID BEFORE THEY LEND ME MONEY.CAN I ARGUE THAT?
Look, this is July, the entry comes off in September. So, if you can wait until October for this loan, the Charge off won't show up, the new lender won't know about it and won't require you to pay it off.
Thanks for replying. But the entry comes off next october (2004) not this year, unfortunately. It started the clock in 9/1997. Or am I wrong?
