I just recently settled a credit card account. Please tell me exactly how this will affect my credit and is there any questions I should have asked before agreeing to this. Thanks!
I don't mean to be rude, but shouldn't you have gotten that information before you decided to settle? My source tells me it will be listed on your credit report as a debt that was settled for less than the full balance, which doesn't look good to potential creditors.
Charged off/ SETTLED isn't as good as Charged off/ PAID, but neither of those is very good, compared to a mere late payment, they are a hell of a lot better than merely Charged off. The difference in California is that you can't rent an apartment with a charge off unless it is settled or paid. You settled the debt, it is behind you. The best thing you can do now is get a secured credit card, and use it wisely. The charged off item will fall off 7 years after the "initial delinquency", which is sooner than the charge off date.
"The difference in California is that you can't rent an apartment with a charge off unless it is settled or paid." Now I may be unaware as I don't live in California but I have never heard of the state government passing this ordinance. If not this is obviously of an illegal practise by the apartment owners and will not stand before the first judge its brought forth nor action being taken before the first the first state mininstry (Housing I suppose). Furthermore, if a dwelling has had so much as 1 cent of goverment assistance and follows this policy of segregation based on a credit profie that may be incorrect or invalid then they would no doubt be open to fines and charges. I know I'll be looking forward to the first major apartment complex owner that gets publicy censored.
There is no law either way. Apartment managers may not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, etc for housing, but they may use credit reports, and discriminate against people with BAD CREDIT. Banks who refuse car loans, and insurance comanies which refuse policies based on credit history are also abiding by the law. If the credit report is inaccurate, it isn't the fault of the lender, or the apartment manager, etc. It is the fault of the CRA and the original creditor. There are a lot of people who want to rent an apartment, and not so many apartments. The manager can be picky and send people away. The general theory is that if you told a creditor to F--- off and didn't pay, you are a dirtbag. If you had some hard times, but paid the loan (or you are making monthly payments for the last 6 months) then they assume you are going to pay the rent. Trust me, I've been to court over this issue- in my case the charge off was correct, but I paid it off. The bank refused to update it to show it as paid, so I sued them to get a judge to order them to do it.
