Charge off ... Get this

[po man]

Wife and I nego'ed a settlement with Amer Finance on a old charge off back in 10/2003 (Originally posted on CR 11/2000). We paid settlement and they left the original balance on CR, they would not remove. On her CR its now shows date of first delinq. as 10/2003. Going by the first date it should be able to be removed now, but they changed the date when we paid settlement, leaving the CO as 4 yrs old rather than 7 yrs.

Any suggestions on getting this off? Won't they still have to remove it due to being on CR for over 7 yrs from open date 11/2000? I can't let them get away with just changing the date.

Thanks

[rilbrianne]

I doubt it, you can google the Statute of Limitations on debt but I believe it is from the last date of Activity... which would be the date of your last payment (or the day you paid the settlement).

You can dispute it and see what happens.

[po man]

I thought it was date of last delinquency. Reported for over 7 yrs

[aachudneymiles]

should have posted this in collections..

[wayne-o]

if you hadnt paid it at all it would be counting from the date of last delinquency which would have been the last payment made. making the settlement restarted the clock....sorry

[keepmine]

Settling does not restart the credit reporting clock. Several FTC opinion letters stating that the intent of Congress was for a date certain to start the reporting time period.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/johnson.shtm

[no_it_all]

DOFD or date of first delinquency and DOLA (date of last activity) are not the same and that is probably the confusion. To wit: Your car payment is due September 1 and by the end of September you still haven't paid it. On the 1st of October, you are 30 days late and your DOFD is October 1. But, on October 13 you send in your check. You are no longer late, and your DOFD is reset. That is perfectly legal and done all the time.

The cut and paste from FTC re: NCO is entirely different. That was a clear case of re-aging for the purposes of skirting the SOL with the intent of starting collection activity.

My guess is that the OP has indeed reset the clock by virtue of making payment and settlement, just as is done every day when someone makes a car payment that brings them current...

Otherwise, it would be prudent to make the very first payment of all your debts exactly 40 days late so that in seven years they would drop off...

[keepmine]

[no_it_all]

If the debt is never brought current, the date of first deliquency never changes.

Correct. So since the OP did bring it current by virtue of making the settlement payment, why wouldn't the clock start over? I suppose he could just dispute it and see what happens.

[keepmine]

The FTC is pretty clear. A settlement does not bring a debt current.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/kosmerl.shtm

1. As explained in the enclosed letter (Johnson, 8/31/98), it was Congress' intent in enacting Sections 605(c)(1) and 623(a)(5) to establish a single date -- the start of the delinquency -- to begin the obsolescence period on these accounts

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/amason.shtm

2. Is the reporting period extended if (A) the original creditor sells or transfers the account to another creditor, (B) the consumer responds to post-chargeoff collection efforts by making a payment on the debt, or (C) the consumer disputes the account with a CRA?

Does it matter whether the 7-year period has expired when any of these events occurs? No. In enacting the new provisions discussed above, Congress intended to establish a date certain -- 180 days after the start of the delinquency that led to the chargeoff -- to begin the obsolescence period. It did so to correct the often lengthy extension of the period that resulted from later events under the original FCRA. Enclosed are two staff opinion letters (Kosmerl, 06/04/99; Johnson, 08/31/98) that discuss the impact of these provisions, and the legislative history relating to their enactment, in more detail. Because the commencement of the seven year period is now described with some precision by the statute, it is our opinion that none of the subsequent events you listed -- sale of the charged off account by the creditor, or a payment on or dispute about the account by the consumer -- changes the allowable period for a CRA to report a chargeoff.

Were I the OP, I'd write a polite letter to the data furnisher describing the issue and enclose these 3 opinion letters with the applicable points highlighted plus, send a copy of the NCO settlement letter and ask them to correct the reporting. AT the same time, I'd dispute with the CRA's as illegally reaged by subscriber. Send both letters CRRR.
IMO, the best credit repair sites on the net are www.creditboards.com and www.creditinfocenter.com
Post there and see if anyone has other ideas.

[no_it_all]

Thank you for the great info and links........