Charge-Offs and Credit Repair- What You Can Do
“Charge off” is a negative remark that can hurt both your credit history and credit score. When a lender attempts to collect debts from a borrower, yet the borrower fails to respond accordingly, the lender may report it to the credit bureaus as a “charge-off”. This means, the lender has given up with his efforts to collect payments from his client and count the debts as loss of income.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that the debt is forgiven. Lenders could assign a debt collection company or a lawyer to do the collection on their behalf. When this happens, a borrower would have a harder time find a solution to his debt problems since it’s often more difficult to negotiate with debt collection agencies than with lenders.
Needless to say, having a record of “charge off” can significantly pull down your credit score. It could also have a very negative impact to other creditors who would be reviewing your report. Applying for new accounts can also prove to be more difficult if you have “charge offs” in your report. Thus, the best way to protect your credit history is to avoid them. But how?
Pay Close Attention To Your Payments
Submitting your payments on time is the key to maintaining an excellent credit history. However, there may be instances when you’re short on budget and paying on time is just not possible. What can you do? If you can’t meet your deadline of payment, the best thing to do is to contact your creditor and explain your situation.
Let your lender know that you are willing to pay off your debts if it weren’t for the circumstances. Inform you lender when you intend to submit your payment and request for an extension of your due date. Most lenders would oblige especially if they can see your sincerity and willingness to keep up with your payments.
By giving your lender the advance notice, you prevent them from taking unnecessary actions against you. On the other hand, hiding from your lenders or ignoring their attempts to contact you would only put you into a more serious trouble. Don’t wait until your lender makes the first move to contact you. Take the initiative to speak with your lender before they do.
What if you already have charge-offs in your report? What can you do about them? Can these remarks be written off from your report? You may still try to get in touch with your lender and negotiate. If your lender agrees with a repayment plan, don’t hesitate to ask your lender if they can remove the record of “charge-off” in your report.
Once the debts have been paid off, be sure to check your credit report to see if the “charge-offs” have really been removed. If not, you can send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus and ask them to remove the “charge-off” from your report. Upon receiving your dispute letter, the credit bureaus have 30 days to contact the creditor involved and investigate the issue.
Liz Roberts is a freelance writer and loan consultant specializing in bad credit. For the list of cards for bad credit please visit this site http://www.badcreditresources.com. The website offers resources that specialize in providing loans and credit cards to people with bad credit.Distributed by http://www.ContentCrooner.com
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