Your credit report sums up your creditworthiness, and is relied upon by lenders when you apply for new loans. If your credit report shows you pay late, have been foreclosed on, or had a car repossessed you are less likely to get a loan with a lower rate. But bad marks on your credit, even a bankruptcy, do not mean that you can never buy a house or get a loan. And while there are some things you are not able to control, when it comes to your credit you should question what is reported and make challenges when necessary. If you are successful, your credit score can go up, which helps you get better loan offers.
One of the most damaging items on your credit is a charged off account. A charged off account is one where you have not made payments for at least six months, so the creditor writes the balance off their books and asks that you pay the entire balance at once. Most people are not able to pay a large balance all at one time, and so the lender ends up going to Court to get a judgment for the balance. All of these things hurt your credit, and so you should do these things to have a charged off account removed from your report:
• Respond to any lawsuit filed against you, so you can assert any defenses you have to the nonpayment of the debt.
• Dispute that the debt is valid, and ask the lender to provide you with a pay history and current balance due.
• Challenge the balance, which will require you to show all payments made and show that the creditor’s records are not accurate.
It is important to remember that an account that is reported as charged off is not the same as an account being reported as paid off. You can also try to work with the lender directly, and ask that they remove the notation of charge off from your credit. If you decide to make this request, it is crucial to do it in writing and keep copies of all correspondence you receive from the lender. If the lender make an agreement with you but that agreement is not reflected on your credit report, you can send copies of all documentation to the credit reporting agencies and ask for an investigation. We can help with this process, and invite you to contact us today to learn your options and how we can help you achieve financial success.
For more information about how to get out of debt or what to do to make sure your credit report is accurate, contact us at www.DsouzaLegalGroup.com. We will help by coming up with solutions that work for you.
