Repairing Credit After Charge Offs

Repairing your credit after charge offs can be a challenge. You must actively seek to repair your credit. Waiting for charge offs to fall off your credit report is not a wise choice. Charge offs can stay on your credit report for up to 7 years by law.

Paying a charge off will not remove it from your credit report. In fact, it will still hurt your credit scores for 7 years. However, it is easier to have a paid charge off removed from your credit report by disputing it than it is to have an unpaid charge off removed. Which brings me to one of the best and most popular ways to have charge offs removed from your credit report.

Disputing Charge Offs

Did you know that you can dispute negative items on your credit report? It's true; in fact, it's your federal right under the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). You can dispute charge offs, collection accounts, tax liens, bankruptcies, judgments, repossessions, foreclosures, personal information, etc. Anything placed on your credit report can be disputed.

Consumer Reporting Agencies

So, how do you dispute items on your credit report? By contacting the consumer reporting agencies (credit bureaus). You can write them, call them, or even dispute negative items online. The best way to do it is by writing them. You can also call them if you know what you're doing, but it's advisable to never dispute items online.

The Investigation

Once you dispute charge offs and other negative items on your credit report, the credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate the account. They supposedly contact the information provider (the creditor, collection agency or court house) to let them know that you are disputing what they are reporting.

What Really Happens?

What really happens is they send out an electronic notice to the creditor or collection agency asking if they agree or disagree with your claim. For public records, they simply run it against the database. They don't even really check it out with the courthouse as they're supposed to.

The credit bureaus interpretation of what they are supposed to do under federal law is much different than that of consumer advocates and credit attorneys. However, the FTC will usually not step in until there are complaints and even law suits.

Right now, the credit system is very unfair for consumers. Use the laws as leverage to make the fight for your credit a little fairer.

If you would like to know how I raised my credit scores over 200 points by removing charge offs and other negative items from my credit report, read my story at AAACreditGuide.com - the credit repair authority site.