Paid charge off verified but innaccurate

[grich63]

In August, 2003, I called Peoples bank to negotiate a settlement for an acct that was charged off in Feb. 2003.

They referred me to PCS (CA), and told me who to talk to there.

PCS had already sent letters, so I called them and negotiated a 50% settlement. (Paid in October 2003)

The written proposal I recd from PCS stated that "...on behalf of the above referenced acct {my acct #} we will accept $xxx as a settlement in full."

In Feb 2004 Peoples still reports on CR as full original balance due with a past due amount, and CO as of 03/03 (last reported)

In March 2004 I disputed acct as not mine and recd reply from Experian stating "remains"

I called Peoples, and they said they recd pmt (Oct 03) and acct is settled, and that they notified CB's last October, but they will notify them again and send me a copy.

Now my question:

If the acct was "settled" in October '03, and Peoples knows it was settled in October '03, yet verified the charge off/balance/past due amount in March '04, are they breaking the law or are they just stupid (or both)?

What should I do next?

Thanks in advance. This discussion forum has saved me countless hours of research.

[nevermore]

Not an expert ....... I think if you dispute something as not mine the CRA will just verify Name, SS#, DOB, and address. If two match they say verified. I don't think they verify the other info on the TL. Which sucks but I guess that is what allows us to go back and try other disputes. You want it removed if possible as a settled charge-off is almost as bad as the original charge-off. Or you could try Paid before chargeoff and see if that works.

[ronakz]

I believe Nevermore's correct. A long time ago I paid an account in full - about three weeks after it was charged off, and the account read - paid charge off, along with the $$ amount for seven years on my credit report.

All you can do is get the account updated to settled charge off. Depending on your other credit items - it may or may not make any difference in your score.

For future references - a friend advised me that some companies will agree to remove an account from your credit report in exchange for payment/settlement. He said if you do this, get it in writing in advance. Then make sure you follow through with the agreement. Your OCs are only required to report accurate info. They are not required to report anything.

From personal past experiences - when your credit goes bad - it usually involves more than one account. if you have any others outstanding, this may help you.