How to Have a Bad Debt Charge Off Removed From Your Credit Report

If you have a bad debt charge off reported on your credit report, you may have to wait it out. First, you can try to take action though. If you believe the report is being made in error, you can contact the credit bureaus. The major credit bureaus all have a process you can use to challenge erroneous reporting on your credit report. This process removes the offending reports and can restore your credit rating. If you believe your debt is valid, you can try to negotiate directly with your creditor to have the charge off removed.

Instructions

Removing An Erroneous Charge-Off

1

Contact the credit bureaus. Experian, Transunion and Equifax all maintain a credit report about your credit worthiness. You must obtain your report from these institutions.

2

Obtain a copy of your credit report by calling 1-877-322-8228, visiting the website set up for offering your credit report or sending an annual credit report request form to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

3

Review your credit report to find any erroneous information. While a charge-off is one item that you're looking for, there may be others that you can dispute too.

4

File an official dispute either through the website of the credit reporting bureau or write a written dispute and mail it to the credit bureau.

Removing a Legitimate Charge-Off

5

Gather all of your financial data and the amount of money you owe to the creditor. It's best to have all of the information sitting in front of you so that you can make a negotiation over the phone.

6

Contact the original creditor that charged off your debt. If the debt is charged off, do not deal with the collection agency as the original creditor is responsible for reporting the charge-off.

7

Negotiate a payment to the creditor to repay at least a portion of the debt in exchange for a removal of the charge-off. The more money you offer the creditor, the more likely you are to have the creditor work with you. However, there is no guarantee that the creditor will remove the charge-off.