How Long Does A Charge Off Stay On Your Credit Report (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 7 years

Charge off can be a huge negative impression on the person. Charge off would stay for around 7 years on the credit report. People who won’t be able to pay the monthly payments to the credit card companies would face the issues of charge off.

The delinquent condition would happen when the person is not able to pay the money even after taking a few extra months. The charge off decreases the credit score of the person, which would require many years to get rebuilt. Everyone can try to avoid the situation of charge off as it would not be easy to deal with the repercussions.

How Long Does A Charge Off Stay On Your Credit Report?

Everyone may be able to remove the charge-off issues from the credit report before 7 years. The person needs to negotiate with the lender or creditor to remove the charge-off issues from the credit report. If someone gets a loan or any money from the creditor or lender, then the person is supposed to pay back the payments in time.

If someone fails to pay the payments due to any reason, then the chances of getting a charge off are high. If a person falls behind, then the person may get delinquent. After the person becomes delinquent, then after 180 days, the person would be charged off.

The debt collection agency may buy or get assigned with the account of the person with the charge off. Before putting the charge off on someone, the debt collector is supposed to inform the person about it. If the person is not able to respond or pay back the money to the debt collector even after getting written requests.

Then the debt collector may sue the person in the civil court and can get a judgment on the same. A charge-off doesn’t mean the person is not required to pay the debt money after that. The person is bound to repay the money even after they are under the situation of charge off.

Why Does A Charge Off Stay For This Long On Your Credit Report?

Under federal laws, everyone has the right to raise disputes against any charge off. After the charge off is put on a person, then the credit bureau is responsible for investigating the dispute. If the credit bureau finds that the charge off is put due to some error in the information, then it may be removed before 7 years.

It is in the hand of a credit bureau to remove or correct the charge off on somebody. If the information about the person is accurate, then the person can try to negotiate with the debt collector to remove and update the charge-off issues from the credit report.

People can also negotiate for “pay for delete” if they want to remove the charge-off issues from their credit report. The “pay for delete” is legal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but there are some conditions and guidelines that the person must have knowledge about.

If the creditor agrees to the “pay for delete” process, then the person is supposed to pay the account fully. In case of delinquency, the creditor may get ready to accept less pay for the account from the person. Everyone should request in writing to get the “pay for delete” negotiation.

If nothing works for removing the charge off from the credit report, then the person has to wait for the completion of 7 years term according to laws and regulations.

Conclusion

The charge off can stay on the credit report for around 7 years. People can try to negotiate with the credit collector for removing the charge off before 7 years. Everyone can try to pay the payments on time to avoid the issues of charge-off. The charge-off conditions can reduce the credit score of a person.

To avoid the charge off on the credit report, everyone can try to keep a track of all the payments to maintain the credit score.

References

1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/MIS0742-1222250309
2. https://meridian.allenpress.com/accounting-review/article-abstract/81/2/421/53529