 TITLE: How Long Do Charge-Offs Stay on Your Credit Report? CONTENT: What Is a Charge-Off?\n---------------------\nA charge-off appears on your credit report when a creditor, after trying and failing to get you to repay a debt, abandons hope of collecting what's owed and closes your account. A charge-off is a derogatory entry in your credit report—a serious negative event—and can bring down your credit scores and limit your eligibility to get new loans or credit.\nA charge-off does not forgive the debt. You are still legally obligated to pay the amount owed. Creditors often sell debts connected to charged-off accounts to collections agencies. If they do, the outstanding balance listed in the charge-off entry on your credit report changes to $0, and a new collections entry appears on your credit report, listing the outstanding balance. This indicates you must deal with the collections agency instead of the original lender to settle the debt. END