The term "charge-off" is an accounting term used by creditors, meaning that a creditor has transferred an account from its "accounts receivable" books to its "bad debt" ledger. Credit card issuers are required to do this by the federal Office of the Comptroller of Currency, in an attempt to prevent banks from inflating future earnings statements with old and defaulted accounts. For the consumer, the only real consequence of an account charging off is the account will report as a negative item on the consumers' credit reports. As I mentioned previously, charge-off accounts are required to be removed from your credit report seven years after the date of charge-off, so these old accounts will not damage your credit rating indefinitely.
The term "charge-off" is an accounting term used by creditors, meaning that a creditor has transferred an account from its "accounts receivable" books to its "bad debt" ledger. Credit card issuers are required to do this by the federal Office of the Comptroller of Currency, in an attempt to prevent banks from inflating future earnings statements with old and defaulted accounts. For the consumer, the only real consequence of an account charging off is the account will report as a negative item on the consumers' credit reports. As I mentioned previously, charge-off accounts are required to be removed from your credit report seven years after the date of charge-off, so these old accounts will not damage your credit rating indefinitely.