*Loan,banking and credit>>>credit report

On a credit report, what does a "charge off" mean and do I still owe that balance?

When a consumer becomes severely delinquent on a debt (often at the point of six months without payment), the creditor may declare the debt to be a charge-off. It will then be listed as such on the debtor's credit bureau report. It is one of the worst possible items to have on your file. The item will include relevant dates, and the amount of the bad debt.

However, the debt is still legally valid, and the creditor can attempt to collect the full amount. This includes contacts from internal collections staff, or more likely, an outside collection agency. If the amount is large (generally over $1500 - $2000), there is the possibility of a lawsuit.

Paying an old charge-off will not remove it from your credit reports. It will simply be updated to a "Paid Charge-Off," which, while slightly better, is still a seriously derogatory item. A charge-off, whether paid or not, can remain on a consumer's credit reports for up to seven years

Some debtors may be able to negotiate with the creditor to have the item removed from the consumer's credit reports in exchange for partial or full payment. Give them a call and tell them that you would like to make arrangement to pay them. Hope that helps you, RA

It means the company wrote or did away with the debt you owed as a loss for the company. You may have heard street terms "Charge it to the game"
A charge off means that the balance has been written off. Usually in a bankruptcy. Thats what I've seen from one of my friends.
Read Tray Js and no need to answer this one. She has already nailed it, except about the balance. You no longer owe it. Ohappyday.
It means the company wrote off the amount you owed as an expense. It looks awful on a credit report if you ever want to get credit again, so I would HIGHLY recommend paying it back, even if they are not trying to collect from you.
Charge-off simply means that the creditor can no longer consider the debt a collectible asset. It is off their books. In order to save money, creditors normally sell rights to collect the debt to an outside collection agency or attorney acting as a collector. They may sell the debt for 15-30 percent of the amount owed, and sometimes even less than that.

The debt collector has the right to pursue collection of that debt and they may even pursue a court judgment.
http://www.managedebttoday.com/handling_...