Does a Charge-off Mean I Still Owe the Money?

If a credit card company informs you that your account will be “charged off,” what does that mean?  Well, as this article points out, a charge off simply means that the credit card company has removed your account from its books as an asset.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/debt/debt-charged-off-still-pay.aspx

However, it does still mean that you have to pay on your account.  If your account has been charged off, this is a prime time to talk to a debt settlement attorney.  First of all, the next step after charge off is a high likelihood of getting sued on the debt.  If you have been sued already, make sure you immediately talk to a debt settlement attorney before a judgment gets entered against you.

Second, if you engage the services of a debt settlement attorney, that attorney will most likely be able to help you enter into a settlement with the credit card company so you can reduce the amount you owe, and possibly avoid getting sued.  The worst thing you could do is to ignore the issue because I guarantee you that the credit card company has not forgotten about your account because it has been charged off.  To the contrary, they are now going to take some type of action against you, which may mean lawsuit.  The bottom line is before or after charge off, talk to a debt settlement attorney before the credit card company starts talking to its own attorney.