Most people hear “charged off,” “written off,” “closed,” and “bankruptcy” as four ways to say one thing: the account is dead and the damage is done. They are four different events, run by different people, on different clocks.
Which one you are looking at decides what you still owe, how long it reports, and whether a dispute has anything to work with.
What Is a Charge-Off, and Does the Debt Go Away?
A charge-off is the lender taking the account off its own books as a loss, and you still owe the money. Federal bank policy says a credit card balance gets charged off at 180 days past due and an installment loan at 120 (FFIEC, 2000). It is the lender’s accounting step. It cancels nothing.
After that, the lender often sells the debt or hands it to a collector. Debt buyers paid an average of about 4 cents per dollar of face value in the FTC’s study of nine of the largest buyers (FTC, 2013). That is why you may start hearing from a company you never dealt with. We cover that stage in what happens when an account goes to collections.
The report keeps a charge-off for seven years. Under Section 605(c)(1) of the FCRA, the clock starts 180 days after the first missed payment that led to it. A sale to a collector does not restart it. For the full walk-through, see what a charge-off is and how to remove one.
Is a Write-Off Different From a Charge-Off?
No. In everyday use a write-off and a charge-off are the same step: the lender removes the debt as an asset and books it as a loss. Your credit report uses one label, “charged off,” so that is the word to look for.
“Write-off” is a bookkeeping word. A letter or a phone call that says your debt was written off does not tell you the debt is forgiven. It is not.
If a collector says a balance was written off and still asks you to pay, the useful question is who owns the debt now. Ask for that in writing before you send a dollar.
What Does a Closed Account Mean on a Credit Report?
A closed account is one that takes no new charges. It says nothing about how you paid. You can close an account, or the lender can, and it stays on your report either way.
Equifax says a closed account reported as paid as agreed can stay on its report for up to 10 years, and accounts not paid as agreed for up to 7 (Equifax help center). That is Equifax’s own practice. The FCRA puts no clock on a closed account in good standing.
Closing a card can still cost you. FICO says closing a card wipes out some of your available credit and raises your utilization, and FICO Scores still count payment history and balances on accounts with a closed status (FICO). So “closed” can be neutral, helpful, or the second label on an account that also says charged off. Read the payment rating and the status.
Bankruptcy Is the Only One of the Four a Judge Decides
Bankruptcy is a court case, and a discharge is a court order. Debtors filed 574,314 bankruptcy petitions in the 12 months ending December 31, 2025 (U.S. Courts, 2026). Most of those were people, not businesses.
A discharge does something the other three never do. Under 11 U.S.C. 524(a)(2), it bars creditors from acting to collect a discharged debt as your personal liability. It does not reach every debt. Under Section 523(a), most tax debts, support obligations, and student loans (unless the court finds undue hardship) survive.
On your report, a bankruptcy stays up to 10 years from the date of filing (FCRA Section 605(a)(1)). The debts inside it may also show their own charge-offs and closed statuses. One event can leave several labels.
Charge-Off, Write-Off, Closed Account, Bankruptcy: The Four Side by Side
Only bankruptcy can end what you owe, and only for the debts the court discharges. Here is how the four compare on who acts, whether the debt stays, and how long it reports.
| Event | Who acts | Do you still owe it? | How long it reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charge-off | The lender, on its own books | Yes, the debt stays owed | 7 years, starting 180 days after the first missed payment |
| Write-off | The lender; same step, different word | Yes, bookkeeping does not cancel a debt | Reports as “charged off,” same 7 years |
| Closed account | You or the lender | Only if a balance remains | Equifax: up to 10 years if paid as agreed, 7 if not |
| Bankruptcy | A federal court | Not for discharged debts; taxes, support and some student loans stay | Up to 10 years from the filing date |
Why Paying Someone to Fix These Marks Has Gone Wrong So Often
Most people who find a charge-off on their report try a tool or a company first, and a lot of them come away with nothing. Of the 134 one- and two-star reviews in Lexington Law’s latest 200 on Trustpilot, 79 said they paid for months and nothing changed.
Here is what each tool’s recent unhappy reviewers report, with each score as Trustpilot publishes it.
- Lexington Law holds 3.2 from 624 reviews. Behind that 79 of 134, the next most common complaints were billing that continued or refunds refused (33 of 134) and fees they did not expect (19 of 134).
- Dispute Beast holds 4.2 from 2,067 reviews. Among the 33 one- and two-star reviews in its latest 200, 19 said they paid for months and nothing changed.
- The Credit People holds 1.7 from 17 reviews. All 17 are one or two stars, and 11 of them said they paid for months and nothing changed.
- Credit Saint holds 3.6 from 764 reviews. Of the 57 one- and two-star reviews in its latest 200, 36 said they paid for months and nothing changed.
- DisputeBee holds 3.2 from 68 reviews. Nobody answers was the most common complaint, in 6 of its 10 one- and two-star reviews.
- Credit Karma holds 1.1 from 912 reviews. Of the 197 one- and two-star reviews in its latest 200, 43 said they were promised a result that did not happen.
Dee, a 2-star Trustpilot review of Dispute Beast, August 13, 2026, wrote: “I been attacking my negative as well only accounts that have been removed are the ones I have disputed as well”. That is a customer who cannot tell which of the marks the tool was working on, or why.
The regulators have a record here too. On August 28, 2023, the CFPB reached a $2.7 billion settlement with Progrexion Marketing and PGX Holdings, the companies behind Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com, over illegal advance fees for telemarketed credit repair and bait-and-switch advertising. On December 5, 2024, the CFPB announced the return of $1.8 billion to 4.3 million people harmed in that scheme.
On September 30, 2024, the CFPB took action against Key Credit Repair and its owner, resulting in $41.3 million, over advance fees charged before durable results and misrepresenting its ability to remove negative credit items. On January 23, 2023, the FTC finalized an order requiring Credit Karma to pay $3 million over dark patterns that misrepresented pre-approved credit card offers. On August 10, 2026, the FTC stopped Credit Glory, which it said collected nearly $200 million through false promises, illegal upfront fees, and unlawful recurring subscriptions.
The pattern is a company selling “removal” of things it does not control. Whether a charge-off is accurate is a fact about the report, not a service anyone can sell you.
Skip the paperwork. Lock in your spot.
CreditRefresh drafts your FCRA dispute letter and tracks the 30-day investigation window. You review, approve, and send. You stay in control.
Lock in your spotWhich Dispute Tool Fits a Charge-Off, a Closed Account, or a Bankruptcy Entry?
The choice turns on who reads your three reports and whether you see each letter before it goes out. Here is how the six options compare on price, what they do with a negative entry, and which bureaus they reach.
| Tool | What you pay | What that buys on this problem | Bureaus | Trustpilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CreditRefresh | $49.99/mo, no setup fee, cancel anytime. Mail letters yourself free, or pay RushMail per letter | Scans all three reports, flags items that look wrong, drafts a letter you sign for each | Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion | 4.3 (9 reviews) |
| Dispute Beast | From $49.99/mo for required monitoring. Mail letters yourself free, or pay Sprint Mail per letter | AI letter generator sold with required paid monitoring | Equifax, Experian, TransUnion | 4.2 (2,067 reviews) |
| DisputeBee | $49/mo personal, $129/mo business | Letter templates you fill in, print, and mail yourself | Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion | 3.2 (68 reviews) |
| The Credit People | $99/mo standard, $119/mo premium, or $599 for 6 months | Works your case by phone; no self-serve letter review | Equifax, Experian, TransUnion | 1.7 (17 reviews) |
| Lexington Law | $139.95/mo, invoiced at the end of each service period | Attorney-backed firm disputes for you; no self-serve tool | Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion | 3.2 (624 reviews) |
| Credit Karma | Free, paid for by lender referrals | Shows scores and flags issues; its Direct Dispute form covers TransUnion only | TransUnion | 1.1 (912 reviews) |
Every price is that company’s own published rate, read off that company’s own site on September 15, 2026. Trustpilot scores and review counts as published on September 24, 2026.
How CreditRefresh Sorts Every Negative Entry Across Three Bureaus Before You Sign
A charge-off, a closed account, and a bankruptcy entry each need a different question, and CreditRefresh asks it of every item on all three of your reports. We hold 4.3 on Trustpilot across 9 reviews, with none at 1 star. It comes with Refresh Monitoring at $49.99 a month, no setup fee, and you can cancel anytime.
A negative entry is not automatically an error, so we flag and you choose. The software marks items that look inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable, or too old to report, drafts a letter for each one you pick, and sends nothing until you review and sign. In CreditRefresh’s September 18, 2026 analysis of paying-member data, 97.7% of members carried at least one negative tradeline entry, and the average member carried 30 across the bureaus, with a median of 25. In that same extract, 2.3% of disputed bureau-level items in mailed rounds had a recorded outcome. Within that subset, 47.9% were no longer reported on a newer pull of the same bureau, while 52.1% remained reported with a changed balance, status or negative flag.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a lender sue me after a charge-off?
Yes, if the debt is still inside its statute of limitations. Most states set 3 to 6 years, and the period varies by debt type and state. Making a partial payment or acknowledging an old debt, even after the period has expired, can restart it (CFPB, 2026).
Does paying a charged-off account take it off my report?
No. Paying changes the status to paid, and the entry stays for its seven years. The clock runs from the first missed payment that led to the charge-off, so a payment does not restart it.
Should I close an account before it gets charged off?
Closing does not cancel the balance, and it does not stop a missed payment from being reported. If your goal is to avoid a charge-off, talk to the lender before the account reaches 120 or 180 days past due.
Which debts survive bankruptcy?
Under Section 523(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, most tax debts and domestic support obligations survive. So do student loans unless the court finds an undue hardship. Secured debts also leave the lender’s lien on the asset.
Is a charge-off a public record?
No. A charge-off is a tradeline your lender reports. Bankruptcy is a court filing, and it is the only public record type left on the nationwide bureaus’ reports.
Why does one account show as both charged off and closed?
“Closed” says the account takes no new charges. “Charged off” says the lender wrote off the unpaid balance. One account can carry both labels.
Can a dispute remove an accurate charge-off?
No. A dispute works on errors: an item that is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified. If the charge-off is accurate and inside its seven years, the bureau can keep it, and we never promise otherwise.
CreditRefresh sorts which of your charge-offs, closed accounts, and bankruptcy entries look wrong, and drafts a letter for each one you choose to send.
