What happens when you pay off a charged off account?
Rachel Davis
Updated on February 18, 2026
Paying Off a Charged Off Account If the creditor has not sold or transferred the debt to a collection agency , the charged off account still will report the balance owed. Often, when an account is written off or charged off, the creditor will sell the debt to a collection agency and the balance on the original account will be updated to zero.
How long can a debt collector collect on your credit?
According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the length of time that collection accounts may remain on credit reports is seven years and 180 days from the date the consumer first falls behind on the original account. Even if one of these bills remains unpaid, it cannot be reported after that 7.5 years is up.
What happens when you pay off a collection account?
Once paid in full, the entry for the collection account will be updated to “Paid Collection.”. Impact of Paying Off A Past Due Account. Paying an outstanding debt is always better than not paying it, but how much it will affect your credit score (if at all) depends on other factors in your credit history.
What happens to a charged off Experian account?
If the creditor has not sold or transferred the debt to a collection agency, the charged off account still will report the balance owed. Often, when an account is written off or charged off, the creditor will sell the debt to a collection agency and the balance on the original account will be updated to zero.
What happens when a creditor writes off your account?
If a creditor writes-off your account and sends it to collection, it will report that to the credit bureaus. A creditor who charges off your account or places your account in collections will almost always report those actions to the credit reporting agencies. Learn more about credit reports and the type of information you’ll find on them.
Why do lenders stop updating my charged off account?
They do it of course to try to get you to settle the debt. A lot of lenders will simply charge it off and the last update will be the date of the chargeoff. But they are within their rights to do what they are doing. This is a case where you either have to settle the chargeoff (even for less than the full amount) so they will stop updating.