We received a phone call the other day. The client asked, "My credit report says a credit card company ‘charged off’ my past due account. Does that mean they can’t collect it any more?" The answer is, No, it does not mean that. That is only an internal accounting move. It removes the account as a liability off of the credit card company books. They can still try to collect it from you. They can sell it to a collection agency to collect from you.