A charge off on your credit report means that you had a credit card and stoped making your monthly payments. The issuer of the card issued a 'charge off' which means they were able to write the account off for tax purposes and they have sold your account to a collection agency.
How Do I Remove It From My Credit?
To do this you are going to have to file a credit dispute. You must write a letter to each bureau and in your letter you will need to include your personal information, the item in question, the reason, and any other related material.
The bureaus will get your letter and decide if it is valid or not. This is where and why you hear people say how hard credit repair is, because if the bureau doesn't deem your dispute valid they will not investigate and you can not have it removed.
Why Doesn't The Bureau Investigate?
Unfortunately our credit system is a little backwards in this country. The reason the bureaus are resistant to investigating an item is because they must spend money to do so.
However the bureaus are still going to sell your information regardless of how accurate it is or not. Business and lenders still want this information and like every business the bureaus focus is on their bottom line.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is the law that says you can dispute and item and that the bureaus must investigate it. But big business interest wins again in our society, lawmakers have enabled the bureaus to decide if a dispute is valid and if they will investigate or not.
Now this is mind blowing to us - you are going to put the people in charge of deciding if a dispute is valid that has a financial interest not to investigate disputes? Further the bureaus are routinely fined by the FTC for not complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The most outrageous fines came with the government told the bureaus they must have phone lines so consumers could call in and file their disputes. However the bureaus didn't have anyone answering these phones.
All three bureaus were collectively fined for this outrageous instance but if you look back in their histories they have been fined over and over again - in other words they should be the last people you would want to decide if a dispute was valid or not.
If you become frustrated with the bureaus and their tactics we encourage you to speak with a professional service. They can do this all on your behalf and ensure your disputes are investigated. They can be hired at very affordable rates, especially compared to the high cost of a low score.