Hello guys, pardon my ignorance,but i still don't understand what is the point of paying a charge off if still a mayor derogatory item whether is paid or not and your score won't increase.I know is the right thing to do pay debts,but what if it's close to the date that it will be remove from the report? Seems to me that it doesn't make sense to pay a charge off if the FICO gods won't even smile....
If it's uncollectible and you don't feel paying has any point, that's your decision. I just don't understand how refusing to pay (without getting something in return) works, considering the goods or services weren't paid for. Not throwing stones but I can at least get how someone with a paid CO could feel the scoring system continued punishing them.
IMO, paid CO hurting a little less might incline people to work on their credit.
Starting Score: 675I can see it both ways to be honest.
FICO giving no incentive to pay makes it hard for people to want to pay it back when they could reapply the money someplace else. If all things were equal, a debt that can get my FICO gain is more important to me than one that doesn't and that is just being honest.
Having the moral where-with-all to pay isn't really the issue. Clearly, you should pay back your debt. I welched on 19k worth of debts, because I made mistakes and over extended myself. Completely my fault, I get that. And I have moreeeeeeee than paid the price (31k for those 19k in debt is what I had to pay to get to the position I am in now to buy the house) -- However there are some lenders that were never made whole. Like, HSBC. I charged like, 700 bucks. Never paid a dime to them. Let it ride. Charged off. Sold to Portfolio Recovery. I settled with them for 300. I got 700 dollars worth of goods and services for 300 so I was a winner. Portofolio made 300 bucks on probably 20 dollars worth of debt, so they came out winners, and HSBC was in the toliet for 680 bucks or whatever. It is what it is.
But there are definrely a couple things out there I haven't paid, and probably won't. Unless they come after me and it can impact my future ability to get credit.
The one thing I will say though is that the process, THIS process, has taught me so much, I genuinely feel like I can take on the world now. I feel like I can handle my money, my credit, and be productive for my future family. So in that way I do not regret the mistakes of my youth.
So no judgment from this guy if you decide not to pay. 
I completely understand,i'm coming from adevastating divorce in 07 that crippled my finances,everything was under my name.I am not justifiying anything,but that is the reality,plus i'm going to pay off my car this friday after 6 looooong years. I have 4 credit cards all on time along with the car i'm about to pay off,yeah,i have some baddies lingering around from those dog years that is prolly why my credit is still so low(low 600s) Sighs... I also understand that everything is whether the glass is half empty or half full.My dissapointment is with the FICO gods that i feel that even when you try to do what's right i feel they still punish you by body slam you even when you pay the debt.I think that it makes more sense and prolly would be more beneficial in the end to the all mighty lenders and to the FICO gods to at least release the choke on people that are trying to recover from strike outs in the prior innings.....MHO
@ golo,
I was speaking as someone with a paid charge-off. Definitely not judging or being accusative.
I agree and wish paid vs. unpaid made a difference in scoring. I think things get to a point where many throw up their hands because it's too late by the time the they're done dealing with whatever circumstances led to needing credit repair. I remember choking on bile every credit card payment after the divorce because it was a card the Ex had ran up with BoA, LOL! Irony is I would have begged, borrowed, or stole to get it off my reports knowing then what I know now about BoA's long memory. I was credit naive and actually thought paying them (on time, after a string of lates) would fix everything.
Time, luck, goodwill, and improving my credit education fixed most things. I still have 2-3 late payments that fall off in Oct this year.