There is no legal or ethical way to remove a charge-off that was listed on your credit report before a bankruptcy unless the information has expired. The Federal Trade Commission reports that charge-offs cannot be reported on credit reports for more than seven years. A charge-off is negative credit information and occurs when you stop making payments on a credit account.
Accounting Term
A charge-off is an accounting term used by creditors. They receive a tax write-off after listing your account as charged off, but are still allowed by law to continue collecting on the existing balance. However, bankruptcy eliminates debt resulting from a charge-off. The charge-off information can remain on credit reports for seven years, even if the bankruptcy is completed sooner.
Outdated Information
Charge-offs listed for more than seven years are considered outdated information, and if you complain they must be removed under the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You can have outdated charge-offs removed by contacting the major credit bureaus online, over the telephone or by mail. The bureaus have 30 days to respond to your request, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Contact information for the credit bureaus is listed on credit reports. Credit reports are available for free from AnnualCreditReport.com
Pay-for-delete
Some people have arranged for charge-offs to be deleted sooner than seven years by working directly with creditors though so-called "pay-for-delete" arrangements. The tactic involves offering the creditor payment in full in exchange for the creditor deleting charge-off information from credit reports. However, this option isn't available for people who have had debts eliminated through bankruptcy. Once your bankruptcy is completed, the creditor no longer lists it as a debt, removing any incentive to agree for a pay-for-delete arrangement.
No Advantage
There may be nothing to gain from having old charge-offs removed from credit reports, especially those before a bankruptcy. The bankruptcy will be the more recent of the events on your credit report and will be reported for a minimum of 10 years. The bankruptcy information is more harmful to your credit than charge-offs. The Federal Trade Commission reports that you should forget about past credit mistakes and allow the passage of time help heal your credit as you begin a new start.
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