Although I am sober now and have been for a couple of years, in 1997 I began a rapid decline into addiction. By September of that year, I had stopped making payments on any of my credit cards. I just got my free annual credit report (Equifax) and found that most of my accounts are now resolved; in fact, only 5 even show up now. Of those, 4 are listed as "Pays as Agreed" but 1 is listed as "Charge-Off". It is from Capital One. I have not made a payment (or a purchase) on ANY of my credit accounts since 1997. When I look at the details of the Capital One account, it shows an 81 month history, starting in December 2001. From that month until September 2007 it shows my status as going back and forth several times between "Pays or Paid as Agreed" and "Charge Off". In the comments section it says "Charged off account, Account closed by credit grantor". I have copied the details of the Payment History and the other details listed in my credit report below. Hopefully it will make more sense to someone else than it does to me.

81 Month Capital One Payment History as shown in Equifax Credit Report

Year----Jan----Feb----Mar----Apr----May----Jun----Jul----Aug----Sep----Oct----Nov----Dec
2007----CO----CO----CO-----CO----CO------*-----CO----CO--------------------------------
2006----*------CO----CO-----CO----CO-----CO----CO-----CO-----CO-----CO----CO-----CO
2005----*-------*------*------*------*------*------*-----CO-----CO-----CO----CO-----CO
2004----*-------*------*------*------*------*------*------*-------*------*------*------*
2003----*-------*------*------*------*------*------*------*-------*------*------*------*
2002----*-------*------*------*------*------*------*------*-------*------*------*------*
2001----*-------*------*------*------*------*------*------*-------*------*------*------*
2000-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

CO = Charge Off
* = Pays or Paid as Agreed

Other Details of Capital One Account as shown in Equifax Credit Report

Account Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Current Status: CHARGE-OFF
Account Owner: Individual Account.
High Credit: $0
Type of Account: Revolving
Credit Limit: $200
Term Duration:
Terms Frequency: Monthly (due every month)
Date Opened: n/a
Balance: $1,384
Date Reported: 09/2007
Amount Past Due: $1,384
Date of Last Payment:
Actual Payment Amount: $0
Scheduled Payment Amount: $0
Date of Last Activity: n/a
Date Major Delinquency First Reported:
Months Reviewed: 25
Creditor Classification:
Activity Description: Closed
Charge Off Amount: $678
Deferred Payment Start Date:
Balloon Payment Amount: $0
Balloon Payment Date:
Date Closed:
Type of Loan: Credit Card

I am wondering so many things!
Should this account still be on my Credit Report, as it hasn't been used in 10 years?
Why when I wasn't paying or purchasing, wasn't doing ANYTHING, is my status changing back and forth from Charge Off to Pays or Paid as Agreed?
As you can see many of the detail fields are blank. Is this significant?
Once it shows Charge Off, how can it go back to Pays or Paid as Agreed?
It shows a balance of $1,384 and a charge off amount of $678. What's that about?
Is 81 a standard number of months for their 'history'? My account would have been opened sometime between 1993 and 1995. Why does the history in 2001?

Is there an error here, or does this look normal to someone who knows what's up? I certainly don't want to have to pay it, as I am on disability and make $339/mo :( There are a couple of collection agencies calling and / or writing and I would love to be able to stop them. One agency that I see many bad things about is NCO, and they were calling earlier this year about that Capital One account. I also got several bills from them, but they haven't contacted me in a few months. I told them I make $339/mo - could that have made them decide I am not a good candidate to pay them anything and that their manpower is best spent elsewhere? I know I did not pay them anything, but feel not as confident about what I may or may not have said. I live in Washington State and have heard that depending on where you live, what you say can 'restart the clock'. How can I know if this has happened, and if it has, how can I confirm that they aren't bending any rules?

:) I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this, and hopefully someone with knowledge can answer me! I really need the help...

Karla
Seattle, WA

Look up the statute of limitations for credit card debt in your state. I am pretty sure this debt would be too old to collect. I would dispute if with the reporting agency (e.g. Equifax) as an obsolete debt. The clock starts clicking based on the date of last activity and they are showing this one as n/a. I imagine they will simply delete it from your report. Do not talk to any of these people on the phone, communicate by mail only and keep good records.

The report should have given a specific date of last activity, as that is the start time for the 7 year drop off period. From the log of the activity, it looks like the account was charged off in August of 2005. If this is correct, the entry should drop off after August 2012. I would advise you not to answer any collection notices, not talk to anyone on the phone; hang up if necessary. Do a Google search for "zombie debt", and you will find many good articles that explain things in detail. Get you free reports from the other two bureaus (Experian & TransUnion) to see how they report it.