Do you have to settle before a charge off?

Sometimes it is better to settle before a chrge off, depending on the credit card company you are dealing with. charge off will occur at about 180 days of non payment and usually the account will be sent to a third party collection agency. There are better companies to deal with pre charge off and some post charge off.

Agree with alex D. also , the best time to settle may be when you have accumulated enough funds to cover a settlement offer, for insatnce if you have about 50% on hand of the total debt you are in a great position to make a deal, it is like playing cards when you know you have money to play with you can toy with the creditor or collector all you want.

The best time to settle with the original creditor will be right before they charge off. That is when you will get the best settlement offer from them. Once they charge off your debt it is usually sold and then you are dealing with a collection agency which is usually a lot harder than dealing with the original creditor.