Long story short, I have about 8 old credit cards from when I was in college. They're all maxed out and I haven't been able to pay on any of them in over a year. They are marked Charged off on my credit report. However, recently, I've begun getting a few collection agencies calling me trying to get payment. What does charged off really mean. The two that are calling me are trying to get me to settle up, which I'd love to do, but I'm still struggling financially and just can't pay more than twenty or so dollars right now.