Can the bank charge off your account if you are behind in payments?

Yes they can. if there is any collateral i.e. a car or house then they will repossess/foreclose, sell said property and then try to collect any remaining balance. If they receive more than you owe, lets say you owe $7,300 on a car and the sell it for $7,350, they cannot come after you for anything. They can, and will however still report you to all 3 credit bureaus as a repossession. if you do a voluntary repo, (where you call the bank and tell them to come get it) it still goes on your credit, and can be just as damaging, depending on how many times you were late on payments in the past, etc. If there is no collateral, then depending on the amount owed, you may be subject to garnishments to satisfy your debt, plus court and attorney fees. If it is for a guarunteed student loan, you will have to pay those back. Just about the only way out of those is death. You cannot file bankruptcy on those. Hope this helps. Susu