Q. At the beginning of 2000 my business began failing and I had to default on a couple of credit cards. They were charged off soon thereafter. I just recently found out that one is still adding interest and has jacked the balance up to over $40,000! And they're putting it on my credit report that way! Can they add interest to a charged off account? Can they still be reporting it after seven years?

A.We are a little confused by your statement the "credit cards....were charged off soon thereafter." Did you receive letters from both the credit card issuers stating that your accounts had been written off as uncollectible? It appears that only one issuer (call it "Card A") followed that path. But didn't you hear from the other one (Card B) that was adding interest? No calls, no letters, no collection agency?

Unpaid debt is removed from your credit report seven years after a company (Card A) gives up trying to collect from you and stops reporting your debt to the credit reporting agencies. But if a creditor (Card B) still wants its money, it can continue reporting the debt and charging interest. Simply closing an account does not end your responsibility to pay the bill or the card company's ability to charge interest on the balance.

You probably need help getting to the bottom of this. We suggest that you find a member of the National Federation for Credit Counseling near you.

Its 120 members abide by a set of professional and ethical standards that have served many individuals and families very well over the past 50 years. They work with credit card companies all the time and are probably in the best position to figure out what's going on at little or no cost to you.