Paying a delinquent debt is a mixed scoring bag.
If the delinquent debt is on a revolving account, then the % util will be reduced or the account will be removed from % util scoring.
In most cases, the % util on a delinquent account is relatively high, and paying will usually reduce overall % util (although that can vary).
However, until paid, the account continues to have an increasing length of delinquency, and paying updates the delinquency period through that date, so the updated reporting of paid can negatively impact scoring to some degree.
Additionally, if paid prior to sale or assignment to a debt collector, it prevents addition of a collection to your credit report.
Finally, if still within SOL, paying terminates the possibility of an added civil judgment.
Apart from scoring implications, the account looks better in any manual review, as it now shows your discharge of the debt.
