Will paying off the collection account help or hurt my score at this point?

[Anonymous]

I have a medical bill that was sent to collections.  The date assigned is 06/2003.  I made a small payment on it 04/03/2004 so that is the "last payment date".   The date of first delinquency is 02/2003.  My question is if I pay this off in full (it's only $171) would this help or hurt my score??  I have tried a PFD with the doctor's office and did not receive a response.   It is being reported to the credit bureaus by the collection agency - not the doctor's office so it is only on my report once. 

[Anonymous]

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twt11 wrote:

I have a medical bill that was sent to collections.  The date assigned is 06/2003.  I made a small payment on it 04/03/2004 so that is the "last payment date".   The date of first delinquency is 02/2003.  My question is if I pay this off in full (it's only $171) would this help or hurt my score??  I have tried a PFD with the doctor's office and did not receive a response.   It is being reported to the credit bureaus by the collection agency - not the doctor's office so it is only on my report once. 

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You probably received no response because the OC most likely no longer owns the debt.

To answer your question, yes, paying off a 5-year-old CA will hurt your score, since FICO will see recent activity on a CA account.  This is why most people around here suggest paying off ancient CA accounts only if you can get them deleted.

Are you in SOL?  Have you DV'd the CA?

[Anonymous]

I think the SOL for Georgia is 4 years for collections.  So,  it is past that.   I'm not very familiar with the DV process.   I spoke with them over the phone regarding it but I haven't sent them anything in writing.  Should I PFD the collection agency?