I had this same question. I paid off my First Premier card in March of 2012, it had been charged off but I wanted to take care of my responsibility for the debt. It now shows a zero balance, but still shows up as an adverse or negative account. Because of this I am hesitating to pay off the last of my $900 of debt because I am worried about it hurting me instead of helping me. You are saying the balance is what dirves the FICO score, as opposed to the it being classifed as negatitve?
Starting Score: TU 594