@blb2397 wrote:So does this mean if its past the 7 year period it has to be deleted? Then he could continue payments to avoid getting sued??
Correct - by law it has to be removed from his reports after the seven-year exclusion timeframe but the payment in 2017 means the SOL is reset. Depending on state of residence, this may have expired or not.
OP, call them up and make a settlement offer, come to an agreement, pay it, and you're done. No more reporting (Portfolio deletes upon payment which may be faster than disputing, and also engenders more goodwill than disputing when it comes to getting a low percentage payoff amount), no more worries of litigation. The fact that Portfolio ended up with your account is a stroke of luck because of their PFD policy - many CAs play hardball and will let negatives sit for every minute they're eligible.