Should I pay an account to$0 that is 4-5yrs old or just wait

As far as I am aware of, when you begin to pay off a debt that is already on your credit report, the SOL do start over.

Welcome to the Community :D I'm not sure if I understand you, but let me see if I got This right. You have a collection account that is around four years old. You want to pay this off to a zero balance,right? First, is it out of the SOL for your state? Second, it doesn't re-start anything with the credit reporting agency. It stays on your CRA for seven years regardless if you pay it off or not. But it is still better to have a paid collection on it instead of unpaid. I hope I answered your questions and didn't confuse you!!..Karen

Thank you Karen. You addressed my question, and answered beautifully. I paid the creditor, and have a $0 paid collection now. My credit score with Experian dropped 21 points doing so though. OUCH!!

Deepvoice - welcome to the forums!

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If you can afford to pay your bill you should.... This SOL stuff isnt supposed to be used as a get out of jail free card, its for when youre life gets turned upside down and you need a break!

Since you will still be responsible for the debt when it falls off of your credit report I suggest you pay it. Especialy if you can pay it off.