Paying off Emerge Card

[JL4201]

HI. I have an Emerge card about six years old. The account has been closed by Emerge. About 3 years ago I was late 90 days but since then I pay on time every month. The problem is, it has a $500 credit limit but due to interest, you know, the high balance was about $1800 at one time. I just couldn't seem to pay the thing off. Now the balance is about $1100 and I am able to pay about $1000 towards this bill. Am I doing the right thing by just trying to pay it off? Should I negotiate something here so I don't have to pay the entire $1100? It does show up as a negative on my credit report. But the payment history has been good for about 3 years. How should I approach this. I am willing to just pay off the entire balance within the next two months but is that the smart thing to do? How will this help my credit score? Thanks...

[hegemony]

you may want to post this in the main credit forum.