Dear Harry: I had a store credit card about 10 years ago when I was 18. I ran my bill up to $150, which was a very large amount for me. When I found that I couldn't pay it off, I told their credit department and they told me that they would write it off and not try to collect it. I forgot about it totally until the beginning of the summer when I determined to get my credit in better shape. I got the information from my credit report and set up payment arrangements for $50 a month for 10 months. I have already made six payments. This just doesn't seem right to me. Sure, I am late, and there are amounts for interest and penalties, but the debt is so old and the amount they want is more than three times the original balance. Should I continue to make the payments?

What Harry says: First of all, that debt should not have appeared on your credit report because it is well beyond the six-year period for keeping information on the report. Second, the debt is way past the statute of limitations for collections. Finally, I hope you did not agree to this new deal in writing. Contact the company again, and tell them that you have already paid too much. The debt is beyond the statute of limitations, and you have already paid more than twice the amount originally due. Contact the credit reporting agency that showed this balance, and demand that they remove it from the report because of its age.

Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130. Harry urges all his readers to give blood - contact the American Red Cross at 800-GIVE LIFE.