discover card question

Sorry, this is a little long... I'm currently trying to clean up my credit report which is pretty bad due to the lack of credit knowledge in my college days I need some advice about my Discover account. I got a regular card with them in 1998 with a CL of $1000. Charged it up to the credit limit very quickly and then found I didn't have the money to pay for what I had spent. Didn't really think anything about it since I had no idea what a credit report was at the time and didn't realize how damaging my actions were. The card sat and racked up interest, late fees and over-the-limit fees until it reached around $2000. I was contacted by them in Feb. of this year, and they said I could go on a "recovery plan" - where I would pay around $250 and that would make my account "current". Since I was out of college and making money, I said I could do that and paid my balance down to the level they wanted.

Up until last month, I've been paying the minimum monthly payment, but as you can imagine, it isn't helping at all. With all the fees, my balance just keeps growing. At first, they were waiving the over-the-limit fees, but a supervisor told me 3 months ago that they were no longer able to do this. I was also informed that my account is permanently closed, and even if I paid down my balance below the CL I would still have to re-apply for credit. Although I feel some obligation to pay off this debt, I also feel like I'm getting screwed and that I've probably already paid back my original charges with all of the money I've paid in fees.

My question is this: what should I do now? Should I just let this account charge-off and then try to get it off my reports? I'd have to pay $80 a month just to break even on the account, and even that's a stretch for me financially right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for listening.

 

The advice is much appreciated! I was getting so frustrated with Discover customer service - now I know who to contact. Thanks