If you have late payments on your credit report, your credit score is likely suffering because of it. The health of your credit is largely dependent upon your payment history.
There are several approaches you can take to address any existing late payments on your credit reports and get them removed.
But first, find out exactly how late payments impact your credit so you can begin repairing your credit history. Then you can pick the most effective method for late payment removal.
How do late payments affect your credit score?
Having just one late payment on your credit report can be devastating to your credit scores.
Whether it’s a late car payment, credit card payment, or mortgage payment, a recent late payment can cause as much as a 90-110 point drop in your FICO score.
As time goes on, the late payment will hurt your credit score less and less until it drops off your credit report. However, potential creditors can still see that payment history as long as it’s listed on your credit report.
Late payments appear on your credit report as either 30 days late, 60 days late, 90 days late, or 120-plus days late. Each of these degrees of delinquency has a different impact on your credit scores.
The later you are, the more damage it does to your credit history. More recent late payments on your credit report also have a greater impact than older ones.
How many days late before it is reported to the credit bureau?
Creditors may report a late payment to the credit bureaus once it hits 30 days past the due date. However, some creditors may not report it at all, especially if you’ve generally been a good client.
Others may wait until you close your account to report them. Once you are 90 days late or more, it affects your credit even more.
At this point, it can be turned into a charge-off if the creditor decides to sell the outstanding balance to a collection agency. However, even if you are already 90-plus days late on a payment, it’s still a good idea to pay to avoid additional harm in the form of a charge-off, collection, or repossession.
No matter how much you owe, late payments have the same effect. To the credit reporting agencies, a late payment of $50 is just as bad as one of $5,000. Knowing this, if you have to choose which bills to pay first, it may be wise to pay the less expensive ones first.
How long do late payments stay on your credit report?
Late payments remain on your credit report for up to seven years. However, contrary to popular belief, you do NOT have to wait up to seven years before being able to get a mortgage, car loan, or any other type of credit again.
Your credit score will steadily rise as time goes on. Even better is that there are several ways to get late payments permanently deleted or updated.
Keep reading to find out how you can get a late payment removed from your credit reports.
How to Remove Late Payments From Your Credit Report
Late payments can be deleted or updated to “never late” on your credit report. It’s actually quite easy if you do it correctly, and you can choose from a few different options.
The method you should select depends on your general credit history, your relationship with the creditor, and the amount of time or money you’re willing to put towards these efforts.
Here is an overview of four ways you can successfully remove a late payment from your credit report.
1. Request a Goodwill Adjustment
This is an ideal option if you generally have a good payment history with your creditor and have been a customer for a while.
By requesting a goodwill adjustment, you can ask the creditor to remove the late payment from your credit reports as a gesture of goodwill since you’ve otherwise been a great customer.
To do this, write a goodwill letter to the credit card issuer or lender and explain your situation. Credit card companies have some flexibility when it comes to reporting late payments. They can remove late payments from your credit report under the right circumstances.
Did you have an unexpected expense arise last month that made you late? Are you trying to perfect your credit score so you can get a mortgage or an auto loan?
Include your personal story in the goodwill letter so that the customer service representative reading your letter understands why this would be helpful.
Many people succeed with this method because creditors don’t want to risk losing your account because of a single disagreement.
2. Offer to Sign Up for Automatic Payments
In some instances, a creditor may agree to delete a late payment from your credit reports if you agree to sign up for automatic payments.
This plan works well if you’ve had trouble making payments in the past but aren’t significantly delinquent on your account. You’ll have better luck negotiating this deal if you can show that you’re financially able to make your payments.
It also helps if you’ve overcome whatever financial hurdle held you back from making payments in the past. Like requesting a goodwill adjustment, this is also ideal for longer-term customers.
3. Dispute the Late Payment
If the first two options aren’t successfully getting your late payment removed, it’s time to file a credit dispute directly with credit bureaus. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows you to do this if you find any inaccurate information regarding the late payment on your credit report. Creditors must verify the information and remove inaccurate information from your credit report within 30 days.
To begin the dispute process, you will first need to request your credit report. The FCRA allows you the right to at least one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit bureaus.
Check your credit report to ensure that the date, payment amount, and other details are correct. If anything seems off, send a dispute letter to each of the three credit bureaus reporting the late payment.
You should get a response from the credit bureau about your dispute within 30 business days, which is required by law. This is a good option if you have the time and inclination to research and execute an effective dispute.
4. Work with a Professional Credit Repair Company
If you’re not confident in your ability to successfully dispute a late payment on your own, there are several popular credit repair companies that can help you.
Credit repair firms have knowledgeable legal professionals on staff to help you out. They also help with other negative information on your credit reports.
It’s easy to call for a free consultation to get an idea of the cost and the services they’ll provide you with. Working with a pro is a great idea if you’re short on time, unsure of your own abilities in disputing, and have some buffer room in your budget for this short-term expense.
How can a professional credit repair company help me?
Check out this story from one of our readers to see how professionals helped them.
Getting my credit back on track
Several years ago, I went through some tough times financially. I had always made on-time payments, but after I became unemployed, I simply wasn’t able to pay my bills on time.
After I told a friend of mine about my issues, he suggested I check out Lexington Law. So, I called them for a free consultation at 800-220-0084. I spoke to a credit professional who told me they believed they could help me.
I decided to sign up and give it a shot. After all, if it didn’t work, I could cancel at any time. Then, after only a few weeks, I started getting letters from consumer reporting agencies showing negative credit accounts were removed from my credit reports.
Since then, my FICO credit score has been improving steadily, and I have been getting much better interest rates on credit cards and loans. So it turned out to be a great decision for me (see below).
Client Testimonials:
I just wanted to thank you and tell you that your system is going to be able to put me in a home almost two years earlier than I originally expected to.
— C.R., Lexington client
My credit score has jumped over 60 points in the last 6 months to a very respectable level and now when I apply for a mortgage. I will be able to name my price. So file this e-mail in the happy customer section. I will refer anyone with less than perfect credit to your services it has made a world of difference for me! Thanks again!
I can see that your method really works. I appreciate all that you have done for me so far. Already, I was able to walk into a car dealership, get approved in a matter of minutes, and qualify for a tier 1 rating. I haven’t been tier 1 in years!
— H.M., Lexington client
I also want you to know that I have recommended your services to many of my friends, family, acquaintances and business associates. No matter how careful or diligent you are, you can still end up with blemishes on your credit. I’m glad that you guys are out there to help remove them.
Discount for Family Members, Couples, and Active Military!
Lexington Law Firm is now offering $50 off the initial set-up fee when you and your spouse or family members sign up together. The one-time $50.00 discount will be automatically applied to both you and your spouse’s first payment.
Active military members also qualify for a one-time $50 discount off the initial fee.
Ready to Get Started?
Lexington Law successfully disputed and removed over 9 million negative accounts in 2018; over 1.2 million of them were late payments.
They can delete all kinds of negative items from your credit reports, including bankruptcies, foreclosures, repossessions, charge offs, collections, late payments, and more.
If you’re struggling with bad credit and want to learn more, consider a free credit consultation with Lexington Law.
They have helped many people in your situation. Give them a call at (800) 220-0084 to see what they can do for you.
