Can Creditors Remove Late Payments From Credit Report?

Payment history is a critical factor of an individual’s creditworthiness. Its significance is that it constitutes the highest percentage (35%) in calculating an individual’s FICO score.  The high weighting on payment history means that you can have your credit wrapped up and in order, but one late payment can ruin and damage your ultimate score. Late payments are categorized into 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days or more, respectively. The higher frequency and the longer the duration of delay payments imply more significant damage to one’s credit ratings. Such an individual is a credit risk and an undependable and unreliable borrower. 

Related: All You Need To Know About The FICO Score

How Long Do Late Payments Stay On Credit Report?

Late payments remain on your credit report for at least seven years before they can fall off. It is for this reason that the need to remove them from your credit information is essential. The thought of spending seven years with credit-unworthiness baggage is quite scary and a costly inconvenience in the long run. 

Related: What Happens When You Don’t Pay Credit Card Bill

How To Remove Late Payments From Your Credit Report

The good news is that creditors and credit bureaus can indeed remove late payments from the credit report and consequently spare you the agony of a poor credit score. The path to follow to get these late payments deleted depends on the context of each item.

1. The first context is that the credit report is erroneous, and you paid suitable and on time.
2. The second context is that the late payment item is valid as reported, but you would like it deleted. 

Dispute Errors Or Misinformation

The Fair Credit Reporting Act exists for such events. It is a legal requirement that creditors, lenders, and reporting agencies correct and clean up mistakes when they occur on a credit report. Late payments can show up on your credit as inaccurate on your credit report. If you notice an error you can send out a dispute letter, providing as much proof of the error as possible, make copies and mail them with the dispute letter , and ask for a correction. 

Free Dispute Letters

A Goodwill Letter works miracles

Contrary to popular belief, the customer representatives in many organizations can lend an ear to one’s genuine pleas and explanations, especially when formally put down on paper. For a start, a phone call establishes the required rapport. This call is followed by the goodwill letter. The aiding factor is building a case for consideration. In essence, it is ‘pleading for mercy and leniency. The creditors are more than willing to let a client off the hook if the previous payments were consistent and on time. Another helpful factor is that late-payment was not your fault or occasioned due to unavoidable personal hardships. A letter from the bank admitting transfer delays is an excellent example of a supporting document towards this request. 

Negotiate

Even the world’s most challenging situations can be negotiated out. Clean credit is worthy of such an attempt. The creditor is likely to clean up your report if you show good faith such as offering to pay off the entire loan in advance or make a larger payment than you normally would.  

Use Credit Repair Services

At a fee, credit repair professionals can carry out a thorough assessment of the available options of removing late payment and offer an ideal solution. The most outstanding merit of this option is that these are experts who understand the grey areas involved, the attendant laws, and the methods of crafting a solid case for late payments removal. 

Related: Best Credit Repair Companies

Removal of Late payments from a credit report is the curative approach. Prevention is better than cure. It is preferable if these items’ occurrence can be avoided from the onset. Monitoring one’s credit and ensuring financial discipline is the greatest of all solutions. 

Related:
Best Credit Score and Monitoring Apps
What is Credit Saint And It’s Features?

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