How Can I Remove Late Payments From My Credit Report?
Have you ever wondered this yourself? If so, you may be included with a large number of Americans who are finding it difficult to come up with the money to pay their bills timely every month. When you are late paying your bill, your creditor will report the untimeliness to the credit reporting agencies. Each late payment is then reported on your credit report. If a lender requests a copy of your credit history, all of your late payment entries will be viewed by the lender and possible be enough of a reason to deny your credit application.
Payments received after the due date are considered late, regardless of “how late” they may have been. If your payment was received the day after the due date or 30 days following the due date, it is still late. To add insult to injury, if your payment is late, you will probably find yourself with a hefty late payment penalty.
To remove late payments from your credit report, you will need to obtain a copy of your credit report. You can do this by contacting one of the three credit reporting agencies, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. These companies are legally required to provide you with one free copy of your credit report every twelve months.
Though the credit reports may vary slightly in their layout, they all contain the same types of information. You should be able to easily and quickly ascertain how each credit report lists entries showing late payments and should report the number of late payments you have made over a given period of years.
Late payments are not a good thing in the credit realm, and this is certainly an understatement. However, most consumers do not understand the vast consequences of these entries. At least thirty percent (30%) of your credit score is attributed to the timeliness of your payments. If you plan to apply for any type of credit in the future, these late payments can mean the difference between being approved or denied the credit.
The first thing you can try in order to remove late payments from your credit report is to contact the creditor directly and ask that it remove the late payments. This is often successful, however, if you habitually make late payments, it may be less likely.
If your creditor is unwilling to remove the late payments, you should contact the credit reporting agency by mail and request that they remove the late payments. Your letter should include copies of any supporting documentation that you have which corroborates your claim. You should always retain copies of any correspondence to or from the credit reporting agency. The credit reporting bureau has 30 days to verify your claim. If it cannot verify your claim within 30 days, it must remove the late payment from your credit report.
Of course, it is always easier to try to stop the situation from occurring in the first place. If you know you will be late paying a bill, contact the creditor and explain the situation to them. Many times creditors will work with you to agree on a payment plan.
Did you know that late payments can be shown on your credit report for up to seven years? It’s true! This, of course, can severely damage your credit score and can cause you to be denied credit. Try to avoid late payments on your credit report by working with your creditor if you feel you will be late. You will be happy you did!
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