How Can I Remove Late Payments From My Credit Report?

For many people it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet all of their financial obligations. Each month that a consumer is late on a bill, the creditor reports this information to the credit reporting agencies. The credit reporting agencies then take this information and include it on your credit report. When a lender requests a copy of your credit report, all of your late payment entries will be reported for the lender to view.

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. Most creditors however will not report a late payment until it is actually 30 days past the due date. But, if your payment is past the due date, you will probably find yourself with a hefty late payment penalty.

To begin the process of removing late penalties from your credit report, you will need to request a copy of your credit report. This is easily done by getting in touch with one of the three major credit reporting agencies – TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. You have the right to obtain one free copy of your credit report from these credit reporting agencies every twelve months.

Although the same kinds of information are reported on credit reports, the layout may be somewhat different. As you review your credit report, it should be fairly simple to determine how the credit reporting agency has reported late payments. In addition, the number of late payments you have made within a specific time period should also be shown on your credit report.

Although consumers understand that making late payments is not a good thing, they normally don’t understand the far-reaching consequences. Payment punctuality can count for over 30% of your total credit score. Because of this, late payments can severely affect credit applications which you submit to a lender.

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.

If at all possible, it is smart to keep this from happening in the first place. If you know you will be unable to make a payment on time, make a call to your creditor and explain your situation. It is often the case that creditors are more than happy to help you out by arranging 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!

I Freed Myself from the NCO Collection Agency. See How I Did it at www.myncodebt.com