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Late payments can happen to the best of us. A simple oversight, or oftentimes thinking you have submitted payment when you haven’t. Luckily, there are several ways to remove negative items from your credit reports.
If you are like most individuals, then 2020 has had a dramatic effect on your personal life which may include your personal credit taking a hard hit. Many people have found themselves unemployed, furloughed, or having hours reduced. The US Jobs Report from April 2020 indicated that as many as 20.6 million jobs were lost, resulting in an unemployment rate of 14.7%, a level not seen since the Great Depression era from the 30s.
Before the pandemic, the United States marked a 50-year unemployment low in February, with just 3.5% of Americans unemployed.
According to USA Today, of the 20.6 million jobs lost, 18 million are expected to be temporary when the pandemic recedes.
I’m sure that you were already working on improving your credit score before Corona roared her ugly head… then it happened, a late payment.
Don’t despair, it is not the end of the world.
Below are four simple ways to get late payments removed from your credit report. Keeping in mind that you were in fact late with your payment, thus we will use a softer touch, a little finessing in asking the creditor to do you a favor.
1. Dispute The Entry
In accordance with federal law, credit bureaus must delete any negative information on your report if it cannot be verified by the creditor. You can simply file a dispute and hope that the creditor doesn’t verify the information in accordance with the law. If it can not be verified, it must be removed.
The creditor may not have the information on file and will simply delete it. This tactic is great on older accounts as they may have archived the information.
Do not get gangsta and go in and try to delete every single late payment using this method, it could work against you. Be selective in using this. Consider using it for one or two items. That is it.
I would highly suggest that you take the time to send the dispute letter via USPS and not use the online portal.
2. Write A Goodwill Letter
What is a goodwill letter you ask, it’s just what it sounds like. I nice polite letter asking the creditor to do you a favor and remove the late payment as an act of goodwill. This works well, when you have an account in good standing and maybe you accidently overlooked the payment; forgot to mail it in, credit card expired on file etc.
Does this work? It won’t hurt. When writing the letter, remind the creditor of your longstanding relationship with them and your other ontime payments. Also provide an explanation as to why you were late. Often times there are circumstances beyond your immediate control. It won’t hurt to provide documentation of an illness and or job loss.
Nothing is guaranteed, but it won’t hurt to try. I would also include that you are working hard to ensure that your credit is in good standing with all creditors.
3. Pay For The Deletion
I would not recommend that you pay a fee just to have a late payment removed unless it is hindering you from your current credit goals.
Use this method on accounts that are in collection. Only agree to pay if they are willing to remove the derogatory information. You can normally negotiate the outstanding balance down to pennies and get the collection company to remove the derogatory info. It can be a win-win situation for you and the creditor.
Older accounts are more willing to play this game as they already know that the likelihood of collecting any money is slim to none.
Make sure you get everything in writing, upfront. Collection companies are notoriously grimey and will renege on you like an individual that doesn’t know how to bid their hand in spades.
4. Use A Credit Repair Company/ Service
The most simplistic way to have the late removed is to bite the bullet and hire a company to work on your behalf. That also includes using a company like Dispute Bee ~ where you are in control, but they provide the blueprint.
There are tons of credit repair companies/services that can help you to enhance your credit. Often times you will need to have them dispute erroneous information on your behalf and settle balances that may be outstanding.
The good is that it is a turn-key solution. The bad is that you have to pay for it, it isn’t free. I always recommend that you at least try it yourself first and if you don’t get any results within 90-120 days, then consider using a paid service.
Here are a few well known credit repair companies
- Lexington Law – This is a lawyer based firm and thus they know the law as it applies to the FCRA.
- Credit People – You get unlimited disputes and it’s affordable for most people
- Credit Repair You can use them to monitor your credit
- Identity IQ– 3 Bureau Daily Monitoring & Alerts is just part of their comprehensive batch of services.
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