Most consumers don’t realize that just one missed payment can absolutely ruin their credit scores. According to FICO, the company that devised the credit scoring model that all three of the major credit bureaus use, just one 30-day late payment can drop your credit score up to 110 points.

What One Late Payment Can Mean

If your score was a 780, you’d have an “excellent” rating. You’d more than likely be approved for every loan or credit card you applied for. Not only that, but you’d get the best interest rates available too.

Miss a payment and you drop that score to a 670. Even if you’re approved, and that’s a big if, you’ll be paying the highest interest rates in the industry. Because of one missed payment you could be paying hundreds of dollars more each month to keep up with your debts.

How Difficult is Removing Late Payments?

This depends on several factors. Consider these questions:

• Were you actually late? – Be honest. You’re going to need to back yourself up with proof if you believe that the lender actually made the mistake
  
  
• How often are you late? – Was this one minor slip up or are you the type of person that never pays on time? If you’re always delinquent it’s not going to be as easy.
  
  
• How late are you? – Is this a 30-day late payment or a 120-day late payment? Obviously removing a 30-day sounds reasonable, but 120-day late means that you also have a 30-day, 60-day & 90-day blemish on your credit reports.
  
  
• How long have you been with your lender? – Did you make this late payment in the first couple of months, or is this your first late payment in 8 years? Lenders are more willing to work with you if you’ve been reliable over a long period of time.

How to Remove a Late Payment

If your credit report lists a late payment that you think is questionable or just plain wrong, you have the right to dispute it with the credit bureaus. You need to send a dispute letter to each credit bureau that you think is reporting it incorrectly. They have 30 days to investigate your claim and get back to you with their findings.

If the credit bureaus verify this information, or you know from the start that the late payment is accurate, don’t get discouraged, there’s still other ways to have late payments removed from a credit report. You can try dealing with the creditors directly. Let them know that you’ve been with them for some time and this was really just a lapse in judgment. While there’s no guarantee that they’re stop reporting the late payment, often they’ll do it to keep you as a valued customer.

If you’re still having a hard time, or just want a free credit repair consultation and a breakdown of your credit reports, contact My Credit Group today for the advice you’re looking for.

So how can you get started?

Give us a call toll free at: 1-800-430-7494 to speak to a certified credit expert. Or click the big orange button below and a credit coach will call you back shortly.