Good for you if you have just reviewed your credit report. If your credit report is reflecting one or two late payments then this has already done some damage to your credit score. This happens. You have skipped the payment by mistake and now it is causing frustration. Even when the impact of late payments will be a short term impact on your credit score. Your credit report will reflect late payments for seven years after the reported delinquency.
However, it is possible to remove delinquencies. If you have availed credit repair services in the past then you already know how can you get them removed. In case you don’t know, keep reading. In this article, you will learn how late payments can be removed from your credit report.
First of all, you need to find a credit repair specialist or one of the best-rated credit repair companies offering credit repair services to get your credit report reviewed. Now let’s remove late payments.
When it is because of mistake
In case delinquency is misreported due to a mistake or identity theft, you should negotiate with the creditor first. The creditor will correct the error and notify all the credit bureaus with your evidence. So, the creditor is the first person you should approach if it is a clerical mistake. You creditor will recognize it right away. The creditor might be able to fix the error without any documentation. However, in case the late payment is due to identity theft, getting it removed is a tedious process. You will need documents including:
- Identification
- Sworn affidavits
- Police reports
- And other documents related to the case
You can find Identify Theft Recovery Plan on the website of the Federal Trade Commission. In case the creditor is unable to cooperate due to some reason such as the creditor is out of business, you can send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus. You can also attach evidence or any other document with the letter. In case you have no idea what to do, you can avail credit repair services or call the credit bureau for help. Make sure that you are sending the dispute letter via certified mail. Your credit score will be improved in a few weeks once the mistake is fixed.
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Disputing a legitimate late payment
The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) provides you with the right to dispute late payment. Sometimes it is a legitimate late payment. Look for something wrong in the entry. For example, you can look for incorrect dates or misspelled words.
Focus on creditors that are out of business or the business is acquired by some other business. Find something questionable and attach the document with the dispute letter. You have to send the dispute letter to all the three credit bureaus. There are two ways you can send a dispute letter. You can dispute online or send an email. Identify the error and ask credit bureaus to remove it.
The item in the credit report will be marked as flagged. After investigating your claim within 30 days, the credit bureaus will notify you. If it is successful, the entry will be removed from your credit report and your credit score will be improved. However, success depends on the severity of the error. The success rate is not high.
It does not mean that you should not try. Otherwise, this is going to stay on the credit report for a full seven years. You might get it removed if you try.
You can dispute online as well. However, it is good to use a certified email. If you can’t get it removed on your own, take advantage of credit repair services.
