The fact that late payments report can remain on your credit history for up to 7 years is not exciting at all. Anyone that has ever had a late payment reported to their credit can attest to how much it can tank one’s score. Nonetheless, the good news is that there is a way you can improve your credit rating. With just a little time and effort you will delete your late payment report entirely.
You can either delete late payment on your credit report or update it to “never late.” Its pretty easy if you do it right, and you have a range of ways you can choose to do that. However, the method you can select is determined by your general credit history, relationship with your creditor, as well as the amount of money or time you’re willing to spend towards these efforts. That said, check out the following three ways on how to delete late payments from credit report.
Seek a goodwill adjustment
If you have a good payment history with your creditor or a loyal regular client, this is the best fit for you. In other words, requesting a goodwill adjustment means asking the creditor to delete the late payment entry as a gesture of goodwill because you’ve been a great customer. You accomplish this by explaining your situation to the lender or the credit card company through a letter. Include a personal story that will convey your sincere reasons for wanting to do so and also convince the customer service representative to lend you a helping hand. A high percentage of people successfully used this method since most creditors avoid the risk of losing your account as a result of minor late payment disagreements.
Offer yourself for Automatic Payments’ Sign Up
Some creditors may accept to remove your late payment report on condition that you sign up for automatic payment. In such cases, offering yourself to sign up for the service won’t hurt your creditworthiness. After all, it is a give-and-take scenario that is mutually beneficially. On the one hand, you have the negative item deleted from your credit report, in addition to the realism of not getting worried over when to pay your monthly bills, while on the other, your creditor receives the assurance of receiving timely payment each month. This deal is suitable when you’ve had challenges in making past payments. However, you stand in a better position to negotiate this plan if you can prove that you have the financial muscles to meet the commitment that comes with automatic payments. Similar to requesting a goodwill adjustment, this plan is also a good fit for establishing a long-term customer-client relationship.
Raise a dispute concerning the Late Payment with the Credit Bureau
Whenever the two options above fail to yield your desired results, don’t give up on your quest to have your late payment report removed. Just know that it’s the perfect time to dispute the item with the credit bureau. But before you do this, cross check your late payment credit report for any inconsistencies or inaccurate information.