How to Remove Late Payments From Your Credit Report

Keeping our credit reports clean is a primary way to have the most financial opportunities today. If you are trying to buy a house or get a loan, then having a messy credit report is the last thing you want. Missing payments is one of the most significant factors which affect your credit report. If you missed a decent amount of payments in the past, you might feel like you are in a  predicament. Luckily, you can remove late payments from your credit history and have them eliminated. 

Before you can get the late payments taken off, you should first evaluate a few things on your report. First, you should know how many late payments there are and how late they were. Typically, your bank will not add late payments on your report unless they were later than 30 days. Therefore, knowing how many late payments you have on your report will assist in having them removed and ensuring that none are left on. 

Call Your Lender

Once fully aware of your late payments, it is time to call your lender. Explain your situation and relate the payments, so they know what you mean. Do not get discouraged if they cannot remove the payments at first. They may not be able to take them off that easily, especially if they are not familiar with your record or payment history. Depending on how severe your late payments are, you may require speaking to the manager. With persistence and effort, your lender should be able to have your late payments removed from your credit report.

Goodwill Adjustment

If you have a relatively good financial record, this may be your best option. Goodwill Adjustments can be given from your creditor if they see that your credit record has been, for the most part, good. This means that if you only have a few late payments, they should be able to take them off with little effort. Of course, this may or may not work depending on your exact situation and creditor. Some creditors may be more specific with only having one or two minor late payments. Whether or not you feel you may apply, check with your lender to verify if this option will work for you. 

Sign Up For Automatic Payments

If the following options do not work, you may need to negotiate with your lender. For them to drop your late payment history, they need to trust that you will change your late habits. For them to have trust in you, they will require you to make some adjustments. One way to earn their confidence is by signing up for automatic payments. With automatic payments, your bank account will automatically be charged for a specific month. By doing this, your lender may be more hopeful about dropping your current late payments. 

Schedule an Appointment

If your credit report happens to be more complex and cannot be easily fixed, then you may need to schedule an appointment with your lender. First, they may want to analyze your credit report together and mention what areas are trickier to erase from their history. Then, your lender may offer a personalized suggestion list of ways to work towards having these late payments removed. 

Whether you have a handful or a few late payments, it is attainable to clear your credit report. By putting these steps in place, you can reach your goal of having a clean credit report.

Sources

-Greeley, Ryan (2022). How to Remove Late Payments From Your Credit Report. Better Crediting Blog. Retrieved from 

https://bettercreditblog.org/3-ways-to-get-a-late-payment-removed-from-your-credit-report/

-Pritchard, Justin (2022). How to Remove Late Payments From Your Credit Reports. The Balance. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/remove-credit-report-late-payments-4134208