| This is a frequently asked question. With tough times | | | | Though, consumers understand that making payments |
| upon us, more and more people are finding it difficult to | | | | late is not a good thing, they normally don't understand |
| get their bills paid on time. This, in turn, means that | | | | the far-reaching consequences. Payment punctuality |
| these same people are reported to the credit reporting | | | | can count for over 30% of your total credit score. |
| agencies as late and the late payment is reported to | | | | Because of this, late payments can severely affect |
| lenders who request your credit report. | | | | credit applications which you submit to a lender. |
| A "late payment" as the term implies is any payment | | | | The first thing you can try in order to remove late |
| on a credit associated account which is received by | | | | payments from your credit report is to contact the |
| the creditor after the due date. The only thing that | | | | creditor directly and ask that it remove the overdue |
| matters is that the payment was late. It does not | | | | payments. This is often successful, however, if you |
| matter if the payment was one day late or thirty days | | | | habitually make late payments, it may be less likely. |
| late, it is still considered late. Additionally, you will be | | | | If contacting the creditor is unsuccessful, you should |
| charged a late payment penalty on any payment | | | | write the credit reporting bureau that reports the |
| made after the due date and these are normally | | | | overdue payment and request that the late notation be |
| pretty stiff penalties. | | | | removed. You should include documentation which |
| To remove overdue payments from your credit report, | | | | proves your claim and be sure to retain copies of all |
| you will need to obtain a copy of your credit report. | | | | correspondence to and from the credit bureau. If the |
| You can do this by contacting one of the three credit | | | | credit bureau cannot verify within 30 days that the |
| reporting agencies, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. | | | | payment was late, it must remove the entry. |
| These companies are legally required to provide you | | | | Of course, it is always easier to try to stop the |
| with one copy of your credit report every twelve | | | | situation from occurring in the first place. If you know |
| months. | | | | you will be late paying a bill, contact the creditor and |
| Though the credit reports may vary slightly in their | | | | explain the situation to them. Many times creditors will |
| layout, they all contain the same types of information. | | | | work with you to agree on a payment plan. |
| You should be able to easily and quickly ascertain how | | | | Any legitimate late payment entry can remain on your |
| each credit report lists entries showing overdue | | | | credit report for up to seven years. Instead of letting |
| payments and should report the number of late | | | | this cause havoc with your credit score, work with |
| payments you have made over a given period of | | | | your creditors to keep the late payment from showing |
| years. | | | | up on your credit report. |