Credit report help requested

[OwnedByFerrets]

Does anyone have any tips on the how to get ONE bad report removed from your score?
I've been with my card company for 23 yrs and never been late with a payment, but ONE bill got "forgotten" earlier this year and now our score is not in a good place.
Is there any chance they can be persuaded to remove this blemish from my report?
Btw, the bill is up to date and is not late as of today.
Thanks for any assistance.

[TwilightGardener]

1. Are you talking about your FICO score, or the credit bureau scores, or

the actual credit report? I don't think you can get it "removed" from your credit report, because it's not an error--if you didn't pay the bill and it got reported as such, then there's not much you can do there, except wait a few years (I think 7 years), or beg the credit card company to strike it. You might want to get a FICO score (you have to pay for that, I believe) which comes with an explanation of how they tally your score, to see if this one late payment is really hurting you, or if it's something else that is hurting your score.

[NYC_SKP]

2. You can ask them to remove the report, then you have to contact all three agencies.

Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax seem to keep old data no matter what happens on the other ends.

I had a collection removed by the collector and the debtor, but I still had to write to each of these three.

Assholes.

So, in your case, you need to try to convince your CC company that you're a good client and that you deserve for them to write a letter of dismissal of the late payment, and then send copies of that around to the Big Three.

You should take your business elsewhere if the CC company is not willing to comply.

:patriot:

[Statistical]

3. Depends on how much you are willing to "bend the rules".

You can only remove information from your credit report if it is a mistake.

First thing to do is check to see if you actually were 30+ days late. Due to billing cycles it is possible you weren't.

Example: Bill was sent on Jan 15th and due Feb 1. You miss it. Next bill comes Feb 15th. You go "oh crap" and send in check right away. check is cashed Feb 21st. You were 21 days late, not 30. By comparing bill due dates, payment dates, and bank statement if necessary establish if it is <30 days. If it is CALL THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY. Ask them to make a correction.

If it was 30+ days late there is nothing to make it go away. You can only dispute something if it is wrong. If you "forgot" about this missed payment and disputed it, then it might be removed. <wink>

Lastly double check your credit report. A single missed payment >6 months ago shouldn't affect your score more than 20 points. If you score is much lower than it likely is something else dragging it down. Too many inquiries, too much debt, recently closed accounts, etc.

[cbdo2007]

4. Sounds like in the original post that this person skipped the payment altogether.

They mention they "forgot" about it which makes me think it got lost in a move or something? Maybe they can clear it up for us.

[OwnedByFerrets]

5. Wifey "thought" she had paid it. She hadnt.

CC company didnt notify us, of course. We only found out our error when there was a late charge on the next statement.

[cbdo2007]

6. Why would the CC company notify you that you were late?

They didn't know about the confusion between you and your wife. They aren't just going to send a letter out of the blue that says, "We see there has been a misunderstanding in your household as your wife told you she paid the bill but we have not received it yet. Just wanted to let you know that your payment is due in 4 days so you still have time to send it in."

Quit blaming the CC company here and own up to your accidentally missing a payment. That's the first step.

Then, call the CC company, apologize for your mistake and ask them if they would please remove it from your credit report, as you willingly paid the late charge and have been an otherwise good customer of theirs.

If that doesn't work, just wait it out for 6.5 more years until it disappears. Like others have said, missing this one payment is not hurting your credit score very much. If you are really having a prob with your credit SCORE itself, it is certainly due to some other problem on your credit report. Make sure you get that checked out with one of the companies to make sure nobody's stolen your identity or something.

[OwnedByFerrets]

8. You know, I started this post in the hopes of getting some real help.

Others did give some, which I appreciate. What I DONT FUCKING NEED is some know-it-all, look down their nose asshole putting words in my mouth and telling me I am blaming the CC company for our problem. Its people like you that make me use the phrase STFU so often. If the shoe fits, wear it. Don't bother replying, you are ignored.

[Statistical]

7. Make sure you were actually 30 days late.

As I described above it may be a mistake.

If you due date was Jan 15th they likely mailed you a statement on say Jan 1. You miss it.
You then get next statement on say 1 Feb. You send in payment and it clears 8 Feb.

You payment was due on Jan 15th but you paid 8 Feb. It is late but not 30 days late. If that is the case it shouldn't be on credit report. If you ended up paying 16 Feb or later then the negative is correct and you can't legally have it removed.