An accurate late payment can still come off your credit report if the lender that reported it agrees to remove it. If it’s your only late payment and the account is current, ask the lender in a short goodwill letter. Some lenders refuse, but a yes removes a mark that can stay seven years.
The letter goes to the lender, never the credit bureaus. The bureaus can only fix errors, which is why disputing an accurate late payment won’t take it off.
A dispute says an entry is wrong. A goodwill letter admits the entry is right and asks for mercy anyway, which only the lender that reported it can grant. Many lenders that refuse cite their duty under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to report accurately, and Freedom Mortgage, for one, says that duty keeps it from making goodwill adjustments at all.
Your odds are best when it’s your first and only late payment, the account is current, and you’ve held it for years. A clear reason that’s now behind you helps too, like a hospital stay or an autopay that broke when you switched banks.
Keep the letter to four or five sentences. Name the account and the month of the late payment, give the reason without arguing, and ask plainly for the removal. Mail it to the lender’s customer relations or executive office, where someone can approve an exception. Here’s a sample.
I’m writing about my credit card account ending in 4417, which you reported as 30 days late in March. I was in the hospital that month and missed the payment. It’s my only late payment in nine years as your customer, and I’ve paid on time every month since. I understand you reported it accurately, and I’m asking you to remove it from my credit reports as a goodwill adjustment. Thank you for considering my request.
A no costs you a stamp. A yes can take several billing cycles to show up, so pull your free credit reports after that and confirm the late payment is gone from every one that listed it.
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