How Long Do Late Payments Stay On Credit Report?
Even a single late payment can stay on your credit report for years!
To determine the creditworthiness of a borrower, a lender always does detailed credit checks. No one in this world is generous enough to simply lend a couple thousand dollars to a stranger without guaranteeing how the money will be returned.
People want different kinds of loans to finance their needs; they need student loans to send a kid off to college, or mortgages to have a permanent house to live in, or personal loans to pay off debts to fund a wedding. And when they go ahead asking for loans, they are often rejected on the basis of their credit rating.
Credit Scores
Credit scores are a numeric rating that is given to people to measure their creditworthiness. Higher the credit score, higher the chance of you acquiring the loan. A high credit score tells the lender that the borrower is prompt in paying back all due payment- and this is a big relief for a personal lending out money.
Importance of a High Credit Score
There are a few motivations to pursue a high FICO rating, and every one of them include saving money:
Score lower rates on auto loans: Unless you have enough money to purchase a vehicle outright, you’ll probably need to get an automobile advance. Having a good credit score can help you secure a loan with the best possible terms. Customers with the most noteworthy credit scores meet all requirements for a normal loan cost of 4.2% on another car, contrasted and 14.97% for individuals with the least FICO ratings, as indicated by Experian information.
Get credit cards with great rewards: You can fit the bill for a credit card with pretty much any sort of credit. Yet, the best credit cards regarding prizes and advantages commonly expect great to outstanding credit scores.
Qualify for the lowest rate on a mortgage: Given the measure of cash included, your home loan is the credit you’ll need to get the least financing cost conceivable on. It merits placing in the additional work to search around and arrange, as even a little rate increment can cost you a huge number of dollars over the life of your mortgage. Preparing your credit for a home loan is a basic advance in the home buying cycle.
Negotiate lower interest rates on your credit cards: If you totally take care of your credit card balance every month, your credit APR is insignificant. Yut if you’re carrying a balance, having a great credit score could help your negotiations with your lender to lower your interest rate. Getting a lower interest rate could spare you a great deal of cash.
Improved insurance rates: If you’re looking for mortgage holders or accident coverage rates, having an incredible FICO rating may assist you with fitting the bill for a lower month to month premium- except in certain states where the practice is banned.
Refinance your loans to save money: If you’ve improved your FICO rating since you opened one of your credit accounts, you might have the option to renegotiate it at a lower rate and save cash.
| FICO Score | Rating | Description |
| <580 | Poor | People with scores in this range are considered at high risk of delinquency. |
| 580 – 669 | Fair | People with scores in this range may have a hard time getting credit. If approved, they’ll typically pay a higher interest rate than those with better credit. |
| 670 – 739 | Good | People with scores in this range are considered acceptable, but they may not receive interest rates as low as those with scores in the higher ranges. |
| 740 – 799 | Very Good | People with scores in this range are likely to have their credit requests approved and be offered lower interest rates. |
| 800+ | Exceptional | People with scores in this range usually have no problem getting credit. |
How long do Late Payments stay on the Credit Report?
It is important for a person to be prompt in paying back whatever amount is due each month, because a late payment stays for seven years on a credit report- and that is a LONG time. Consider this late payment factor as a major stain on your credit report (or your reputation).
These seven years mean that for a long time lenders will consider you as someone who is irresponsible in paying back what they owe. So for seven whole years you will have the hardest time finding loans, or even if you do, they will be on a very high interest rate.
How to remove Late Payments from a Credit Report?
Now that you have a consistent income and your financial situation is also stable, you would want the ‘late payment stain’ off your credit report to score better loans on a reasonable interest rate too.
If you have late payments on your credit report, here’s how you can remove them for future ease.
Goodwill Request
The first thing that you can do is request a goodwill adjustment from your creditor. If you have maintained good rapport with your credit via prompt payments, you can take your shot by requesting your creditor. The process involves writing the creditor a letter explaining your situation (why you were late) and asking that they “forgive” the late payment and adjust your credit report accordingly.
Automatic Payments
Often late payments are made due to the borrower forgetting to pay. You can get ahead of this by negotiating with your creditor to remove late payments in exchange for automatic payments. This is a good offer to negotiate with your creditor; this way you won’t have to remember when to pay and your creditor will also have some sort of solid guarantee that a particular date of each month the payment will be paid.
File for Dispute
If there are any inaccuracies on your credit report for late payments, you are at the liberty to file for dispute. Mostly creditors are mistaken and enter wrong information like dates or amounts which could really affect a borrower’s rates. The best thing to do is file for a dispute in order to have the late payment element removed from your credit report.
How to remove Late Payments from Credit Report: Sample Letter
If you want to write a sample letter to have a late payment removed from your credit report, the best way to do so i write an email by including all the relevant information: name, address, date etc. and then draft an email.
This is a sample template as given that you can use:
[Today’s Date]
[Creditor Name or name of the credit reporting agency
Credit reporting agency/creditor’s address
Credit reporting agency / creditor’s City, State, ZIP]
Dear [Creditor name or name of credit reporting agency]
Dear Sir or Madam:
This letter is in reference to a paid collection with the account number [account number].
In [year] a collection for the amount of [amount] was sent to your agency due to [provide personal information and details].
While I normally make every effort to pay my debts and fulfill my responsibilities, in this instance I was, unfortunately, unable to do so. I have since gotten back on my feet and paid this debt to your agency.
I am writing today because I am now trying to [insert reason, examples: “buy a house,” “establish a credit card,” “access an auto loan,” etc.)]
I am having difficulties [repeat example and further clarify] due to having a collection on my account.
Given the date and amount of this collection, I am kindly requesting your agency consider removing this collection from my credit report as a gesture of goodwill.
Doing so would sincerely be appreciated and represent an invaluable gift to my family and me.
Thank you so much,
[Your Name
Your Address
Your City, STATE ZIP]
This is a ready-made sample letter where you can fill in your own details and send to your creditor. You can add in whatever important information you feel like, but make sure it is accurate, relevant and precise to have a profound impact on the creditor.
Do Late Payments on Closed Accounts affect Credit Score?
Late payments on closed accounts do hurt your credit score (as much as they would on open accounts). This is the same for credit cards or installment loans. 30 days late will hurt for one year, 60 day late for three years, and 90+ day late for seven years.
Credit Score Recovery after Late Payment
The situation is clear: even a single late payment will affect your credit score. So how do you recover from a bad credit score? There are ways to improve your credit score.
Even if you’re not a high-risk borrower on your own fault, there are chances that you default on the loan because of higher interest rates. Here’s how you can avoid getting to that stage of default:
- Budget your income to include the potential loan payment.
- Check your credit score and fix errors in your credit history.
- Make timely payments each month to improve your credit rating.
- Shop around for alternative lenders.
- Consider asking someone with strong credit and income to cosign on the loan.
- Set a reminder at least 3-4 days prior to the due date so that you don’t forget paying, and if you’re short of money, you have time to ask from your friends or family.
Conclusion
Having an excellent credit score comes with all sorts of benefits and necessities; it won’t only help you with getting bigger loans on a low interest rate, but also credit score motivated transactions like insurance will be given to you on a low monthly premium rate.
The general credit score rating is 300-850, and the highest a person can get is 850 and the lowest is 300, of course. There are only a handful of people who have achieved a perfect credit score of 850, thus it is obvious that this score is achievable. But, you don’t need to work your way up to a perfect high score.
Moreover, you can also try using a very less credit limit. People with the best credit scores have a habit of using less than 7% of their credit limit. Even a very small effort can help you in improving your credit score to a reasonable amount- and you can enjoy all the benefits too.
What is most important in this situation is to make sure that you make prompt payments because a late payment or default stays for seven years on your credit report, which is a long time and a strong enough reason to reject you all the good loans on low interest rates.
