How to Get a Late Payment Fixed on a Credit Report
The Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit bureaus maintain credit records about your financial activity, and they are known to make mistakes. Bob Sullivan of the MSNBC Red Tape Chronicles states that anywhere from 16 percent to 25 percent of credit reports may be inaccurate. Incorrectly reported late payments hurt you because you look like you are not financially responsible, and lenders might deny your applications. The Federal Trade Commission explains that you have the legal ability to get incorrectly reported late payments fixed on all of your credit reports.
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Instructions
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Review all of your credit reports to see whether the late payment is being reported by all three credit bureaus. They do not coordinate their records, so one may make a mistake while the information on that same account is accurate on the other reports. The FTC advises getting report copies from Annual Credit Report, which provides free reports yearly under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The credit bureaus charge a fee if you order reports directly from them.
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Make copies of proof that the late payment information is false. Use canceled checks, old statements, receipts or anything else that shows the actual payment date and proves the account was in good standing at that time. You need one copy for each bureau that is reporting the information incorrectly.
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Write each credit bureau a letter explaining that you are disputing the late payments and enclosing proof of your position. State that you want the information corrected or removed from your report. The FTC recommends sending these letters, along with the enclosed evidence, through certified mail and asking for a delivery receipt.
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Monitor your mail for the credit bureau responses, which should arrive shortly after the 30-day investigation period allowed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The bureaus must contact the account holders in question during that time and make them validate the information on your report. It is fixed or erased if they fail to validate it or do not respond at all. The FTC explains that the credit bureaus will tell you what action they took and give you corrected credit report copies.
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Tips & Warnings
Lenders report and update information continually, so a disputed item can appear on your reports again or a new mistake can happen. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse recommends ordering one free credit report from a different credit bureau every four months to cover an entire year of checking for inaccuracies. This also lets you spot identity theft early if you find accounts you did not open yourself.
