How to Remove Inaccurate Late Payments From Your Credit Report

Learning from late mistakes

Making consistent, on-time bill payments is a great way to keep your credit score sky-high. That’s why regularly checking your credit report for errors is so important. If there is an incorrect late payment listed, your score will suffer. Here’s what you need to know about removing late payments from your credit report.

30 Days is the Mark. You want to keep 30 days in mind. That’s because late payments aren’t usually reported to the credit bureaus until they are more than 30 days overdue.

7 Years is a Long Time. If you do get a late payment reported to the bureaus, it can stay on your report for up to seven years. That’s a long time for your credit score to suffer, even though over time the impact of that late payment will decrease.
If it’s Right, It’s Over.

Unfortunately, you can’t remove an accurate late payment from your credit report. Keep that in mind if you happen to come across any companies that promise to make that happen. It’s a scam. The only way you can get a late payment removed from your report is if it is incorrect.

How to Report Incorrect Information

If you have an inaccurate late payment on your report, contact the credit bureau and inform them of the mistake. Once you report it, the bureau will look into it. If you were right about the inaccuracy, the late payment will be removed. Make sure you check all three credit bureaus for the information. If it’s on each report, you need to file with each bureau.

Chris O'Shea/SavvyMoney 2023