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Dear Dr. Dot-Connector,
I was wondering if you would know whether or not creditors will forgive old late payments. Have you ever tried contacting a credit card company you may have sent a late payment to a while back, but it was one isolated incident? Okay, maybe two, lol.
Sincerely, Credit Conscious
Credit Conscious,
As a rule, it’s always worth asking for what you want. You may or may not get it, but it’s always worth asking. Most credit card companies will forgive at least your first late payment. It usually just takes a call to an account representative. They may ask you the reason for the late payment, and they may not.
If you get them to do that for you, you should also make sure the change is reflected on your credit report. Credit reporting agencies (Experian, Transunion, and Equifax) will correct any errors in your credit profile. They all have hoops to jump through to get that done, but it’s not hard and some of it can even be done online. They go directly to the institution to verify your claim before they make any changes though, so talk to your credit card company first, and get them to fix your payment history before you go through the appeals process with the credit reporting agencies. It may seem tedious, but a few points on your credit rating can make a huge difference when it comes to credit worthiness and interest rates.
Let me know if you get stuck anywhere in the process and I’ll help you.
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