Posted on Saturday, 23rd January 2010 by admin
Mr. Credit Card -
I’ve got a specific issue that I’m hoping you can help me with. I’m lucky in that I have the means to pay my bills, but because of the nature of my career (and my own disorganization) I was plagued with many “30 day late” negative credit reports. Over the last 2 years I’ve changed my ways (setting up auto bill pay has been a god-send) and boosted my credit score from ~600 to 707. Until today.
I just pulled my monthly report today and saw that there was a 30-day late posting from Nordstrom. Nordstrom was the one account (I barely use it) that I could not successfully get set up on my bank’s bill pay. I manually paid this $129 bill On Dec 16, but thought I had made it within the window, but after looking today I see that it was actually 37 days past the first statement due date.
So, today when I pulled my weekly Experian report, my score had plunged from 707 to 658. I am relocating for work and buying a home next month, and as you know, 700 is the threshold for good mortgage rates vs. not so good. This is my fault, and I accept that, but this $129 bill and the seven days too late will cost me thousands in the additional interest I’ll pay from a higher mortgage rate. I don’t have leverage (I have no balance on this card or any other). Do you have any suggestions on how I might get reporting to go away?
Thanks -
Mr. Ken Sandifer
Answer – Ken, this is quite a difficult situation in that the negative item was correct and accurate unless for some reason it was reported inaccurately. If that is the case, you could “technically” dispute it, though the credit card issuer could then report the correct facts. My suggestion would be to call the credit card company and speak to a supervisor and explain the reason you were late. Chances are that they will not do anything but I guess it never hurts to ask. I once discovered I was late for 2 months on my Merrill Lynch credit card because they stopped autopayment just after I enrolled. But for that, I obviously have a valid reason (aside from forgetting).
Also, when you are speaking to your mortgage broker or banker, explain the situation to him. Not too sure that will help much but it may. Also, check your other credit scores, your credit card issuer may not have reported to all three bureaus.
Good Luck.
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