How to Remove Late Payments From a credit Report

How to Remove Late Payments From a credit Report

Posted on January 27, 2023

Have you missed some credit payments? Have late payments noted on your credit report? Want them removed? What are your options? Can you request they are removed once you’re back on track? These are all questions our Glen Morris auto loan team have fielded over the past few months and we thought the subject of how to remove late payments from a credit report would make for an interesting blog post.

Removing late payments from a credit report

Can you remove late payments from your credit report? Possibly. If you don't know how to check your credit report, click here.

If you believe the late payment entry was reported in error, you can dispute it with the credit bureau and request it be removed. You can contact Equifax dispute resolution and TransUnion dispute resolution to request they investigate the error and put it right.

You’ll need to provide proof to back up your claim, such as bank statements showing the payment going out on time. If you don’t even have an account with the organization who made the entry, you will need to state that too.

You can also contact the organization directly and request they remove the note.

Late payments on your credit report

Source: Borrowell

If the late payment report is correct, you cannot have it removed until it times out.

In Canada, that’s up to six years.

Even if you bring all your payments up to date or settle the account, the late payment will still appear on your credit report.

It’s not personal. Late payments are an indication of how you handle credit and is something every lender wants to know. Whether it’s a Glen Morris auto loan or a credit card, every organization who provides credit needs to know what type of borrower you are.

If you just missed one or two payments but have an otherwise spotless payment history, those missed payments won’t be a big deal. Lenders don’t expect everyone to be perfect as long as the overall picture is a good one.

If you have multiple late or missed payments and it shows something of a pattern, lenders will be more hesitant to lend to you. Someone who missed payments is not a good borrower so lenders will either refuse an application or charge a higher rate of interest to cover any potential loss.

Again, it’s not personal. It’s just how the business works.

Managing credit

Missed payments can be a red flag to lenders, which is why we are so hot on automatic payments, payment reminders or calendars. Life is busy and we all have a lot on our plate. Juggling life and multiple debt payments can be too much sometimes and with the best will in the world, mistakes happen.

An occasional missed payment is nothing to worry about. We all make mistakes.

More frequent missed payments will work against you so should be avoided at all costs, especially if you’re planning for an auto loan anytime soon.

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