One negative on Equifax

[sparkyg]

I was recently denied a credit card, so I took a look at a free credit report from Equifax. My report shows one negative account. It was my last mortgage which was paid off when I sold my house. The account shows "pays as agreed", but they show one late payment of >30 days. This happened because I had a buyer not show up to close on the sale of the house (which was set to happen before my next payment was due). Because they did not show up, I missed the due date. When this happened, I called the mortgage company and explained to them what happened and I sent two seperate payments to them when the next payment was due (one for the missed month and one for the current month). I sold the house a few months later, the loan was paid and closed and everything was fine - I thought. I have nothing in writing from the mortgage company that shows they agreed to take the payment on the next due date. Is there anything I can do to remove this.

Account Number: 685266XXXX Current Status: PAYS AS AGREED
Account Owner: Individual Account. High Credit: $87,400
Type of Account : Mortgage Credit Limit: $0
Term Duration: 30 Years Terms Frequency: Monthly (due every month)
Date Opened: 05/2001 Balance: $0
Date Reported: 04/2007 Amount Past Due: $0
Date of Last Payment: 03/2007 Actual Payment Amount: $0
Scheduled Payment Amount: $1,005 Date of Last Activity: 03/2007
Date Major Delinquency First Reported: Months Reviewed: 66
Creditor Classification: Activity Description: Paid and Closed
Charge Off Amount: $0 Deferred Payment Start Date:
Balloon Payment Amount: $0 Balloon Payment Date:
Date Closed: Type of Loan: Conventional RE Mortgage
Date of First Delinquency: N/A
Comments: Freddie Mac account
81-Month Payment HistoryYear Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2007 * * *
2006 * * * * * * * * * * * 30
2005 * * * * * * * * * * * *
2004 * * * * * * * * * * * *
2003 * * * * * * * * * * * *
2002 * * * * * * * * * * * *
2001 * * * * * * * *

[Lucky500]

Definately dispute! I don't know how you were denied with only one negative item on your credit, you might want to check your other 2 reports (transunion and Experian) but definately dispute this with the credit bureau, remember the burden to prove that you paid this late is on the CRA not you! always dispute in writing and send the dispute letter by certified mail

[sparkyg]

Thanks for the reply! I figured out that I missed a drop down menu when viewing the credit report. So, the "late" mortgage payment was not the only negative. I also have 3 accounts that have gone to a collection agency. They are all for medical services for small amounts (<$100) and two of them are obviously the same debt. I am certain I paid both of these to the medical provider after drawn out disputes with my insurance. When I verify and prove through the medical provider that I did pay them, what is my next step to get them removed?

And, would these items be enough to deny me a credit card? Off topic but....The reason I applied for a card in the first place is capital one raised my interest rate from 9% to 15% for no reason but "..due to current economic conditions..." and would not even negotiate. I have a 12k limit with a current balance of around 2.5k. After trying to negotiate, they claimed I made a payment one day late and raised my rate to the default rate of 24%. I have never made a late payment in the 10 years that I have had the card and then they pulled this. I was looking to transfer the balance immediately. I was shocked to find out I could not get a card. Now I have to pull together some cash over the next few weeks to just pay it off and give these vultures more interest in the process. Argh!

[sparkyg]

Should I dispute it even though I know I paid it late? I agree that it was paid late, but they verbally agreed that it would be ok to pay it as I did because of the situation. They reported it as late even though we had an agreement. Would a goodwill letter like described in the "Basic Step by Step Beginner's Guide to Credit Repair" work?

"For any late payments that you want to remove on an otherwise good standing account, you will want to send out a Goodwill letter. This is just basically a letter in which you explain your situation as to why you were late (hopefully a GOOD reason) and beg forgiveness.........promising that you are back on your feet and will not let it happen again. These can and do work. Some people have even had to send more than one to finally find a sympathetic ear. Some have even had to send the letter to an upper management person (CEO, Pres, etc). Be persistent."

[CreditCrisis]

I don’t think I ever received a reply to my post about this, but here it goes again:

I have drastically improved my Transunion and Equifax scores/reports, but of course can’t seem to get Experian to budge. Is this such a bad thing? If I have really high TU and EQ would those kind of cancel out the Experian score? Do mortgage companies looks more at one score than the other?

So I plan to just get TU and EQ as high as possible hoping that they will cancel out or at least teader the overall average.

I really want to buy a house asap and am getting close, but not with Experian. Any advise on my plan?

[jjgross]

Originally Posted by CreditCrisis

I don’t think I ever received a reply to my post about this, but here it goes again:

I have drastically improved my Transunion and Equifax scores/reports, but of course can’t seem to get Experian to budge. Is this such a bad thing? If I have really high TU and EQ would those kind of cancel out the Experian score? Do mortgage companies looks more at one score than the other?

So I plan to just get TU and EQ as high as possible hoping that they will cancel out or at least teader the overall average.

I really want to buy a house asap and am getting close, but not with Experian. Any advise on my plan?

Some look at the middle score.some at the average of the 3.Depends on the lender!

[chane]

Originally Posted by CreditCrisis

I don’t think I ever received a reply to my post about this, but here it goes again:

I have drastically improved my Transunion and Equifax scores/reports, but of course can’t seem to get Experian to budge. Is this such a bad thing? If I have really high TU and EQ would those kind of cancel out the Experian score? Do mortgage companies looks more at one score than the other?

So I plan to just get TU and EQ as high as possible hoping that they will cancel out or at least teader the overall average.

I really want to buy a house asap and am getting close, but not with Experian. Any advise on my plan?

Yea, I think most mortgage lenders look at the middle score. What is your middle FICO score? It used to have to be above 620, I believe, to qualify for FHA. But, it's probably higher now. Ask a mortgage broker/banker.

[CreditCrisis]

Awesome. i dont know what their at right now, but they should be good. i have zero inquiries on both TU and EQ, zero public records and only 2 collections that are about 5 years old. nice.

thanks for the reply!

[Lamplitersniper]

Originally Posted by chane

Yea, I think most mortgage lenders look at the middle score. What is your middle FICO score? It used to have to be above 620, I believe, to qualify for FHA. But, it's probably higher now. Ask a mortgage broker/banker.

As of 2 weeks ago it is still 620 as my friend needed to move his up a few points to 620 to get approved.

[chane]

Originally Posted by Lamplitersniper

As of 2 weeks ago it is still 620 as my friend needed to move his up a few points to 620 to get approved.

That's good. I thought maybe they would raise it.

Most people are just happy to qualify, but the subprime rates you pay for having a 620 score are horrible.

Having an above average score will save you thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. That's why it's so important to do whatever it takes to get to 720+.