Late payment reported by mistake? How to dispute it

A late payment you did not actually make late can be disputed. The strongest dispute shows the payment was on time. If the late payment is accurate, a dispute is not the tool, and this guide says what the law does and does not give you.

First, confirm it is wrong

Find the late mark on the payment history grid. Note the account, the month, and how late the report says it was: 30, 60, 90, or more days. Then check your records for that month.

• Bank or card statements showing the payment cleared.
• A payment confirmation email or screenshot.
• A letter from the lender saying a payment was misapplied or a fee was charged in error.

If your records show you paid late, the mark is accurate. If they show you paid on time, you have an error.

Why errors happen

• The lender posted a payment late.
• A payment went to the wrong account, or the autopay failed through no fault of yours.
• The lender sold or transferred the loan and the new servicer reported a late payment that was caused by the transfer.
• A late mark was reported for a month you were in a hardship plan that said payments were not late.

How to dispute

1. Dispute with each bureau that shows the late mark. Say which account, which month, and that the payment was made on time.
2. Attach your proof.
3. Also dispute directly with the lender, which is the source of the information. See how to dispute directly with the creditor.
4. Keep your confirmation numbers and mail receipts.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a furnisher must not report information it knows or has reason to know is inaccurate, and it must correct and update information it finds to be wrong.

If the late payment is accurate

A dispute generally will not remove an accurate late payment. It comes off when its reporting period ends, which is seven years from the date of the delinquency. See how long negative items stay.

A lender may choose, at its own discretion, to adjust an accurate late mark. The law does not require it. If you ask, be honest about what happened, and expect that the answer may be no.

After the correction

Pull a fresh report after the bureau’s results arrive and check that the payment grid changed. If the lender corrected the mark, ask that it notify all the bureaus it reports to.

Sources

• Cornell LII: 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 (responsibilities of furnishers)
• Cornell LII: 15 U.S.C. 1681i (procedure in case of disputed accuracy)
• FTC: disputing errors on your credit reports

Next steps

• How to dispute a credit report error: the complete process

  The full process for disputing a credit report error yourself: get reports, mark errors, gather proof, file with each bureau, track 30 days, read the result.

• How to dispute directly with the creditor or collector

  You can dispute credit report errors directly with the creditor or collector that reported them. Where to send it, what to include, and what they must do.

• How long negative items stay on your credit report

  FCRA section 605 limits: most negative items stay seven years, bankruptcy up to ten. What starts the clock, what the exceptions are, and what bureaus add.