How bad is the damage...

[Anonymous]

So this morning to my great surprise I got a call from a collections agency in behalf of Macy's. I had no idea what they were referring too, since according to my records my accounts were setup for minimum payments and everything was up to date.

However, I had neglected checking this account with a recent death in my close family... I follow my accounting software more than checking each account every month... something that I will no longer do after this experience.

It turns out my account was three payments behind. I immediately payed off the balance and called. Of course since the payment is still processing they cannot discuss the account yet, so I need to wait. I have had so many issues regarding this credit card it makes me sick.

I have called to cancel credit protection a million times, yet it remains on my account. I recently got a letter apologizing from Macy's saying I will get a credit next January. I also have issues using their website to make payments, which they recently changed completely. I can't even check the balance without getting "processing error" printed out 9/10 times I try.

My credit score is usually between 750 and 780. I have never had this happen before. How bad of an impact am I going to see? Is there anything I can do about it? I read I can send dispute letters to the credit agencies and that may help?

Thanks for you help

[Thomas_Thumb]

Work directly with Macy's - not the collection agency on the issue.

Suggest holding off on canceling credit protection until after seeing what they can/will do regarding lates. You should draft a letter describing what happened and request to talk with a manager about your account.

Being 3 payments behind gives you a 90 day late which likely drops your score 100 points. If you can't get all the lates removed, perhaps you can get what they report reduced to show only one 30 day late.

Good luck.

[1768geme]

Sorry to tell you this could cost you 100 or more points Try to get Macys to delete it

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your replies...

Figures. Over 10 years of pristine history with many many cards and one mishap costs me 100 points that iwll likely impact me for 7 years?! Im about to graduate, look for a car or mortgage... and this happens.

Wonderful... just... wonderful...

[Thomas_Thumb]

Exerpt from credit.com article and associated link.

https://www.credit.com/credit-reports/late-payment-secrets-revealed/

Because scoring systems are so focused on predicting whether or not you’ll go at least 90 days late, surprisingly, 30 or 60 day late payments that occurred long ago are actually not that damaging to your credit scores as long as it is an isolated incident. It’s when your accounts are recently reported 30 or 60 days past due on your credit reports that your credit scores plummet temporarily.

If 30 or 60 day late payments are an infrequent occurrence, they shouldn’t cause lasting damage to your credit score unless they are recent (last two years or so) or 30 or 60 day late payments on a regular basis. In this case, the fact that you are habitually late with your payments will cause long term damage to your credit scores.

It’s a whole new ballgame once you have a 90 day late payment, however. If you have been over 90 days late (even just once), the credit scoring models consider you much more likely to do it again.

One 90 day late payment will damage your credit for up to seven years. From a scoring perspective, a single 90 day late payment is as damaging to your credit scores as a tax lien, a collection, a judgment or repossession. Being 90 days late causes you to be viewed as a possible “repeat offender” and a higher risk to creditors. Here’s a summary of how late payments impact your credit scores:

• 30 days late – This record will damage your credit scores most when it is recent. The exception is if you are 30 days late often. Otherwise, a single 30-day late payment should not cause lasting damage.
• 60 days late – Similarly, recent 60 day late payments cause the most damage. Again, the exception is if you are 60 days late often which will certainly hurt your scores. Otherwise, one late payment should not cause long term damage.
• 90 days late – This record will damage your credit scores significantly for up to 7 years. It doesn’t make a difference whether or not your account is currently 90 days late. Remember, the goal of the scoring model is to predict whether or not you will pay 90 days late or later on any credit obligation. By showing that you have already done so means that you are more likely to do it again compared to someone who has never been 90 days late. As such, your credit scores will drop.
• 120+ days late – Late payment reporting beyond the initial 90 day missed payment does not cause additional credit score damage directly. However, there is an indirect impact to your scores. At this point, your debt is usually “charged off” or sold to a 3rd party collection agency. Both of these occurrences are reported on your credit files and will lower your credit scores further.

[Anonymous]

Expect to see at least a 150 point decrease. Yeah, try explaining that mishap to Macy's and hopefully they will be sympathetic/empathetic and delete it. Good !!

[Anonymous]

With scores that high, there is a long way down when credit mishaps happen. Wouldn't be suprised if it were a 50-100 point loss for 3 late payments in a row.