My goodness! My score lowered 37 points!

[KarimaKC]

I just received a text from MYFICO that alerted me that my FICO score (Equifax) dropped 37 points.  When I went on the site to see EXACTLY what happened, it said that one of my revolving accounts had a 30 day late.  Now, I just talked to this particular company last week and made a payment, and worked out a payment plan with them (my husband just got laid off, and frankly, we are trying to keep food on the table right now, but we have been making arrangements with ALL affiliated creditors to make sure that we are not falling behind), and I asked them if I was in good standing with them, to which they replied that I my account was fine.  So I am very surprised to now find out that I have a 30 day late with them, and that my credit score took such a serious hit.  What can I do at this point?  I will pay this account off within the next month, but how long might it take me to recover from this incident?

[Chopbrocoli]

Yes your right, your account is in good standing..but unfortunately that does not stop them from reporting accurate information to the CRA's. If this is your first late payment, I am suprised they did not give you a 2nd chance like most banks. If I were you, I would fire off a GW letter to the creditor to see if they will remove it. Good luck and cheers!

[KarimaKC]

Okay, thanks.... what is the thread for GW letters?  Also, if I pay this account in full, and time passes, will I be able to redeem my score?  I was really proud that my credit score was improving, and that we have been able to maintain good standing with all ofour creditors.  I just want to be able to refinance, but a car, or have the choice to make other purchases in the next year or two without this horrible taint.  Ugh!

[Chopbrocoli]

Here is a link where you can find an example of a GW Letter: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&message.id=2661

And yes you will definitely redeem your score if you were to pay down the debt and have good consecutive payment history. If you have an overall (all your accounts combined) high debt to credit ratio, I would recommend paying all those down to a 9% utilization. If you can do that, I am pretty positive you should get at least 40 points in jump. In about a year, you should have recovered at least half  or more of what you lost. And in 2 years, you will be in excellent shape!

[fishbjc]

I lost 30 due to a 30 day late but recovered most the next month when it updated as paid.  I think it was 22 or so.