How much damage does a single late payment of $12 make?

[Anonymous]

Hey Everyone,

I have a 720+ credit score with a paid off car loan, 7 active credit cards, and two inactive credit cards.  All are in good standing except for one active credit card.

I had a store card that had a 30 day late payment of $12 in 2010. I have since upgraded it from a store card to a credit card, have had several increases, and have used it monthly for about 2 years without any late payments. I read online that I could ask them for a goodwill adjustment, which I wrote and sent out in the fall, but they mailed me back saying they wouldn't change it because the information was correct.  I looked at my Experion report and they said that the account will go to a positive status in Oct 2017.

Should I try again to do another goodwill adjustment? Should I dispute it? Should I dispute it with the credit bureaus or ask them for a goodwill adjustment? Is this even worth trying to fix? 

Thanks in advance for your response. 

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hey Everyone,

I have a 720+ credit score with a paid off car loan, 7 active credit cards, and two inactive credit cards.  All are in good standing except for one active credit card.

I had a store card that had a 30 day late payment of $12 in 2010. I have since upgraded it from a store card to a credit card, have had several increases, and have used it monthly for about 2 years without any late payments. I read online that I could ask them for a goodwill adjustment, which I wrote and sent out in the fall, but they mailed me back saying they wouldn't change it because the information was correct.  I looked at my Experion report and they said that the account will go to a positive status in Oct 2017.

Should I try again to do another goodwill adjustment? Should I dispute it? Should I dispute it with the credit bureaus or ask them for a goodwill adjustment? Is this even worth trying to fix? 

Thanks in advance for your responses. 

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Hello and welcome.

Even a single 30 day late can have a dramatic impact on scores but after five years it's effects are very small if anything at all.

There 's nothing wrong with further attempts at a GW deletion but as long as this is your only negative I would not be that concerned.

Also there is nothing to dispute if it's a valid item in your profile.

ETA: The amount of the missed payment doesn't matter. All scoring looks at is the late payment itself.

[takeshi74]

This.  Do whatever takes to avoid derogs.  Discipline yourself.  If you can't then schedule automatic payments for at least the minimums to ensure that your accounts are kept current.

This is precisely why the first piece of advice to anyone looking to rebuild is "address your derogs".  These are significant red flags to creditors for hopefully obvious reasons.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Should I try again to do another goodwill adjustment? Should I dispute it? Should I dispute it with the credit bureaus or ask them for a goodwill adjustment? Is this even worth trying to fix? 

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Goodwill is your only option and the creditor is under no obligation to comply since the information is valid.  You have no basis for dispute.  Again, best practice is to avoid derogs in the first place.