Counteract Late payments

[Anonymous]

Hey Forum,
Quick question, is there any way to counteract late payments? I had some late payments last year on my capital one auto and I have tried countless goodwill approaches. I have 5 credit cards and have never missed a payment. I believe that the car late payments are holding my scores down. I know that time will lesson the blow but was wondering if there are any other things that can be done. Thanks for your time

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hey Forum,
Quick question, is there any way to counteract late payments? I had some late payments last year on my capital one auto and I have tried countless goodwill approaches. I have 5 credit cards and have never missed a payment. I believe that the car late payments are holding my scores down. I know that time will lesson the blow but was wondering if there are any other things that can be done. Thanks for your time

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You could try goodwill letters for those late payments 

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/The-Saturation-Technique-Best-GW-adjustment-odds/td-p/4727098

[RobertEG]

You counteract late payments by paying any delinquency as soon as possible, thus limiting the overall period since initial delinquency.

Once you have a reported late, it is a factual event that can continue to be included in your prior payment history profile, and thus considered in your scoring, until it ultimately becomes excluded at approx 7 years from initial delinquency.

As time passes since the date you terminate the period of delinquency by paying the debt and converting the current status to a non-delinquency status (e.g., pays as agreed), the scoring impact diminishes.

[Anonymous]

The first thing would be to get current and stay current.

A good will letter is an option. Basically they will remove the late payment from your report as if it never happened. An increase in your score would be seen. Obviously, this is the most optimal.

What you can do on your part is continue to make on time monthly payments to your other creditors. With credit cards, keep each card's utilization below 8.9% as well as your overall utilization under 8.9%. Also keep an eye on your credit report for any possible mistakes as this can happen. Other than that... it's just time.

But, you're right, as the negatives age, the imapct will lessen.