Help! Amex Reported a Late payment on Returned Autopay

[Anonymous]

Me: 21yo, student at ivy league school about to be destroyed because of stupid mistake, 680 credit score after the late payment.

AMEX reported a late payment on my Blue Cash Everyday® Card to the credit bureaus. I had a $100 balance on the card (which they already cancelled in March) and had autopay set up. However, the autopay showed a returned payment. In 30-40 days, I saw this and paid off the entire card. They reported 30 days late payment on January 20th and I am just now seeing that.

I read that I have to "send a goodwill letter" or call the "executive office" but what address should I send it to and what number exactly should I call--can't seem to find that info? Or, should I call the bureaus?

Also, should I say? I was told that returned payments don't get recorded, but this was probably my 5th returned payment so it's not like it wouldn't be justified. In the past they didn't report returned items. I just paid a $30 fee due to my incompetence + the amount outstanding from last month. The whole reason the account was cancelled is that I missed a payment (although this was late by 2-3 days). I'm just super afraid now that I'm not going to be able to get any decent loans until I'm 28, or refinance my existing loans at a low rate.

[Anonymous]

I would actually say that the returned payments are why they shut it down, not the late payment. Lates are never good but the issuers are much, much more risk-averse with returned payments. Many will close your account for a single bounced payment even after years of perfect history, so I'm very surprised that you made it through five of them before closure.

So, damage control - goodwill letters are humble letters sent to anyone and everyone for whom you can find an address or email in the company. It's a contact sport and the more people you contact, the better your odds. I'll page @AllZero here as he has a bunch of templated links and I am hoping one of them is to the Goodwill Saturation mega-thread here on the forum.

Upside is that yes, you definitely took a shot to the face with what happened but as with any infraction, time heals all in the credit world. Bounced payments are not part of a credit report's calculated factors - you might see a reference in a comment but it's unlikely, it'll probably just say "account closed by credit grantor" although there may be a qualifier indicating it was closed as adverse action. The card is paid off, and I assume on your reports it says $0 balance, which means no further score-suppressing updates will happen and it'll age in recency and score effect. In a couple years it probably won't affect you terribly if you stay clean going forward.

Hopefully this will help you focus on your accounts more proactively though. It's a painful lesson but will work far better than someone just saying so. From here on forward, no lates, no bounced payments, no missed payments, ever. Not for any reason - payment history is the single biggest factor in scoring and is more important than anything else to prospective future creditors. Live and learn, roll with it, and move forward. We can help you plan your next moves if you'd like. Welcome to the forums and please feel free to ask away on anything

[AllZero]

@Anonymous  👍

I would recommend reading the below from BrutalBodyShots
The Saturation Technique: Best GW adjustment odds.

[Anonymous]

Lol thanks @AllZero , I knew you'd have my back on that

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would actually say that the returned payments are why they shut it down, not the late payment. Lates are never good but the issuers are much, much more risk-averse with returned payments. Many will close your account for a single bounced payment even after years of perfect history, so I'm very surprised that you made it through five of them before closure.

So, damage control - goodwill letters are humble letters sent to anyone and everyone for whom you can find an address or email in the company. It's a contact sport and the more people you contact, the better your odds. I'll page @AllZero here as he has a bunch of templated links and I am hoping one of them is to the Goodwill Saturation mega-thread here on the forum.

Upside is that yes, you definitely took a shot to the face with what happened but as with any infraction, time heals all in the credit world. Bounced payments are not part of a credit report's calculated factors - you might see a reference in a comment but it's unlikely, it'll probably just say "account closed by credit grantor" although there may be a qualifier indicating it was closed as adverse action. The card is paid off, and I assume on your reports it says $0 balance, which means no further score-suppressing updates will happen and it'll age in recency and score effect. In a couple years it probably won't affect you terribly if you stay clean going forward.

Hopefully this will help you focus on your accounts more proactively though. It's a painful lesson but will work far better than someone just saying so. From here on forward, no lates, no bounced payments, no missed payments, ever. Not for any reason - payment history is the single biggest factor in scoring and is more important than anything else to prospective future creditors. Live and learn, roll with it, and move forward. We can help you plan your next moves if you'd like. Welcome to the forums and please feel free to ask away on anything

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Thanks for the advice and the welcome. To clarify, the account was closed in March because of a late payment. All of the returned payments were after that.

[Anonymous]

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@AllZero wrote:

@Anonymous  👍

I would recommend reading the below from BrutalBodyShots
The Saturation Technique: Best GW adjustment odds.

---

Thanks for the great link! I just finished reading his OP and I understand that I should just be (e)mailing everyone rather than just one specific address.

Would you reccommend calling the AMEX Credit Bureau unit first before sending the "Round One" mails? If they take a while to respond to the phone call request it's definetly worth sending letters this monday no matter what. 

[Anonymous]

It won't hurt to try calling but the results are likely to not bear fruit based on anecdotal evidence posted here over the years. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Me: 21yo, student at ivy league school about to be destroyed because of stupid mistake, 680 credit score after the late payment.

AMEX reported a late payment on my Blue Cash Everyday® Card to the credit bureaus. I had a $100 balance on the card (which they already cancelled in March) and had autopay set up. However, the autopay showed a returned payment. In 30-40 days, I saw this and paid off the entire card. They reported 30 days late payment on January 20th and I am just now seeing that.

I read that I have to "send a goodwill letter" or call the "executive office" but what address should I send it to and what number exactly should I call--can't seem to find that info? Or, should I call the bureaus?

Also, should I say? I was told that returned payments don't get recorded, but this was probably my 5th returned payment so it's not like it wouldn't be justified. In the past they didn't report returned items. I just paid a $30 fee due to my incompetence + the amount outstanding from last month. The whole reason the account was cancelled is that I missed a payment (although this was late by 2-3 days). I'm just super afraid now that I'm not going to be able to get any decent loans until I'm 28, or refinance my existing loans at a low rate.

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Yeah, you got lucky they did nit clise the account on the 2nd returned payment, but allowed 5! If you cannot keep track of autopay or keep enough in that account to cover it, it may be best for you to just turn it off before your account gets totally shut down.

You can absolutely try the GW method, but they may see the retunred payment trend and not feel very forgiving. Perhaps they may still forgive you since it is your first actual late. You do have to basically take accountability, apologize, and explain how you are taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen again. They may also feel more likely to forgive if you have everything on the up and up for several months or a year.

Also, a 30d late does not crush your scores for 7 years. Since it is considered a more minor derogatory, it should fade in time, more like 2 years you should bounce back pretty good. Just don't rack up any more lates or more severe ones.

Lastly, what is this score you give? Fico? Vantage score?

Edit: I did miss the part where they did shut you down. You did get lucky that they did not shut you down sooner. So there is no corrective actions to explain since you no longer have the account. It will just have to be a good explanation and apology in your GW letter. Maybe explain the lesson learned for future accounts.

Do you have other credit cards? Nit having any revolving credit will also lower your scores.

[Bankrupt2019]

Fico scores assess risk and your behavior is quite risky 🤷🏻‍♂️