One late payment - huge score drop

[breeo]

Hi all

I am new to the forums but wanted to reach out for possible guidance. I have been working very hard to get my score up. I made the mistake of taking one of my cc off autopay, forgot about it, and had a missed payment. My score dropped 48 points! I called the cc card company and they said they cannot do anything about it. Is this normal? I am heartbroken. Is there anything I can do? 

[Anonymous]

After 24 months one 30-day late doesn't hurt as much.  50-60 points for the first 2 years is normal.

The best result you will find is to pay on time, and after 6-12 months start a "goodwill saturation method" campaign (use the search on this forum for the result posts).  Show them you're a great responsible payer and eventually they will likely remove that late.  But it takes a lot of effort and writing.

Note: a 30 day late usually means you missed TWO payments, not one.  Plus I believe lenders are required to send you letters warning you in advance of the late payment.

If you're carrying credit card balances and paying interest, you need to back away from spending first and review your budget immediately.  That late payment can cause issues with other lenders, so you want to make sure you're in a good situation to NOT let this spiral away from you.

Get that card paid off entirely.  Show responsible usage and payment history for 6-12 months, and then dive into goodwill saturation.

[breeo]

Thank you - what is goodwill saturation? 

I do not use currently use my credit cards at all. We are just trying to pay down balances at this point. 

[Anonymous]

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@breeo wrote:

Thank you - what is goodwill saturation? 

I do not use currently use my credit cards at all. We are just trying to pay down balances at this point. 

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Use the search function here on the forums and type in "goodwill saturation" and you'll find a lot of results of stories of folks.  Basic thread is here: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/The-Saturation-Technique-Best-GW-adjustment-o...

Worked great for me.  I had a credit card with 150-day-lates and now it shows as 6 years of perfect payment history.  I wrote hundreds of letters, emails, faxes to all of the VPs and CxOs I could find online until they caved.

[Anonymous]

And it sounds like you realize now to never ever take a CC off autopay.  Every card should be on autopay for at least the minimum payment.

[kxkxkxx]

Just my 2 cents....I have a horrible memory! Some of my bills are auto-pay, some are not....for the ones that are not, I have calendar reminders on my Google calendar that hit me up 2 days prior to the due date.

My calendar looks like I have this massive social life..but nope, just bill reminders!

[Anonymous]

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@kxkxkxx wrote:

Just my 2 cents....I have a horrible memory! Some of my bills are auto-pay, some are not....for the ones that are not, I have calendar reminders on my Google calendar that hit me up 2 days prior to the due date.

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Just wondering, why do you use auto-pay on some accounts but not others?

[breeo]

I have everything on auto pay- we took this one card off autopsy as I was making a snow ball payment and then once that payment was made - forgot to put back on autopay ... learned my lesson