Planetfeedback Response

[theinvincible]

Would appreciate any helps the vets on this board can offer, I am a long time lurker first time poster.

I made a late payment on my primary residence that is reporting for sept 04. I sent a goodwill via Planetfeedback to Homecomings Financial and quickly received the blow off letter ie sorry but we must report...cannot remove lates.

My question is should I continue communication with them and if not, what is my next logical step?

[miracle]

theinvicible Welcome out of Lurkersville! :)

I would try a GW letter to one of their big wigs and see if that yeilds any response. I have heard of GW letters working, but sometimes it takes more than one letter. Give it a try, couldn't hurt. Keep us posted! Good Luck!

[Methuss]

There is no legal requirement to report a late-pay...so that answer in and of itself is false. The big question is: Did you have a very good reason for being late? GW letters rely on the sob-story approach. A good reason will sometimes get results. A good, long-running payment history before the late will also go far.

Generally, I find mortgage companies unwilling to remove lates...even when they are reporting inaccurately.

I can't stress enough that the one thing you should NEVER be late on is a mortgage payment. Put off other things if you have to but this one is a big, huge no-no. Mortgage lates hurt your score as much, if not more than, a collection account. The reasoning is that if you are willing to let the very roof over your head become a risk, then you are seen a very high risk. A mortage late will cost you about 60 points on your FICO.

[theinvincible]

Thank you to all those who replied so quickly

GW letters rely on the sob-story approach. A good reason will sometimes get results. A good, long-running payment history before the late will also go far.

I think my late reason is relatively legitimate. I live in Tampa and am self employed, my business was hurt by the three Hurricanes that decimated Florida during the late summer of last year. My payment history before and after is perfect

Obviously I go into a little more detail about this in my letter. What do you think?

I have put together another GW letter including this info that I will be sending out to a VP at Homecomings tommorow. If this fails what should my next step be?

[chaberek]

A mortage late will cost you about 60 points on your FICO.

My friend's late on mrtg. cost him 32 points drop in middle score and higher rate on his refi.

[Sultan]

There is no legal requirement to report a late-pay...so that answer in and of itself is false. The big question is: Did you have a very good reason for being late? GW letters rely on the sob-story approach. A good reason will sometimes get results. A good, long-running payment history before the late will also go far.

Generally, I find mortgage companies unwilling to remove lates...even when they are reporting inaccurately.

I can't stress enough that the one thing you should NEVER be late on is a mortgage payment. Put off other things if you have to but this one is a big, huge no-no. Mortgage lates hurt your score as much, if not more than, a collection account. The reasoning is that if you are willing to let the very roof over your head become a risk, then you are seen a very high risk. A mortage late will cost you about 60 points on your FICO.

Meth, as always your a sharp cookie.

There is no law that requires them to report late payments. Most companies do have their own cookie cutter form letters (and policies) and it sounds like you received one. My personal experience is that if I stay on them eventually they buckle, expect a few blow offs or even brick walls, usually they give in, I've even been told that a late would be changed and upon viewing my report ‘poof’ it was still there. This is what I did next; I made a round of additional phone calls, very calmly explaining what I was promised and how it never happened and that I felt like closing all of my accounts and never doing business with them again, the right person finally heard me and it obviously mattered to them, there’s usually an escalation procedure, the generic CSR more than likely cannot do squat but will play like they have it handled in an attempt to brush you off like speck of dirt on their terminal screen, that much they’re good for. Going straight to a company CEO or president is not something I would do; they will likely feel like your existence has become a thorn in the company’s side. A good manager usually appreciates a letter of commendation for helping to resolve a snafu in their personnel file, that’s one carrot to dangle, when speaking to the right person who has the ability to correct the status. A good question to ask is “do you have the authority to make corrections or change of status in payment history on my account or can you make the proper connection to someone who can do that for you if you decide to help me with this issue” The thing is we must be smart and qualify the CSR’s I think some people are sent in circles because they are engaging in battles or asking the wrong person to help them with their problem. Some of the lowly CSR’s actually enjoy a good power play; it’s likely the area of their life where they feel more power than any where else. Alternatively CSR’s in management usually like to keep things moving and prevent bottle necks.

The squeaky wheel does get oiled eventually G/L

[Guest jeeptravel]

How about the "butter-them-up" approach . . . YOU GUY HAVE BEEN GREAT. I WORK IN A LARGE OFFICE AND I SHARE YOUR CARDS ETC. I PLAN TO BUY MY SECOND HOME THROUGH YOU MY FAMILY ETC. CAN YOU PLEASE REMOVE THIS LATE IN EXCHANGE FOR MY CONTINUED SUPPORT AND WORD OF MOUTH????

just a thought, you dont have many options when you're late

[theinvincible]

A little background on my situation, I have approximately a year to get my credit in order for student loan applications for law school. So I hope I have enough time to raise my scores to a level acceptable to SL providers.

After reading as much as I can on the boards and your replies it seems as if collections, repos etc are less difficult then lates to remove. Or it could just be I am being really negative about my situation.

Is this true?.... if it is, this will make my repair journey difficult as my only negatives are about 8 lates on 3 different mortgages over the last 3 years and inquiries. Some of the lates I know will be removed due to OC not following RESPA 6 before raising my payment amount, these are actually my most recent.

I have done everything that these boards have suggested: opted out, sent GW letters, queried old addresses and employer. Once I have all this back should I try more GWs and calls or try query lates with CRAs? or both?

Again thanks to everyone on these boards, everyone who replies seems genuinely interested in helping the posters.