Pay for delete? With credit card companies?

TruckSteele

Is this a strategy that's likely to work with credit card companies? Any research I find on this strategy suggests it can only be used with debt collection agencies.

I'm currently on a DMP with a creditor as was unemployed but just got a job and expecting a comparatively big pay cheque next month. Annoyingly the agreement was for an amount that was lower than my contractual monthly minimum amounts, and as a result there have been a number of missed payment marks in the last few months.

Is it worth asking to have these removed? And requesting to update the whole period of our payment plan as showing I was on an arrangement plan with no missed payments?

Feels a little unfair that the creditor reported my account as having several missed payments when they knew I wasn't able to afford the contractual monthly amounts but could see I was keeping up with the DMP agreement.

[Deleted User]

It's entirely fair that your payments were marked as missed if you weren't able to afford the contractual payments.

Once you get off the arrangement and make up the arrears, the markers will stop.

Carrot007

For a limited time missed payment markers are far better than arrangement to pay markers.

You can succesffully argue for them to be changed usually though, it is probably automatic things the idiot who set up the plan forgot to do.

But under 3/4 months youi are probably better off (other people may have other ideas).

TruckSteele

Missed payment markers are better than arrangement to pay markers? Well this is news to me. Why do you say that?

im better off with a missed payment marker if it’s more than 4 months ago? I have a missed payment marker 5 months ago and I’m looking to convince the creditor to remove the missed payment markers? I’m pretty sure the arrangement to pay markers are also there 

TruckSteele

Actually if I have a missed payment marker and an arrangement to pay marker shouldn’t it be obvious to anyone assessing the file what’s happened?

is it worth the energy trying to convince my creditor to remove the missed payment markers?

porkisnotmeat

TruckSteele said:

Actually if I have a missed payment marker and an arrangement to pay marker shouldn’t it be obvious to anyone assessing the file what’s happened?

is it worth the energy trying to convince my creditor to remove the missed payment markers?

No, as it'll make no difference.

Lenders are not stupid and they'll see that you're a massive credit risk. Missed payment vs AP is six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Chris_English

TruckSteele said:

Feels a little unfair that the creditor reported my account as having several missed payments when they knew I wasn't able to afford the contractual monthly amounts but could see I was keeping up with the DMP agreement.

But that’s exactly what these markers are for; noting that you have missed your contractual payments.

TruckSteele

Carrot007 said:

For a limited time missed payment markers are far better than arrangement to pay markers.

You can succesffully argue for them to be changed usually though, it is probably automatic things the idiot who set up the plan forgot to do.

But under 3/4 months youi are probably better off (other people may have other ideas).

If I have a period of late payment markers (1s, 2s and 3s over a 5-6 month period) do you think that is worth changing to an arrangement to pay marker over a 24 month period?

It’s difficult to find any information on what is perceived as worse by credit lenders but I have a feeling I might be trying to compare apples and oranges here.

born_again

Something to bear in mind here is that banks get data direct from other banks on missed payments etc. So they should be getting the correct data & It is just the way that the CRA  is showing the data that is wrong.

kaMelo

TruckSteele said:

Carrot007 said:

For a limited time missed payment markers are far better than arrangement to pay markers.

You can succesffully argue for them to be changed usually though, it is probably automatic things the idiot who set up the plan forgot to do.

But under 3/4 months youi are probably better off (other people may have other ideas).

If I have a period of late payment markers (1s, 2s and 3s over a 5-6 month period) do you think that is worth changing to an arrangement to pay marker over a 24 month period?

It’s difficult to find any information on what is perceived as worse by credit lenders but I have a feeling I might be trying to compare apples and oranges here.

They're both viewed negatively by lenders, as to which is worse it's probably six of one, half a dozen of the other. Both markers  show that, for whatever reason, if you suffer a financial shock like you did you have no headroom in your finances. In effect your maxed out on credit.  Whilst lenders will take notice of them their impact will diminish over time.

An AP marker will stay on your file for six years after the last one is placed, missed payment markers become defaults usually after three to six months of missed payments and are on your file for six years from the default date.
An example of why AP markers are bad, you could be struggling to afford paying a debt back so make arrangements to pay a reduced amount which you pay religiously for three years.
After three years you are back on your feet and start to pay the required amount and all is well, except it's not. You've already had three years of negative markers, now you're going to have them sat there for another six years so nine years of negative markers. If at the start you'd just stopped paying you'd get six months missed payments then a default which lasts six years, so you've had six and a half years of negative markers rather than the nine with an AP marker. 

Whilst counter intuitive and goes against the usual "talk to us if you can't pay"  if you're debt is a problem and know it's going to take a while to sort out it's more beneficial to default first and then make an arrangement to pay.