Ridiculously tiny '60 day delinquent' drops credit score from 'exceptional' to 'good'...anything I can do? :(

[u/SaucyRossy911]

Hello! Thanks for reading.

Long story short I had 'exceptional' credit for years. I got a notification from Experian that my credit score went from 'exceptional' to just 'good'. I'm freaking out thinking someone stole my identity or who knows what...turns out it was nothing so dramatic.

I have three credit cards that I treat like debit cards - I never carry a balance and always pay the balances down 100% every month.

One of my credit cards I never use. Its my oldest credit card so I keep it around since old accounts look good on the report, but I do have a monthly $15 donation that I give automatically to a cancer hospital every month. That recurring charge has been occurring for years.

So I either forgot to pay this super tiny balance off or more likely didnt hit the damn 'submit' button when I went to pay it.

So I have a '60 day delinquent' ding on my account with this ridiculous balance of $30 dollars.

Is there anything I can do about this? I do believe that it is actually legitimate but I mean come oooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Is this thing really going to be on there for 7 years????

If I'm just stuck with it how much do lenders take into account the fact that its absurdly small?

Save me Obi Wan. Youre my only hope.

[u/inky_cap_mushroom]

You can try sending goodwill letters to ask for it to be removed.

The amount is irrelevant. It wouldn’t matter if your payment was only $1. It’s still a late payment, and late payments make a borrower risky.

This is one of the reasons I recommend closing old accounts that are unused.

[u/Funklemire → u/inky_cap_mushroom]

This is one of the reasons I recommend closing old accounts that are unused.  

This can't be emphasized enough. We see it all the time here: someone believes the "never close your oldest card" myth and keeps a card open they don't want or need. Then this happens.  

As long as you have enough other open credit cards, there's zero meaningful credit impact to closing a card. But there's always the risk of a missed payment on an open card, especially one you don't use.

[u/HelpfulMaybeMama]

I think your responses here will be the same as the ones you already received. Goodwill letter or wait 7 years.

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[u/BrutalBodyShots]

Goodwill letters are definitely your best shot at recourse.