Re-aging credit offers fresh start

Keeping tabs on your credit takes time, but it's worth it in the long run. Sometimes, you're likely to get in a bind when it comes to paying your bills on time. Making late payments is the fastest way to lower your credit score. But it's not always the end of the world.

One thing to keep in mind is that sometimes you can get a creditor to "re-age" your account.

There are limitations to this. Creditors can basically forgive past-due accounts, erasing any record of missed or late payments, by agreeing to re-age the past due account. The account that once was overdue is then current, and you can start fresh.

Yes, you still owe the same amount on your credit card. But your payment history is cleaned up.

As an example, if you are three months late making your minimum credit card payments and your credit card company agrees to re-age your credit card account, then you're in luck. Your record is cleared. All three of those payments are forgiven. The company will stop charging late fees, and, best of all, your credit report no longer shows you as being delinquent on this bill.

Your fresh start is not automatic, and don't expect all creditors to fall all over themselves to offer you this option. Many will only want their money, and you'd best pay them to keep your credit report from getting any more derogatory marks.

Guidelines were established in 2000 to standardize the practice of re-aging consumer credit card accounts.

For your account to be considered for re-aging, you must be able to demonstrate a renewed willingness and an apparent ability to pay your bills.

In most cases, your credit card account must have been open for at least nine months.
Three consecutive minimum monthly payments or the equivalent sum must have been made previously. And, as with all good things, there are limits on the number of times your credit card account can be re-aged.

Currently, your credit card company can only re-age your account once in a 12-month period, and they can only re-age your account two times in any 5-year period. So, it's imperative, that if you find yourself in credit card crisis, you've got a limited number of times to take advantage of this "free spin" to help you improve your credit.