<prompt> Human: Hi There! Forgive me if this question is rather simple, but Im sure youre aware we were all taught that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, but absolutely nothing practical about how credit works. I dont have a super long credit history, maybe about 5 years. Ive always had a 700 credit score. Paid on time etc. Im pretty tight about managing my money. But this year, I sort of flubbed on a retail chain card I use semi-frequently. I dont know how I overlooked it, but I ended up 30 days past due. Suddenly, I cant get an iPhone via the upgrade program which Ive done successfully in the past due to this one poor mark that dropped my credit score almost 100 points. I naturally paid off the balance the minute I realized that this was serious. And have had friends tell me that once its rectified, my score should go back up, and my report should be clean. And over a month since I had this issue, my score has only gone up 11 points putting it past 700 which is great and it seems that in most areas my report is clear in regards to this account. Status is pays as agreed and theres no listed past due amount. But the top of my report states one account with a negative mark, and in the payment information on the report where they have a check mark for each month, the previously past due months is still marked with a red 30. How do I get this removed? Im pretty frustrated especially because the amount past due was something trivial like 20. I feel so stupid that this is preventing me from leasing an iPhone, and am worried this will effect my eligibility to lease an apartment which I need to do come August. Any help is appreciated, credit is a relative mystery to me. Thank you!  <response>: You cant get it removed if its a legitimate mark. You paid laid and now unfortunately you have to deal with the repercussion. If credit was this easy to reset, we would all have 850 scores.Didnt mean this to sound so harsh but ultimately its the truth of the matter. 