Sometimes\nlate payments happen. Perhaps you went out of town and forgot to post or mail\nyour payment before your trip. Or maybe times are tough and you\u2019re having\ntrouble keeping on top of your bills. And if it\u2019s neither of these instances,\nit could be an error made by the creditor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whatever\nthe case, late payments can ruin your credit standing. You\u2019ll want to do everything\nyou can to avoid having one. While you might only be charged a small late fee\nif you\u2019re a few days late on your payment, it\u2019s indeed much better than letting\nfees accrue and having the situation spiral out of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When\nit comes to really late payments though, your creditor \u2013 whether it\u2019s the phone\ncompany, electric company, mortgage company, the lender for your auto loan, or\nany other service you pay for monthly \u2013 will usually give you a grace period at\na minimum of 30 days after the due date of your payment. After that, they will\nreport it to the credit bureau.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Other creditors and lenders will hold off until the payment is 60 days past due before reporting you to the credit bureau. This is why it\u2019s very important to know what the terms are before you sign any contracts. <\/strong>If you\u2019re unsure, you can look up your creditor online to view its policy or call them to speak to a representative that can tell you more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So\nat the very least, you have 30 days to get your payment processed. And at the\nvery most, you\u2019ll have 60 days. Never assume though. Always find out the\npolicies and try to get your payment in as soon as possible to avoid trouble<\/strong>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do\nyou think you have a late payment? Keep reading and I\u2019ll tell you how that will\naffect you and what steps you can take to repair your situation, plus much\nmore!<\/p>\n\n\n\n How\nto know if you have a late payment on your credit report<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unless\nyou\u2019re behind on your current bills, you won\u2019t know if any other past credit\ncollections have been reported to the credit bureau. If you check your mail\nregularly or view all your accounts online, you\u2019ll likely be very well aware if\nyou\u2019ve missed a payment or are late. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But\nproblems can and do arise from things of the past. For example, you could have\nforgotten to pay something in college. Or you could be the victim of identity\nfraud where someone has used your name and social security number to establish\na line of credit. Simple errors can also lead to late payments being reported\non your credit report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s\nonly one way to find out for sure if you have a late payment on your credit\nreport. This is especially important if you are up to date on all your current\nbills and payments. You will want to check your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.\nThis checks all three types of credit reports at once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\ntakes little time to look and it can give you great peace of mind. If you see\nsomething on there that\u2019s a mistake, then you can ask to have it removed and\nfix your credit. For example, if a company you\u2019ve never done business with has\nreported you with a late payment, you can dispute that and restore your credit.\nThe same goes for if you legitimately made a payment and it wasn\u2019t recorded,\nleading to the indication that you were late on your payment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Again,\nthe only way to know for sure is to check against all three credit reports. If\nyou spot nothing wrong, then you can breathe a sigh of relief. If you have\npayments coming up that you might struggle to make due to hard times, like\nlosing your job, you can call up your creditors and they will work with you to\nhelp you make manageable payments until you get back on your feet which is\ninfinitely better than having late payments build up and mess up your credit\nstanding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Will\na partial payment keep your payment from being reported late?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You might think that sending whatever you have can help prevent any late fees from being reported, but this isn\u2019t a good idea, at least not without talking to your creditor first. You don\u2019t want to just send in a partial payment of the minimum due because it won\u2019t stop them from reporting at as late or sending it to collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nis worth a shot to request a little more time to make the payment, but you may\nincur additional fees. If your situation is only temporary, it might be worth\nit though in lieu of wrecking your credit. As with anything in life, it never\nhurts to ask. Keeping your credit strong can help you take care of some of your\nbills too until you get out of the red so think of it that way too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\nare the monetary penalties that come with it? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As I said, late payments generally won\u2019t make it onto your credit report until you\u2019ve been 30 days late. But that doesn\u2019t mean it will go without consequence. Most creditors will impose late fees for a tardy payment. Some of those creditors will do it the instant it\u2019s marked as late. So, assuming your payment is due on the first of the month, and you put it through at midnight on the second day of the month, you might have an additional late fee. Other creditors are more lenient in this regard. Again, it really helps to know the company\u2019s policies for these things first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When your payment hasn\u2019t been made, and you are now 60 days late, especially when it comes to credit cards, the credit card issuer may apply the designated penalty rate onto your balance with each month, usually until you\u2019ve paid six consecutive payments on time. But while that rate might go back to normal for the old balance, any purchases you made after that penalty rate was applied may be subjected to higher interest rates. It all depends on the credit card you have and the terms of the legal agreement that binds you to the card. What\u2019s more, that penalty rate can also be added to other accounts you share with the same credit card company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s\nsay you pull yourself out of the red and get back on your feet. If you catch up\nand make that full minimum payment before the next due date, your reported\naccount status to the credit bureaus will reflect that your account is fully\ncurrent. But that previous 30-day late payment will be on your credit report\nfor the duration of the credit reporting time limit \u2013 a very lengthy seven\nyears!<\/p>\n\n\n\n While\nthat\u2019s not ideal, what\u2019s worse is missing the next payment. When you do, a\n60-day late payment gets tacked onto your credit report. It snowballs from\nthere with 90-day, 120-day, 150-day, and 180-day late reports. If you get to\n180 days late, your account will likely be defaulted or even charged-off. You\ndo NOT want this to happen. Don\u2019t bury your head in the sand like an ostrich.\nYou should make sure to bring your account current before this happens. Because\nonce it does, there\u2019s no chance to catch up on your payments or move your\naccount into good standing. It gets closed up and your status is reported,\nlowering your credit significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How\nsignificantly, you might ask? Keep reading and I\u2019ll break it down for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How\nlong do late payments stay on your credit report?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As\nI said, those late payments stay on your credit report for seven years. That\ndoesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t buy anything like a house, a car, or get anything with\ncredit again though. You may incur higher interest rates when taking out a line\nof credit until this time passes. Also, if you get a loan on a new car for\nexample, and you make those payments on time, this reflects well for you and\nhelps you rebuild your credit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When\nyou prove yourself over time, that credit score will start to rise over time.\nPlus, you can even get that late payment from your past permanently deleted.\nI\u2019ll tell you how to do that in the following paragraphs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How\ndo late payments affect your credit score?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Late\npayments don\u2019t all have one way of impacting your credit score. It all depends\non the situation at hand. There are some basic rules though that can help you\nfigure out what you might be in for when you have a late payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For starters, the longer the delinquency of payment is, the bigger negative consequences you\u2019ll have on your credit scores. That means that in most cases, a 90-day late payment will tank your credit score more severely than a 30-day late payment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another\nthing that will have an effect on your credit score is how many payment\ndelinquencies you have. If you have just one and all your other payments are up\nto date with every creditor you deal with, then the impact will be less.\nConversely, the more delinquencies you have, the lower your credit score will\nbe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also,\nyour delinquency will have the strongest impact when it is first reported to\nthe credit bureaus. But as time goes by, that impact decreases. If you make\nthings right, this should set things straight and set your credit to grow in a\npositive direction again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Life\nhappens and sometimes you make late payments either because it slipped your\nmind or something was going on like the loss of a job, or even a natural\ndisaster. In these cases, there are things you can do to help your situation.\nKeep reading for tips on what to do to help turn your credit around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How\nto have a Late Payment Removed From your Credit Report<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thankfully,\nthere are ways you can get a late payment removed from your credit report, but\nit will take some work from you to make that happen. Read through here to see\nwhat you can do to set your credit record straight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.\nWrite a \u2018Goodwill Letter\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One\nof the first things you should think about trying is writing a letter to your\ncreditor letting them know why you couldn\u2019t make that payment on time. It\u2019s a\nsign of goodwill, hence the name of the letter. Creditors aren\u2019t required to\nreport this information to the credit bureaus though so this might not help at\nall. You can\u2019t be sure they\u2019ll update your account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nyou had a situation where you realized your payment was due and it simply\nslipped your mind, call the creditor in question immediately. As long as you\u2019ve\nmade the payment and you have never before been late, many creditors will be\nforgiving for the first slip-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.\nTry Pay-for-Delete Services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Debt\ncollectors often have a service called \u2018pay-for-delete\u2019 which they offer to\nhave collections remove from your credit reports. They promise they\u2019ll do so if\nyou pay off the account. However, this is something I don\u2019t recommend at all.\nThe reason? Creditors are required to report accurate information and they\nwon\u2019t agree to remove any negative information unless that information can be\nproven to be an error that wasn\u2019t yours. In other words, it\u2019s better for you to\nsave your money and make the dispute on your own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Something\nelse to consider here is that when you make this arrangement, it may remove the\npaid collections off your credit\nreports, but it will not take away the original late payments. Even if your\nreported late payments are not of your doing, using these services isn\u2019t a good\noption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.\nFile a Dispute on that Late Payment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So,\nwhat if you did everything right on your end but you have a late payment? You\ncan try to get it removed, but if you haven\u2019t been successful, you should deal\ndirectly with the credit bureaus. It will take a little work from you though\nbut will be worth it. You should check all your past statements to ensure all\nthe details from date to payment amount are correct. You can trace it back\nthrough your bank too to prove you made the payment on time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once\nyou do, send a hard copy of a dispute letter to all of the credit bureaus (that\nwould be Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). It will take about 30 business\ndays to get a response. If you\u2019re low on funds and can\u2019t afford to hire\nsomeone, or you have the time to pursue the research involved to prove that they\nmade an error, you can turn things around this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.\nHire a Pro<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nfinal route you can take is to hire a professional service to help you\nsuccessfully dispute the late payment in question. Credit repair firms are\nfilled with legal professionals that have this type of training and can help\nbring your credit back into good standing. Most of them offer free\nconsultations so you can see what costs will be associated with the help you\nneed. I recommend this option if you have no time to pursue the research on\nyour account or you have the money to throw at the problem. Also, if you feel\ndoubtful in financial matters, it\u2019s great to have someone that knows what\nthey\u2019re doing to help you out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How\nto avoid or limit credit damage from late payments?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nan ideal world, we would be on time with all our payments, but sometimes things\nhappen. When they do, the best thing you can do is try to get your account\nstatus current as soon as you can. Remember, 30 days late isn\u2019t good, but it\u2019s\nmuch worse to go 60 days. It\u2019s even worse to go 90 days. Or beyond. You get the\nidea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nsooner you catch it up, the less damage your credit will suffer. Then you can\nmove forward making timely payments, while your credit score grows again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also,\ndon\u2019t forget to prevent any late payments on your accounts which will also add\na mark to your score plus add late fees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nhave so many things to keep track of, and I don\u2019t know about you, but if my\nhead wasn\u2019t attached to my neck, I\u2019d forget it half the time I walked out the\ndoor. So, here are my favorite tips to help you keep current and avoid this\nsituation in the future:<\/p>\n\n\n\n –\nChoose your payment due dates. Most companies allow for this and you can set\nall your bills to be due at the same time, or stagger them to be due after you\nreceive your paychecks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n –\nUse text alerts. When you set these, they will remind you a few days before\nyour bill is due. You can also set them up to give you multiple alerts like a\nsnooze button does for your alarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n –\nSign up for automatic payments. This is a great option because you never have\nto remember to pay your bills. You should, however, be sure you have enough\nmoney in your account or you\u2019ll receive overdraft fees. With credit cards, it\u2019s\nimportant to be vigilant too with the monthly payments. Sometimes, your\nspending will be larger, like if your air conditioner breaks or you have some\nother unexpected expense. If you keep enough in your account though, it won\u2019t\nbe a problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trust\nme when I say you want to avoid having late payments at all costs. They can end\nup costing you much more in late fees, plus if you are past 30 days, it will\nusually be reported. Some companies will allow for 60 days before they report a\nlate payment, but you really don\u2019t want to take that chance, do you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nyou follow my tips above, you should be able to keep yourself out of trouble.\nAvoid splurging on too many things with your credit card for this reason. And\nif you\u2019re going through a tough time right now, keep your chin up and know\nthere is a light at the end of the tunnel and you\u2019ll get there soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes late payments happen. Perhaps you went out of town and forgot to post or mail your payment before your trip. Or maybe times are tough and you\u2019re having trouble keeping on top of your bills. And if it\u2019s neither of these instances, it could be an error made by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-credit-cards"],"yoast_head":"\n