Late credit card panic

[Flamingogirl08]

We're saving hard for a mortgage and getting over previous bad credit. My credit card was being paid by one of those continous payments linked to my debit card. I lost my debit card and completely forgot about it. I've paid it 2 days late. Will this be reported as a missed payment on my credit report? AIBU to panic that I've ruined all my hard work. I could cry.

Yes it may be but if you've paid it within the same month it's due then it may not depends on the company. One tiny late payment won't effect your mortgage app don't worry . Set up. Direct debit and chalk it up to experience. FYI I'm a mortgage broker by past trade.

I agree, one minor slip won’t make a difference.

Usually there’s a tolerance period, so a couple of days may not show up.

When similar happened to me (was one day late paying), I rang them and explained it was an honest mistake, they checked my previous history and saw I'd always paid well above the minimum payment on time every month. They removed the late payment fee as a good will gesture and said they'd let it go this time due to my history of paying on time etc, but if it happens again they'd have to apply late fees and it would affect my credit rating. So I got a second chance, basically. Ring them and explain.

I think you should be fine as only a couple of days late. I googled will late credit card payment affect credit and Equifax and Experian websites says you generally have to be 30 days or more late (an entire billing cycle) before the company reports as late payment.

Ring them and explain. They’ll usually waive
any late payment fees etc if you do that and it’s not a regular thing for you.

I missed 3 months of paying anything at all when I was pregnant (I was really sick). They were amazing when I phoned, waived all fees & it didn’t affect anything to do with my credit rating etc. One offs are not a big issue as long as you show you are resolving it / making sure it won’t happen again.

Depending on the financial institution, your credit history information gets sent to the Credit Reference Agencies on a monthly basis.

From what you said, this May count as a “late payment” not a “non-payment”. If the credit card company has a “grace period” (e.g. 5 days from cut off date for payment) then they won’t report it as a late payment because it’s within that grace period.

How this will impact your mortgage application will also depend on (a) your credit history (if it’s a one off it’s generally no biggie) and on (b) the application criteria of the institution you’ve chosen to apply for a mortgage with (some financial institutions are more lenient than others).

To put your mind at rest, call you Credit Card company and ask to speak to their “Credit Team”. Explain the situation, tell them it was an oversight, if there’s a grace period, and if there’s a way they could make sure it doesn’t get reported as a “late payment” on your credit history with the credit reference agencies.

Failing that — if they’re going to report it as a late payment anyway — talk to your mortgage advisor about the impact this may have on your mortgage application. If it’s a concern, find out which Credit Reference Agencies your credit card companies reports to and write to them exposing the situation to see if they can put a “note” on your file to explain that this was due to an administrative mistake.

I would ring your credit card company and just explain to them. This happened to me before and when I rang them and explained they removed anything that could affect my credit file, especially if you're usually really good and pay on time. They know it will be a general mistake.

Thanks all, I'll get in touch with them. I could kick myself, so silly.

Hi OP.
I was once 3 days late on credit card and it didn't show anywhere. So don't stress if it was one time hiccup.
You can check on Kredit Karma for free or on Money saving expert credit club in a month or so.

Don't panic, recently had the same situation.

As long as you have paid it within 30 days then it doesn't go down as a missed payment.

"If your payment is one day late it should not be reflected on your credit report. Thirty, 60 and 90 day late payments show up in your credit report. Late payments are not reported to the credit reporting companies until you have missed a full billing cycle (30 days)" (from Experian)

We got there in the end and now live in our lovely house. I know it's such a stressful time but you will get there too.

Thanks for everybody's reassuring message. I think I got myself in a panic because for so long owning our own place felt like an unattainable dream. Silly financial decisions when younger and a period of illness for my husband put us in a bad place. For years now we have paid off debt and built our savings and we're almost there. If I'd ruined it I'd never forgive myself but hopefully from what everybody has said it'll be fine. I've set up a direct debit now so it doesn't happen again.

It won't go on your credit file unless it's 30 days late. You may be charged a fee though but ring them and explain and if it's not a regular thing they'll waive it I'm sure.

I have literally come of the phone to my credit card provider as they have charged me a late fee. My payment was due on the 2nd January (made every month by DD), which was a bank holiday so the payment did go out until the 3rd. Having spoken to them, the fee is now waived. Nothing has shown up on my credit score.

Well it’s not a missed payment but it is a late payment, which the credit card company may report to the credit reference agencies and could subsequently impact your credit rating. That said, many do have a discretionary time period before they would report a payment as late, so worth speaking to them to clarify.

Its worth noting though that a late payment wouldn’t show until at least a month from now, it isn’t instant.

Call the credit card company. It will likely be fine but just for your peace of mind. You’ve paid it within a short period and have a valid reason.

Try not to worry 🤗 (I’m an ex Mortgage Advisor)

Just an update for everybody. They refunded the late payment charge but said they can't comment on what gets reported to the credit reference agencies so I'll just have to wait for the next reporting period and check my report. Fingers crossed nothing shows

What happened, OP? I've just done the same thing having missed my payment by two days. I didn't realise that payment was due on the 2nd of July and I thought it was due seventh of July, but this was actually the closing balance date. I've made payment immediately now and asked for the fee to be waived, just waiting to hear back. We're also applying for a mortgage soon, and I never missed payments, so I'm really kicking myself.

I used to work in credit cards for a bank, from what I remember a ‘missed payment’ needs to be substantially late, basically that you did not make a payment at all during that monthly payment period. You may, however, still get charged a late fee. You can ask to refund this and they probably will if it’s your first time, but sometimes that will show up on your statement as a late fee and then the refund (they can’t refund it before it’s charged), some show up this way and some won’t show at all. Shouldn’t be the end of the world though.

Nothing showed up on my report so hopefully same for you!