Understanding Late Payments

  • Late Payments in Credit Scores is when you are over 30 days late
  • Making a payment 5, 10 or 20 days late will not hurt your credit score
  • You will likely incur a late payment charge from the company that can be excessive Especially for folks with low limit credit cards

The Penalty for 30 Day Lates

  • One 30 Day Late can drop your score 60-110 points depending on your current score
  • The higher your score the bigger the penalty, the lower your score the lower the penalty

How long does the penalty last?

  • The initial score penalty can feel overwhelmingDon't worry it is NOT as bad as it feels
  • After 1 year the points penalty has usually recovered 50%
  • 2 Years is when the score penalty goes away
  • Disputing a 30 Day Late has less than 10% success rate
  • The best option is to call the lender and talk with them about what happened and see if they can help adjust the account
Big Penalties for Maxing Out Your Credit Card(s)