Your credit score may drop by 100 points if you missed the payment due date by more than 30 days. Sometimes, your credit score may drop by as much as 180 points which is not good for your creditworthiness.
Let’s take a look at how late payments can affect your credit score.
Late payments and their impact on credit score
- Payments less than 30 days late – If you clear your outstanding within 30 days after the payment due date, you may get lucky and it might not affect your credit score at all. However, late fees start accruing on day 1 of missing the payment due date.
- Payments more than 30 days late – If you are overdue by 30 + days, it may make your credit score fall as much as 100 to 180 points. That is a big drop and changes your credibility completely. Only some lenders allow a credit period of 60 days.
How long does the late payment history stay on my credit report?
Late payment history can stay on your report for up to 7 years. You might have made the payments in due course of time, but the late payments will still show. Similarly, if you haven’t paid the bill at all in 7 years, the credit will fall off your report after 7 years.
How to avoid late payments?
It is advisable to be financially disciplined so that you do not miss the payment due dates unnecessarily. Let us see how can you avoid late payments –
- Set-up reminders – Payment due dates are generally standard and will fall on one day of the month. Set a reminder one day before the due date and pay the bill right away.
- Debt consolidation – If you have too many credit cards/loans on your account, you might want to consolidate them into a single loan. It becomes easier to keep a track of a single loan than multiple.