When are late payments reported?

December 13, 2006 | Credit | 35 comments

If your payment is due on the first and the lender provides a 10 day grace period you will be subject to late fees as of the 11th of the month. At what point are lates reported on your credit profile?

All credit reported?will reflect payment history in 30 day increments. Satisfactory payment history also will reflect 30 day cycles and will indicate paid as agreed each month.

If you have made late payments but not 30 days or more late it will not show as late on your credit report.

Your report?will reflect how many 30 day cycles?you are behind and how many times you have been late in each cycle. (2 months = 60 days, 3 months = 90 days)

In the record below you can see this account reports 30 days late 16 times, 60 days late 5 times, and 90+ once. It also indicates that it is now current but was just 60 days late.

You can also see the dates that each late was reported at the bottom of the record. This information is used by lenders to show developing patterns and can severely affect your ability to get credit if repeated lates are present.

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Reader Comments

Jaeger on January 31, 2007 at 9:39 am

What is there is 31 days in a month or 28 days in a month. Are you given the extra day in the 31 days month and lose 2 days in the 28 day month?

tom.voli on January 31, 2007 at 12:02 pm

The term 30 days is literal. On the 31st you are 30 days late. In February you are not late until March 2nd (except leap year).

Heather on March 30, 2007 at 6:55 am

If my billing due date on a credit card is the 24th of every month, and I missed Feb 24 payment, but made it on the 24th of March along with MArch’s, and it posted to my account on that day, can they report it 30 days late, when it really isnt? As there are only 30 days in Feb. When I count it out, its 28 days late. Thanks

Heather on March 30, 2007 at 6:57 am

sorry, I meant 28 days in Feb, not 30
Heather

Tom Voli on March 30, 2007 at 7:54 am

That is correct. Normally they will not report it as late until March 26th.

Tamara on June 13, 2007 at 9:22 am

Dear Tom,
I am currently arguing with Khol’s credit center. They have reported me 30 days late for a payment I made on March 11, 2007. The original payment was due on February 10, 2007, making me 29 days late. They are telling me that they caculate by billing cycles, not actual days. I can see from your responses above that this is not the way it is done. Is there a credit reporting law that I can cite to them, so that they will remove this 30 day late?

Tom Voli on June 13, 2007 at 9:56 am

This is tough to call. They can set policy that dictates they report by billing cycles and if those cycles are 30 days apart then it is valid.

Ab on June 28, 2007 at 7:30 am

Tom:
My payment to Chase was due on June 11, I made the payment on June 10 (online) but realized on June 13 that Chase had not deducted the money from my checking account. I then resubmitted the payment and called to let them know that it was a computer glitch that may have affected my payment. They still charged me $39 late fee. Are they right for doing this, even though the account is closed and I’m just paying off the debt? Can they report it as late? I wrote down the name of the employee I spoke to. I have never been late on any account for 7 years now.

Tom Voli on June 28, 2007 at 7:40 am

Yes. This is common. I have seen internet payments that did not properly process cause a late payment many times. However, it will not show on your credit report unless it was 30 days late.

Ashley Blentlinger on July 5, 2007 at 9:51 pm

Dear Tom,
I currently have a car loan with a company that reports people as 30 days late if they do not pay within the month the payment is due. For example, my payment is due on the 13th of the month. So for my June payment if I did not pay by June 30th they report me as 30 days late. Can they do this even if it is say only 14 days late when it is acutally paid. If not, what can I do about it?

Tom Voli on July 6, 2007 at 7:53 am

While they can charge a late fee it should not be reported to the credit bureaus as 30 days late until it is actually 30 days late. Some lenders use their billing date as their marker which can be 2 weeks prior to the due date. In which case, waiting till after the due date can cause a 30 day late.

Debb Debret on September 12, 2007 at 8:40 pm

Do you know what method Citi financial uses to calculate 30-day late payments? They are reporting my Union 76 account as having several 30-day lates even though I’ve never been more than 7 days late. I’m trying to gather information to dispute the reporting. Thanks.

Tom Voli on September 12, 2007 at 9:08 pm

Sorry Debb I do not. Anyone else?

Giuliano Carrafelli on September 19, 2007 at 7:56 pm

The payment of my home equity line was due on August 20, I made a payment today Sep 19 on the day no. 30, can the bank (Suntrust) report me late 30 days to the Bureaus? Thank you!

Tom Voli on September 24, 2007 at 9:35 am

You are on the line and this can go either way. Technically, you are not 30 days late but it depends when their system acknowledges the payment. Some banks require that it was received up to 48 hours prior to allow processing.

Anthony on November 19, 2007 at 10:53 am

Tom,
In reading your response:
“The term 30 days is literal. On the 31st you are 30 days late. In February you are not late until March 2nd (except leap year).”

Assuming 28 days in February, March 2nd would be the 30th day from Febraury 1st. If a payment is processed on March 2nd, should it be considered late? March 3rd would be the 31st day. Thanks!

Tom Voli on November 19, 2007 at 3:36 pm

This depends on what the creditor considers “processed”. I have seen some who won’t credit it till they receive it in their system, and others who will give instant credit to the account. When you are getting this close you are taking your chances.

JOHN on November 21, 2007 at 3:06 pm

IF DUE DATE IS 12TH AND ACCOUNT GIVES 14 DAYS IS IT LEGAL TO PUT A CHARGE ON THE ACCOUNT ON THE 21ST
5 DAYS BEFORE

Tom Voli on November 21, 2007 at 3:18 pm

Tough to say. Many creditors do not consider the grace period the same way. It is defintely not 30 days late but as to how/when they charge a late fee…that is a different matter and can vary.

DOUG on December 12, 2007 at 12:17 am

hi, if my mortgage payment is due the 1st, how long do i have before its gets reported late, even though they charge a late fee after the 16th. don’t want to hurt my credit if i pay within the 30 days will i thank you

Tom Voli on December 12, 2007 at 9:31 am

It becomes 30 day late….30 days after the 1st. So in Feb this could mean the 3rd of the next month but the term 30 days late is literal.

Arnie on December 20, 2007 at 10:31 am

If my payments are for example Jan = paid feb late 30 days March paid how would it be possible that feb is reported late 30 days. Seams to me that if the payment was not made on the 1st they still report it as 30 days late. So am I to understand that a payment is late 30 day canlender from that date the pament is made. That the late payments they reported as 30 day are not actually 30 days late.

Tom Voli on December 20, 2007 at 10:36 am

Very simple….you never paid January and any payment goes there first.

What you propose would show 60 days late for January but February on time. That is not how it works and you should be glad it doesn’t because a 60 day late is far worse than a 30.

neo9773 on January 25, 2008 at 2:46 pm

We have a situation where the lender accidentally credited our account in the same month that we made a double payment. We thought we were ahead but weren’t, even though they sent us statements with zero owing. Now they want payment in full, which is understandable. They notified us on Jan 17. I contend that we have 30 days from that date until the report, as it was an error on their part. They are marking the 30 days from the Jan payment that was due on the 1st. How do you see it? And are there any legalities here? They told us it was law that they report after 30 days.

Bodyboarding on February 9, 2008 at 6:36 pm

My due date was 1/1 I paid on 1/30 for my mortgage with Indy Mac Bank. It has just shown up on my credit as a 30 day late! I thought I get to the 31st. I am so bummed

Beaver on February 13, 2008 at 7:50 am

Question: If my mortgage was due FEB 1st, and I don’t pay it until FEB 22, assuming I get charged the 1% late fee that is stated in my closing documents (Payments after 15th), will this affect my credit, or my relationship with my mortgage company?

linda on March 10, 2008 at 11:39 am

I sold my portion of a business last year. Payments to me are due on the 1st. They are late paying me every single month. Is there a law in VA that allows them to pay up to 10 days late without a penalty? My contract says I can charge additional interest when the payment is late. Is it considered late on the 2nd or the 11th?

Dana on April 5, 2008 at 1:25 am

I check my credit report on a regular basis, usually every other month and I have never had a late payment until recently. The late payment was for 8-9 mths ago, reported as 30 days late. This never showed up on previous credit reports until recently. Is this legal? I’m disputing it because I was never late but can creditors report late payments after several months?

Tom Voli on May 29, 2008 at 7:08 am

neo9773,

The fact that you made a double payment should entitle you to special consideration. The “we are required to report after 30 days” speech is a standard response given by an $8 per hour employee with absolutely no power (and less understanding of the credit process). You need to request a supervisor and get that handled. Sometimes it takes multiple attempt before you reach a person willing to help.

Tom Voli on May 29, 2008 at 7:09 am

Bodyboarding,

If you have proof that it was paid and cleared your bank on the 30th then it can be removed. Sometimes the banks take 2 - 5 days to process internet and phone payments in which case you need a confirmation number validating the date you paid it. In this case they should remove it also.

Tom Voli on May 29, 2008 at 7:11 am

Beaver,

No, it will not effect your credit report in any way. The lender does keep records of payment history and if you need a favor in the future, late payments can have an effect on their decision but your credit is in good standing.

Tom Voli on May 29, 2008 at 7:12 am

Linda,

This completely depends on the contract you established with them. No mention of late fees in the contract usually means no late fees entitled.

Tom Voli on May 29, 2008 at 7:14 am

Dana,

This may be an error on the creditors reporting system. Call them and have them explain the late and provide them the proof of timely payment. This should correct the issue.

Jessica S. on June 18, 2008 at 6:26 pm

My Lowe’s payment was due 05/05. My June payment was due on 06/05. I sent my payment for June and May on 06/13. They are telling me I am 60 days past due??? Is that correct? Doesn’t it make me 37 days past due not 60? I have never, ever had a late payment in my 14 years of credit history so this is all new to me.

Tom Voli on June 18, 2008 at 7:19 pm

If the billing cycle was prior to the 13th then it is possible you are 60 days late. This would be the case if the 5th was after all grace periods…meaning…the bill is due when it arrives and the cutoff is the 5th. In that case when the 13th comes around the new bill is already out and they consider it 30 days past due if the prior payment is not made. In your case that would be 60 days late. This would mean that what you are calling your May payment was in fact the April bill.