The Best Way to Handle Paying Late
No matter how responsible we are, we all have that time when we find that we have missed a deadline or forgotten to make a payment. If you’re lucky, your credit card issuer may give you a break if you’re a couple of days late on your bill, especially if it’s your first time. You may even be able to talk your way out of paying the late fee.
Everything changes, however, after you are 30 days late on a bill. That’s when things can get serious. Suddenly you may be facing harsh fees and penalty rates. Once you hit 30 days without paying that bill, your account goes from just being late to being delinquent. You are now in a totally different category.
Some credit card issuers automatically report delinquent credit card accounts to the credit bureaus. Others may wait until payments are 60 days late to put a black mark on your credit report. And being marked as a late payer by a creditor can really have a negative impact on your credit score. The negative mark will stay there for the next seven years.
The reason for this is actually not mean-spiritedness. The truth is that your credit card issuer is probably getting nervous. They may be worried by that time that you aren’t going to pay your bill at all.
The best strategy for avoiding being marked on your credit report as a late payer is to contact your credit card issuer before you fall behind on your payments. Explain what is going on in your life and why you are not going to be able to make your monthly payment. If you call before they are ready to report you, then they will be more understanding. The more information they have, the better for you. You are more likely to find yourself being treated as a person instead of an overdue account if you make the effort to initiate the contact.
You may even be able to negotiate a revised payment schedule with the credit card issuer.
There are a lot of things that banks can do to help you. They can lower the monthly payment temporarily or make other arrangements if they feel that it’s in their best interest to help you. Your best bet to convince them of that is to show the initiative and desire to eventually pay off your debt.
The sooner you call your credit card issuer, the better your chances for getting help and understanding. The key is to be honest about your situation. If you are just having a temporary cash flow crunch, tell them. If you have lost your job or been in an accident, let them know. You also need to be realistic about when you think you will be able to make your payments in full. The key is to be honest and show the willingness to make the payments eventually, without making commitments that you won’t be able to keep, which will simply damage your credibility even more.
The longer you let any bill go unpaid, the less chance you will have to negotiate when talking to the credit card issuer. If you haven’t paid your bill in two months without even contacting them then it won’t matter much to them whether you’ve been their customer for years or lost your job recently. Falling more than 30 days behind on a bill is a bad thing, but it doesn’t have to destroy your credit score. What will ruin your credit is if you developing a pattern of paying late. You need to do something as soon as possible, because things won’t get any better unless you make an effort. If you find that you have fallen behind in your payments, it’s up to you to find a way to get caught up