Late Reports

Hey all- I was talking with a friend at work about financial problems, and my co-worker stated that one of the things she was going to do with her tax rebate check was "catch up on her car payment" because she was two months behind. I asked her if she meant she hadn't paid for 2 whole months, and she said no, her monthly payment is $320, but she has only paid $100 the past two months that it has been due. She said that as long as she pays even a portion each due date, they can't report her as late to the credit bureaus, and they aren't calling or harassing her about it, either.

My question is- does anyone know this to be true? Or maybe it's just the policies of her particular creditor that she has her car financed through? My car payment of $350 is due, but my second income check and my tax rebate check won't show up for another 2 weeks. But I am loathe to take out a payday loan to make the car payment, as I am trying to get OUT of the PDL cycle. However, I'm afraid if I wait until two weeks to make my car payment, they'll report me late, and I have NEVER had a late on my credit report before. What about her method? Could I pay, say, the $100 I have to put towards my car payment now, and possibly pay the rest plus the new past due balance next month? I'm afraid that if I call my creditor that finances my car and ask, they won't give me a truthful answer, as of course, they would rather me pay my full payment on time.

Thanks! ^_^

Most finance companies will give you some wiggle room if you communicate with them. I would call them and tell them your plan..And generally you are not reported late by a creditor unless you go more than 30 days over.

Has your co-worker checked her credit report lately? She might be in for a surprise.

A creditor cannot report delinquencies until they are 30 days past-due, but partial payments can and usually will be reported to the bureaus. Just because they might not be calling her over it, doesn't mean they can't report it.

In your coworker's case, let's suppose her payment of $320 was due 3/15/08. She paid $100, which left the account $220 behind. On 4/15/08, they could report her as 30-days/$220 past-due. Another payment also came due that day, so now she owes $320+220=$540. If she only paid another $100, then on 5/15/08 they could report her 60-days/$440 past-due, since she still has not fully completed the 3/15 payment.

The FCRA requires lenders to send a notice if they intend to report any derogatory information about you to the bureaus. All that the law requires is a two-line sentence that says "We may report your account to the credit bureaus. Late, missed or partial payments may be reflected on your credit report."

My company has a 10-day late notice that we send out, which has the above disclosures on it. That way we give the customers a warning well before we actually report anything to the bureaus.

Keep in mind, you do have 30 days. If you make a partial payment, and then get your tax refund in two weeks, you might have time still to pay the rest of that payment before it gets reported late. But if you wait until the next due date to make up the difference, then it might be too late.

Call the finance company. Talk to them. What's the worst they can say?

Besides, you just never know. They might be willing to deal a bit with you.

Or perhaps she was just making the interest payments, some finance companies will allow you to do that if you talk to them and explain your having financial difficulty.

Okay, so say I just go ahead and pay them 14 days from now in FULL- that would make me exactly 14 days late with the payment ( payment was originally due on the 25th ). Awhile back, my creditor told me payments weren't considered late until 10 days past it's due date.

When they say that, does that mean they consider it late after 10 days and may therefore, slap me with a late fee? Or do they mean they'll report me, too?

Let me get this straight- if I go anywhere from 11-14 days late on this particular payment, they CANNOT report to the credit bureau that I am 30 days late? They cannot report me late at all? ( considering I make the full payment in 14 days, not a partial ).

I've never had a late payment before ( I just used to advance and advance my little heart out at the PDL shops in order to keep my creditors paid ) but I know I'm going to have to let some things slide a little bit here and there while I get myself out of the PDL hole and get the flow started on my second income; but I have worked so hard to keep negatives off my credit report, so it all makes me so nervous. I'm sure you guys have no idea ( or you do ) how tempting it is to just run out, grab a PDL, and pay my creditor on time. It's the same response to my bills I have been using for 3 years, and I'm finding it oddly difficult to break away from that thinking.

Just think, when you can get yourself out of the PDL hole, then you will have the funds to pay everything ontime without having to borrow from a PDL.

Payments are technically late beginning the day after the payment was due. When you are 10 days past-due, then they can charge a late fee. (This is usually when they might send a letter or a quick reminder call). When you are 30 days past-due, then they can report to the bureaus.

For being 14 days late - they cannot report it to the bureaus. But you would have a late fee.

Call them, let them know what you are going to do. Like wulf says, they just might cut you some slack. I have been know to accept a partial payment arrangement and waive the late fee when I receive the rest of the payment.

Amaranth-Some car finance companies will also let you skip a payment(if you are having a problem)-adding it to the back of your loan. Say I had 40 payments left at that time- they tack on this payment at the end of my loan. It just gives you time to catch up, so what I am trying to say is ask them if they have an option to skip a payment and add to the end of your loan. You can PM if you have any questions.

kolodin616 -

Hi, thank you very much for your suggestion. I plan on calling them tomorrow or Wednesday, and I will certainly bring that up and see what they have to say.

Thanks!!!

I did it before, the company allowed it once in a calendar year and they faxed me a form to sign. Another suggestion to buy you some time if they don't offer that option is to explain to them that you are waiting for your money to come in and see if they will change the due date.You have to be over 30 days before it gets reported.

Do late utility payments go on your credit report

Some utilties report every month, some only report when it goes to collections.

For example, my gas company does report every month. So if I paid over 30 days late then if would be on my credit.

My electric company does not report though. They would only report if it ended up in collections.

Check your credit and see if your utility has been reporting every month. If not, you will probably be safe with a few late payments as long as you don't get too far behind.