One Day Late Credit Card Payment
Q: I was one day late on a credit card payment. What will happen and what can I do about it?
A: The credit card reform stipulates that banks now have to give you at least a 21 day grace period for payments. However if you do your bills through the mail, between the time it takes to be mailed the bill and the time it takes to mail it back, unfortunately you don’t have that big of a window to make your credit card payment. What happens if you were out of town, in the hospital, or endured some unusual events that month?
Long story short, late payments can happen to the best of us. But what’s particularly frustrating is a one day late credit card payment… because it’s often treated the exact same as if you were a whole week or two late! You are still charged the late fee. If this is your second late payment within a 6 month period the creditor will have the legal right to raise your APR if they so choose. There is a possibility (although not a likely one) that the bank will report it on your credit file. However there are some things you can do to decrease the chances of these negative repercussions:
Call customer service and ask for leniency
If you have a pattern of making late payments, your bank probably won’t budge. But if it truly is a rare or one-time occurrence, call them up and politely ask if they can waive the fee. While talking to them, re-iterate how loyal of a customer you have been and the fact that you were only one day late on the payment. If they know what’s best for them, they will waive the fee.
Ask if the late payment will be reported
Typically, credit card companies only report payments that are more than 30 days late. However that is not guaranteed – technically a creditor can report any late payment at their discretion, even if it’s only one day late. Keep in mind that any payment that is 1 to 30 days late is still classified as a “30 days late payment” so it is well within their right to report it if they want. Although it’s very unlikely, while you are on the phone with customer service I would recommend asking if your credit card payment will be reported to the bureaus even though it’s only one day late.
Thanks for the great information!
I was a day late on my PayPal Extra’s Mastercard an freaking out about my credit score falling like a rock.
I took your advice and called customer service. Much to my surprise, they not only removed the late fee but informed me that they don’t report the payment as late unless 30 days has passed after the due date.
Thanks again! Such a relief!
I was reading your blog in regards to “One day late Credit card payments.” And I found and error that could effect many people who read your information.
Your blog states “The credit card reform stipulates that banks now have to give you at least a 21 day GRACE PERIOD for payments.” This may be misleading to people who read it, because they will think from the time the bill is due they have an extra 21 day grace period. Under the credit card law, issuers have to give card account holders “a reasonable amount of time” to make payments on monthly bills. That means payments are due at least 21 days after they are mailed or delivered. Maybe I’m reading wrong but can you please clearify!
Hi Steven, sorry for any confusion here is the definition:
http://creditcardforum.com/blog/credit-card-grace-period/