I’ve been having hell with Verizon DSL since moving to a new apartment, and it’s going to be until AT LEAST Wednesday the 28th before the high speed will be flowing again. I’ve wasted about 10 hours in total in the past two weeks alone talking to their tech support, then their billing, back and forth ad nauseum. In short, I’m pretty fed up.
However, despite the fact that this is looking more and more like the responsibility is on them and their gross stupidity, I will have to pay an early termination fee (I think $99) to cancel, unless I can find something in the service agreement that gives me a backdoor on defaulting.
So I’m wondering, if I end up having to pay an early termination fee, will it have any negative impact on my credit? Does that information go to credit reporting agencies at all? Basically, what can Verizon do to me for cancelling?
I almost almost certain that it won’t affect it. Your agreement with Verizon is a contract, not a line of credit. The fee is simply part of the contract and there is nothing to report to the credit agencies. Late payments that go into collection would get reported but termination fees won’t. Get copies of your credit reports sometimes. That will show what types of things are and aren’t on there. Many people are suprised.
I used to work for Verizon Wireless, so I can confirm that the ETF fulfills your end of the contract, and there will be no negative consequences.
But if I may piggy-back on your credit-thread instead of starting my own… my house payment is due on the 1st of every month, but they have a grace period that allows me to pay until the 10th with no penalty. If I pay on the 9th every single month, will this affect my credit score?
No. I do that almost every month and it hasn’t done anything to mine. That is one big thing that most people don’t realize. When you look at your actual credit reports you will see that the earliest that any late payment can affect your rating is at 30 days late. I believe that applies to every credit account. Therefore, you can pay your credit card bills and house payments 29 days late every month and nothing will ever happen to your credit score. OTOH, you will rack up some serious late charges and interest for doing that. It also won’t look to good for the company’s internal view. However, I don’t think it matters much at all if you do this for an extended deadline like a mortgage.