# How will one late payment affect my credit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989 "2008-12-28T19:40:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/21 "2008-12-29T03:35:32Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > No, I meant that you want to leave a balance riding. As long as they believe you will make payments, aren’t grosslyu inflting your balance, having something riding means that you’re paying interest, which means they are making money and will want to lend to you. They don’t make any cash (well, not much, just a biyt from the merchandiser) when you don’t pay interest. If you always, always pay it all off within a month, you will have a lower score than if you pay it off more slowly, but steadily. Well, that wasn’t what the OP was talking about, and that is also wrong. ETA, what I mean by wrong is that it won’t cause your score to be lower to not carry balances. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/22 "2008-12-29T03:44:25Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > No, I meant that you want to leave a balance riding. As long as they believe you will make payments, aren’t grosslyu inflting your balance, having something riding means that you’re paying interest, which means they are making money and will want to lend to you. They don’t make any cash (well, not much, just a biyt from the merchandiser) when you don’t pay interest. If you always, always pay it all off within a month, you will have a lower score than if you pay it off more slowly, but steadily. If you pay them all off in a shorter period of time, the reason your score is going to be lower is because you’ve made less payments overall. Lets say you borrow 1,000 dollars and pay 10 dollars a month. In total, you’ll pay for 10 years, That’s **120** _on time_ payments. If you pay for two months and then pay it off, that’s **2** _on time_ payments. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/23 "2008-12-29T03:59:09Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > No, I meant that you want to leave a balance riding. As long as they believe you will make payments, aren’t grosslyu inflting your balance, having something riding means that you’re paying interest, which means they are making money and will want to lend to you. They don’t make any cash (well, not much, just a biyt from the merchandiser) when you don’t pay interest. If you always, always pay it all off within a month, you will have a lower score than if you pay it off more slowly, but steadily. There’s a difference between what your credit score shows (on time payments, not keeping a balance near your limit) and what a CC company wants from the ideal customer (keeping a balance and paying scads of interest). FICO is not supposed to show an ideal profit-making customer for a CC company, just one that will actually pay up. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/24 "2008-12-29T03:59:35Z")
> [@Trocisp](#): > > I’ve got a question, have you ever been on the other side of a Finance desk **Musicat**? Because if not, it’s really not worth having this conversation. Believe it or not, I’ve been on _both_ sides of the desk (not at the same time!). I know what is important, how to evade the creditors and what to do to avoid their scrutiny; how to fool them and how not to fool them; what they look for and what they overlook; what scares creditors into avoidance and what scares deadbeats into submission. It’s been a full life, y’bet. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/25 "2008-12-29T04:12:12Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Believe it or not, I’ve been on _both_ sides of the desk (not at the same time!). It would have to be a very, very tiny desk! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/26 "2008-12-29T04:23:19Z")
> [@Trocisp](#): > > If you pay them all off in a shorter period of time, the reason your score is going to be lower is because you’ve made less payments overall. > > Lets say you borrow 1,000 dollars and pay 10 dollars a month. > > In total, you’ll pay for 10 years, That’s **120** _on time_ payments. > > If you pay for two months and then pay it off, that’s **2** _on time_ payments. Yes, but if every month for 10 years you charge $100 and pay off $100, (thus never carrying a balance) you also have 120 “on time” payments. There is no need to carry a CC balance to improve your FICO score. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/27 "2008-12-29T04:51:54Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, but if every month for 10 years you charge $100 and pay off $100, (thus never carrying a balance) you also have 120 “on time” payments. There is no need to carry a CC balance to improve your FICO score. Unsecured Loans (Revolving Credit that isn’t attached to a solid piece of property) do not effect your credit score in the same way that Secured Loans (Car Loans, Home Loans, Revolving Credit with collateral). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/28 "2008-12-29T04:58:34Z")
Yesbut that has nothing to do with carrying a balance on a CC. Sure, it’s good to show you can pay off a Mortgage or a Car Loan, but there is no reason at all to carry a CC balance (for FICO purposes). I knw you aren’t claiming that but others are, so I wanted to clarify. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/29 "2008-12-29T05:02:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I knw you aren’t claiming that but others are, so I wanted to clarify. Okay, sorry, I got quite confused. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/30 "2008-12-29T07:37:27Z")
My bank nearly ruined mine. Because I was getting lax about remembering to pay my bills (the money was there, the remembering wasn’t) I put all my creditors on auto-bill-pay, and thought that would be one less thing to have to remember. I gave them ALL the info they needed: account numbers, addresses, amount to send and when. Unfortunately it was at a time when my previous bank was being bought out and things were still in “transition” to the new bank, so none of my payments got sent out on time, and guess what? Lowered credit limits, higher interest and poor credit rating. These were people who until my diagnosis had **always** been paid on time. Did I raise hell? Yes, I did and I am \*\*STILL \*\*trying to patch things up. Quasi ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/31 "2008-12-29T14:13:56Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > No, I meant that you want to leave a balance riding. As long as they believe you will make payments, aren’t grosslyu inflting your balance, having something riding means that you’re paying interest, which means they are making money and will want to lend to you. They don’t make any cash (well, not much, just a biyt from the merchandiser) when you don’t pay interest. If you always, always pay it all off within a month, you will have a lower score than if you pay it off more slowly, but steadily. No, this is not true. While the credit card company itself may have an internal rating for you that indicates you are a less profitable customer (e.g. less forgiveness of late fees upon request), paying off your balance each month or paying over time does not affect your credit score. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/32 "2008-12-29T14:27:43Z")
> [@](#): > > In some cases, having a very small balance without missing a payment shows that you have managed credit responsibly, and may be slightly better than carrying no balance at all. On the other hand, closing unused credit accounts that show zero balances and that are in good standing will not raise your FICO® score. [http://www.myfico.com/Downloads/Files/MyFICO\_UYFS\_Booklet.pdf](http://www.myfico.com/Downloads/Files/MyFICO_UYFS_Booklet.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/33 "2008-12-29T16:44:52Z")
I’m not all that worried about what the credit card compnay thinks about me. I’m more concerned about what’s going to happen in the spring when I go to buy a new motorcycle. Normally, with my excellent credit, I wouldn’t be sweating one late payment. But with the current economic situation, who knows what lame excuse they might use to deny a loan. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/34 "2008-12-29T17:10:19Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I’m more concerned about what’s going to happen in the spring when I go to buy a new motorcycle. If the payment was less than 30 days late, it will have no effect on your credit. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/35 "2008-12-29T20:44:13Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Normally, with my excellent credit, I wouldn’t be sweating one late payment. But with the current economic situation, who knows what lame excuse they might use to deny a loan. The “lame excuse” is with the current economic situation, they believe that even people with excellent credit might default. Part of why Detroit is foundering is that the masses of people who buy cars on credit are no longer able to. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/36 "2009-01-05T03:09:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Right, as “a courtesy”. This might be too late to revive this, but I have had credit card companies give me the benefit of the doubt at least a half a dozen times and rescind the late payment charge. The last time was just last month. It doesn’t hurt to call them and tell them your story. They don’t have to do it but if you are a good customer they do. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989/37 "2009-01-05T13:09:54Z")
And speaking of the devil. I just got a call from the bank saying that my latest phone payment wasn’t cleared (no way that could have happened) and threatening to bury me under late charges and ruin my credit. After some aggressive questioning on my part, it turns out that THEY copied the wrong account number and the bank rejected it, of course. I still have to go in person and pay in cash for their error. No late fees, of course. The lesson being, always fight a late charge. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-one-late-payment-affect-my-credit/478989.md?page=1)