We hear from a lot of people in January or February when they find out that they have a late payment on their credit report.  They often say that they were out of town and didn’t get the mail in time, or perhaps they just missed that bill among all the other mail they had to go through when they returned.  It can happen to anyone, even the most conscientious bill payers.  Sometimes you can get the company to reverse the late fee; sometimes they’ll even remove it from your credit report.  The best thing to do is take steps to be sure it doesn’t happen to you.

WHY IT MATTERS 
The largest factor in your credit score is your payment history.  Just one 30 day late payment can cause a significant drop in your score.  Generally, companies do not report late payments of a few days or weeks to the credit bureaus;  They only report it when an entire month’s payment was skipped, that becomes the 30 day late on the credit file.

WHAT TO DO
If you are going to be traveling this holiday season, review your past three month’s bills to determine which bills are due on what date every month.  Then look at the current month to see which bills you have already paid.  You can then pay the bills that are due during your travel time BEFORE you leave.  It’s okay if they are early.  That is a much better alternative than having them paid late.

NOTE: Be sure to have the post office hold your mail or have someone you trust collect it every day to protect yourself from mail theft.  Click here for more identity theft prevention tips.

If you are not traveling, you still may want to get the monthly bill paying out of the way so that you can enjoy friends and family without having to take time out to deal with finances.  Getting out of our normal routine sometimes allows things to slip between the cracks and get missed.  Don’t let your credit score drop because of a missed bill.

For more information on how to keep and grow your credit scores, contact us to get your Credit Check-Up today. 

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