Late car payment

[gramps1968]

Just a quick question: Theres a possibility that my car payment will be late this month....only by 3 days.....would Americredit mark this as a late payment on my credit report if I called them ahead of time and let them know I will be 3 days late? Does a 30 day late on your report mean that it's UP TO 30 days late or that it is 30 days late but less than 60?

Message Edited by gramps1968 on 10-18-2008 06:10 AM

[marty56]

I would call.  IMHO I dont think they would but you need to call and ask.

Most creditors will not mark you 30 days late unless you are 30 days late or you dont pay by the next statement date.  That is if your payment is due on the 1st and you pay on the 5th and the statement drops on the 3rd, they could mark it 30 days late.  Wells Fargo CC did that to me.

[cadavis0609]

I don't think they can legally say you were 30 days late unless you were 30 days late. Still call nonetheless, It goes a long way with building a relationship with your bank when you are upfront with them about things like that.

[Anonymous]

Just be proactive - let them know when they are getting thier money.

[MattH]

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@gramps1968 wrote:
Just a quick question: Theres a possibility that my car payment will be late this month....only by 3 days.....would Americredit mark this as a late payment on my credit report if I called them ahead of time and let them know I will be 3 days late? Does a 30 day late on your report mean that it's UP TO 30 days late or that it is 30 days late but less than 60?

Message Edited by gramps1968 on 10-18-2008 06:10 AM

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As the other posters said, it PROBABLY won't get reported but it won't hurt to call and ask.  Also, if you are waiting for some money to arrive before you pay, with most lenders you can pay-by-phone or via the lender's web site on the morning of the due date and still pay on time.  

If you are close to the deadline, be aware of the difference between "pushing" the money from the source side versus "pulling" the money from the destination side: it can take a couple of days for the money to get transferred, and until the money moves only the computers on whichever side initiated the transaction will know about it.  So if one is close to the deadline it's better to initiate it from the website or phone number of the creditor, rather than from the website of the bank where you keep your money.  I pay most of my bills online from my Bank of America checking account, and usually the money reaches its destination two or three business days after I click "Make Payment" if the recipient is a big company.  For payments to individuals or small businesses that aren't set up to get paid electronically, BofA will snail-mail a computer-printed paper check so that takes somewhat longer.

[Anonymous]

I know this sounds shady but sometimes in life you have to do what you have to do.

My car is financed through capital one. Lets say my car payment is due on the 15th every month. September 15th comes along and I have no money... so I send no money. As long as my October payment is sent in on time they don't report 30 days late. They just put my October payment on September charge me a late fee and send me another bill for Oct. I've never tested how many months I could get away with that consecutively and I wouldn't try it.

Also they have a promise to pay feature where you can call and have a promise to pay indicated on your account. So if you are only going to be a couple of days late call and see if your company has a promise to pay feature as well.

[Anonymous]

They might simply ask, "why don't you pay right now by phone?  There's a $14.95 fee associated with it..."   On the good side, you won't be late...but it will cost a few dollars.

That's the way my Citi Mastercard is; get that payment out asap by mail, or pay the nearly-$15 phone fee.

Dan

[MattH]

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@Anonymous wrote:

They might simply ask, "why don't you pay right now by phone?  There's a $14.95 fee associated with it..."   On the good side, you won't be late...but it will cost a few dollars.

That's the way my Citi Mastercard is; get that payment out asap by mail, or pay the nearly-$15 phone fee.

Dan

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I believe with CitiCard you can also make an immediate payment via the website without paying any fee.