Does 1-2 day late hurt you in the future?

[iv]

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@Anonymouswrote:

If it illegal then many mortgage companies violate the law. They are notorious for a few days late is 30 days late. My brothers credit union did that every time. In the early 2000s when I was always late, I always got hit with 30 days for less than 30 days late. Don’t think it’s policed well. 

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I think that's more a mis-understanding of what "late" means...

If a mortgage bill is DUE on, say 4/1 - the lender may commonly accept payment up until 4/15 without penalty or reporting.

From 4/16 to 4/30, they may acceptment plus a late charge, without reporting.

From 5/1, they will report.  As 30-days late. Correctly. And probably start collections action.

If you're thinking that 5/1 is "one day late" because that's the first day that has a major effect... well, no.  It was due 4/1. 30 days later is 5/1.

I've seen many people commonly paying each month as late as possible (sometimes just before the late charge, sometimes all the way to the end of the month) - understand that someone doing this who slips "just a few days" from their usual (late) payment time is actually pushing over into the real 30-day window.

Or if you "get behind" a month - that missed or almost-missed payment doesn't just go away - you could be paying on the 1st of each month for a year... with each payment being 30-days late due to effectively having missed a month.  Each payment is actually being counted as the late payment for the previous month.