If you’re lucky, the lender won’t report that you were late. “The first thing to note is that most lenders do not report missed payments until the account is 30+ days past due,” says Anthony Sprauve, director of public relations for MyFico.com. “Suppose a given credit card payment is due on May 15th (and) the payment is made on May 25th. Technically the payment is late, and fees and interest charges may apply. But in most cases, this late payment would not be reported by the creditor to the credit reporting agencies (CRAs).”
Or it’s possible your lender may overlook for the transgression. Steve Ely, president of eCredable.com, adds: “The larger creditors (like credit card companies) usually have sophisticated analytic models working behind the scenes that take into account your history of payments. If you’ve been paying on time for a long time, they’re likely to forgive your one late payment, and let it slide.”
