Problems can happen to anyone. The car breaks down, furnace needs a repair, children have some type of emergency...in other words, items that were not budgeted for this month show up IN THIS MONTH. Your cash flow and budget are thrown for a loop and now a payment is missed on the car or credit card or house. What do you do next?
To begin, keep in mind that the scoring system will show a current month record of your pay history in this fashion. NUMBER OF MONTHS, PAST DUE, 30-DAY, 60-DAY, 90-DAY, RATING. What this means is that your the scoring system will know that you missed a payment (as long as your credit provider has reported to the credit bureau). How do you minimize the impact.
First of all, the (Past Due) column of the records and the (Rating) are the only areas that are not carried forward from month to month for seven years. The "Number of Months" is a continual process. In July you have 18 months of history, in August you will have 19 months, in September 20 months, etc. It is an ongoing total that increases each month you keep the account open. "30 Day" means the number of months that your account was "more than 30 days late up to 59 days late". "60 Day" is the number of months "60 days to 89 days late" and "90 Day" is the number of times you have ended a month at "90 days or more late for a month".
The Past Due column is a record of your current month only. In July, most accounts will show your June results. If you were late, PAST DUE 1 or MORE DAYS, this column will show you late. If in July you catch up your account, on the August report you will not show past due....because you were not past due. Remember that you caught up the account to current.
The Rating is a record of your current month rating. If you are current your rating is "1". If you are 30 days late your rating is "2". 60 days late and your rating is "3" and 90 days late is "4". Repo is a "8". Charge off or collection is a "9". This rating will only show what you are this month of the report. Last month does not show in this section.
The reality is that if you never get more than 30 days late, then your record will only impact you on the report in the month you were late from 1-29 days. The 30+ day lates are recorded and kept for 7 years.
So......if you can get the account current.....do it ASAP.....because two of the columns on a credit report will no longer show you late. Both the "PAST DUE" AND "RATING" will change to current. Get caught up as soon a s possible and the impact will immediately improve your credit standing.