will this stop me getting credit?

zaffi

got a late payment charge from tesco cc as i paid 2 days before my statement date so instead of one payment in october and one in november it was classed as two in october and none in november. The charge was refunded but there is an entry in my equifax file.

I contacted tesco and they said they could only change it if it was their fault, which in fairness it wasn't, it was mine. They have promised to send me a letter detailing exactly what happened incase I am refused credit and have evidence for an appeal.

I've had a joint mortgage for over 3 years and a car loan for 3 and a half i also have a halifax clarity cc with 0 balance and £10000 limit and my tesco card which now has 0 balance and £3000 limit.

was looking at ditching the tesco cc and getting a new 0% card and also later in the year looking to get a new car

never had any black marks before - will this hinder me in future?

cheers
zaf.

Consumerist

It depends on whether Tesco decide to register the "late" payment as such on your credit file. Although they may have charged you for a late payment, in the circumstances they may not have registered it on your file.

You will need to get a copy of your file to see. You are entitled to add a comment to your credit file to explain the circumstances if that becomes necessary.

Edit
Oops - I must pay more attention. I must pay more attention. I must pay more attention

Hax

Consumerist wrote: »

It depends on whether Tesco decide to register the "late" payment as such on your credit file.

OPs already stated:

zaffi wrote: »

got a late payment charge from tesco cc as i paid 2 days before my statement date so instead of one payment in october and one in november it was classed as two in october and none in november. The charge was refunded but there is an entry in my equifax file.

If the rest of your credit record is unblemished, it shouldn't have too much of a negative impact.

You can, if you want to, add a note to the late payment explaining what happened. This forces all credit applications to be manually processed and the lenders are obliged to read and consider what you have written.

P.S. Remember that there are three credit reference agencies - you might want to check your record with the other two (Experian and CallCredit)

topcat9

Hi - I did exactly the same with Egg Card and in the end they agreed to change my credit record. I wrote a polite, apologetic letter to their complaints department making it clear that I wasn't complaining, that the mistake was mine but I hadn't actually missed a payment so much as paid a bit earlier (which of course was better for them:) I asked nicely if they would 'correct' the credit record and they did. Might be worth a try with Tesco.

Hax

topcat9 wrote: »

I hadn't actually missed a payment so much as paid a bit earlier (which of course was better for them I asked nicely if they would 'correct' the credit record and they did. Might be worth a try with Tesco.

Why is it better for them? Better for you, yes as you pay less interest. But, seeing as they make their money from interest and charges from late payments, etc, it's highly unlikely that they would view your error as being "better for them"

topcat9

Wow Hax - I can see it pays to be extra-careful over every little comment posted here! I was trying to get across the idea to the OP that my letter to Egg was good-humoured and tried to present my case in the most positive light. Hence the smiley after the comment. Hopefully, my experience will be helpful to zaffi.

Hax

topcat9 - I wasn't having a go at you. But, as you were offering advice on how the OP could get the late payment marker from their credit report, I though it important that they don't use inaccurate reasoning when doing so.

For their best chance to get their record adjusted, they need to accept responsibility and be polite and apologetic as you say, but they also need to be factually accurate

adamc260

I don't really understand why they would even register it as a late payment

As long as the same amount of money got paid... how are they any worse off? =/ Just seems like they're being really picky lol

Flyboy152

zaffi wrote: »

got a late payment charge from tesco cc as i paid 2 days before my statement date so instead of one payment in october and one in november it was classed as two in october and none in november. The charge was refunded but there is an entry in my equifax file.

I contacted tesco and they said they could only change it if it was their fault, which in fairness it wasn't, it was mine. They have promised to send me a letter detailing exactly what happened incase I am refused credit and have evidence for an appeal.

I've had a joint mortgage for over 3 years and a car loan for 3 and a half i also have a halifax clarity cc with 0 balance and £10000 limit and my tesco card which now has 0 balance and £3000 limit.

was looking at ditching the tesco cc and getting a new 0% card and also later in the year looking to get a new car

never had any black marks before - will this hinder me in future?

cheers
zaf.

By agreeing they charged you in error, that makes it Tesco's fault.

Flyboy152

Hax wrote: »

Why is it better for them? Better for you, yes as you pay less interest. But, seeing as they make their money from interest and charges from late payments, etc, it's highly unlikely that they would view your error as being "better for them"

If it was a zero per cent tarrif, it most certainly would be better for them.

Hax

adamc260 wrote: »

I don't really understand why they would even register it as a late payment

As long as the same amount of money got paid... how are they any worse off? =/ Just seems like they're being really picky lol

Your agreement is to make payments in accordance with the statements that get produced. By making a payment prior to the statement being produced, you have then gone through a statement period without making a payment.

As far as they are concerned, the "early" payment is simply an additional payment to the previous statements - they don't know which statement you "intended" it to be applied to.

For example, I always pay at least the minimum off my credit cards when the statements are produced. Then, at the end of the month, any money I have left gets thrown at any outstanding balances too and I want those payments applied to the current statement so that I maintain clearing the full balance each statement period. If the payment were applied to the following month, then I would not have cleared the balance in full and would end up incurring interest.

End of the day, you need to read the statements to ensure that you make payments when appropriate.