Have I just ruined my credit score?

punk_beatz

Hi guys,

Earlier this year I checked my credit report on Experian and it was 977, which I was really chuffed about. I checked because I was going to buy a house with my girlfriend, though last night we backed out of the deal because we couldn't reach an agreement with the seller.

I was looking at my HSBC bank account online this morning and noticed there was a late fee on my credit card. After going through it I realised I'd completely forgotten to pay my card off this month and I was five days past the deadline. I've had the card for 6 years and every single month I've paid in time and in full - this is the first time I've ever missed a payment.

I sorted the payment out right away online and called them to let them know and to apologise. I asked the two people I spoke to whether it would show on the credit report that I missed it and both gave me mixed answers and neither sounded confident, so now I'm worried that I've truly messed up my credit rating and that I'll have trouble getting another mortgage offer if I find a house we like this year or next.

It's completely my fault that I missed it, but if this has huge implications on my credit rating considering my almost-perfect record I'm going to be so annoyed at myself.

I'm going to set up a DD to cover the minimum amount each month from now on, even though I always remember to pay it in time and in full.

If this does appear on my credit report, what are the likely implications/problems I might have and is it likely that I'll have problems getting a mortgage offer in the next 12 months?

I feel like such an idiot

spadoosh

It almost certainly will show up on your credit report but that does depend on how your bank rolls. It will probably show as a late payment dot on that account. By the sounds of how high rate you seem to be about this it sounds like it doesnt happen often and is unusual. If it does show on your credit report i would expect this 1 off to have very little impact on a credit decision. People are allowed to forget they just dont like seeing patterns.

Your credit score will be fine and you shouldnt worry ( not a credit expert but ive got a lot more than 1 late payment and i just got accepted for 90% mortgage that i cant afford )

p.s. can really afford the mortgage!

izools

spadoosh wrote: »

ive got a lot more than 1 late payment and i just got accepted for 90% mortgage

Who by?

m00m00

I believe you can get 90% mortgages with defaults, you would have to consult a whole of market mortgage broker as most of the sub prime people (like Kensington, who do not do 90%) will not deal direct.

I'm scared to even think of the APR though

punk_beatz

We had a deal with Halifax lined up for an 85% LTV mortgage with an interest rate of 4.4%.

Fingers crossed this silly mistake won't put them off me in the near future...

chexum

A missed payment is not a good sign, but not the end of the world either - these days the lenders do much more calculations and predictions based on affordability and the full account history than checking how many times you missed payments. Especially as the CRA records will show the payment amounts as well, if the missed payment does actually show up completely for the month (or even if only for the next month), chances are it won't have an effect at all.

For the reports to show the new history, you may be better to wait a few months (to avoid the last status being a missed payment be interpreted as the start of something bad, optimally even about 6 months), but otherwise I'm sure you don't need to worry.

To restore the impeccability of your credit file, you may want to keep the card open for 3 more years to let the missed payment marker fall off before closing the account, but it really should not matter after a year.