Difference between late payment and missed payment?

Cherry_Bomb

Might sound obvious but......

I stupidly missed a payment on my Santander CC. It was due on the 20th. For whatever reason I've completely forgot. I've paid it today so 4 days late. My query is that as of today my account is still showing as up to date even though I know it's not. I'm guessing there's a bit of a delay on their computers. So I paid what I needed to pay (even though the guy on the phone kept saying it's fine it's up to date)

Is this going to seriously affect my credit rating? I'm hoping that as I've made the payment whilst my account was still showing as up to date I should be ok. Or is that just wishful thinking?
Will this be a classed as a late or missed payment? Are Santander usually on the ball with this sort of thing?

I'm really panicking and feel sick I've let this happen

Tixy

There is no distinction on a credit file between late or missed.

For a payment just a few days late it can be hard to call, it will partly depend on the creditor and also on the date of the month they usually update your credit file compared to the due date.

It may well be the case that it won't be show at all on your credit file, if you paid before they do their monthly update. However it could show as a '1' marker, reflecting 1 payment not paid on time.

In terms of how much it will affect your ability to get credit if it does show - depends on what else is on your file, and how soon you might be trying to apply for new credit. Very short term it won't look good, if its a single isolated incident then in a few months time it would usually have neglible impact.