What is considered late on a mortgage payment?

LeeHamilton

Hi, looking for some guidance please.

Just searched my file and found 2 late payments to Together Finance with whom I have a commercial mortgage. Payments were made 2 days late in May 2017 and 8 days late in February 2019.

I've searched and can't find a 'standard' definition of what being late is. Obviously there's the literal sense, but most seem to point to a grace period of 15 days and in some circumstances 60 days before the lender marks your credit file as missing a payment.

Feel that marking my file for 2 and 8 days is particularly harsh. Is there anything that can be done to have these removed.? It's just stopped me getting another commercial mortgage.

[Deleted User]

I generally thought it was if the end of the calendar month passed. If its different to each lender then your T&C's will be the best place to start as these are what you agreed to

I would guess the only way to have them removed would be to check their conditions and see if you breached them. If you did then no recourse really. Together have a duty to all other finance companies to accurately reflect your ability to repay debt so that they can make future lending decisions. In this case they are saying that you didnt make your payments on time. You arent disputing the fact you missed the payments so it would seem it only fair your credit report reflect this

LeeHamilton

Thx Deleted_User. You make a fair point on what should be reflected. I think the grace period also reflects that things aren't black and white and you shouldn't be disadvantaged as a result.

Checked the T&C's and there is no reference to a late period, jsut 'late', which is in the literal sense not on the due date.

kingstreet

If you are paying in arrears, you will normally gate a late payment marker if the payment isn't in on the due date.

When paying in advance, you might get a couple of days' grace.

foxy-stoat

I was under the impression that if your mortgage payment date was 1st of the month then your standing order will be automatically paid on the 1st of the month. If you know there is no money on 1st then call the lender and make other arrangements, ie card payment.

As for getting the late markers removed, you probably cannot change the fact that they were late. In 6 years no one will know.

Thrugelmir

LeeHamilton wrote: »

I've searched and can't find a 'standard' definition of what being late is. Obviously there's the literal sense,

Contractually it will the literal sense. Systems are rigid for good reason.

ACG

This is the phrase I had inscribed on the brain when I worked for a bank.

We have a legal obligation to provide a true and accurate reflection of your payment history on the account.

To be honest though, I was moved to the complaints team because I was quite good at explaining our side of the situation without it generally annoying the customers... I did not just reel off that sentence.

Most customers had a way to explain how they understood payments should be marked as late but THEY should get the exception - it was only a day/it was only 28p/it was my first time/(my personal favourite...) I was on holiday, you cant REALLY (she emphasised the really) expect me to make payments whilst I am away.

Without wanting to sound harsh, I would work off the literal sense - if you are late, you are late.

The bank I worked for had a system in place where if the payments had been received within 2 working days AND was not in arrears at the time of the credit report being updated, it would not go down as a late payment. That meant at best you had 2 days grace plus a weekend if there was one, worst case scenario, there was no grace period.