If your bill is five days late is that long enough to hurt credit ratings?

I have a bill in my brother's name and I slipped this month but mind you I paid it only five days late and now he's threatening me about terminating the account because he says that paying the bill late can affect his credit ratings. Is five days late on a bill is enough to hurt credit ratings?

Public Comments

1. Hopefully, if it isn't reported to the credit bureau instantly.
2. no this will not hurt your credit. but i wouldnt make a habbit of it.
3. no because usually a company will have what they call a grace period of ten days which means that technically the bill can be late but no more than ten days after it was due
4. It shouldn't. It will be reported if its over 30 days (from my understanding) But, if its late, you will accrue late charges and a chance that your APR will increase.
5. They usually give you a full bill cycle before considering it late enough to report.
6. All ways phone when making a late payment
7. no it has to be 30 days past due before they report it. just don't do it every month.
8. Not ussally. It depends on the type of account, how they report late payments, etc... I wouldn't be too worried about it but call the company to confirm how they report credit activity to be sure.
9. Making one late payment won't affect a credit score. Usually, you have to make two late payments to get a warning, and three before the account is put in collections. The company must tell you in writing when they are putting it in collections. After that point, it will affect his credit score.
10. noway,as long as it's paid and besides he really don't want you to have it in his name so get your credit straight so you don'thave to go through all that girl.that's too much that's why he's tripping.
11. It depends on the company. some companys report any late payments and they will show up on a credit report. It will show the month and the time it was late, whether it be 0-30 days, 30-60 days, etc. Just once wont really affect his credit rating, but continually it will. He does have a little right to be concerned, especially if he is always on time, and now he's trying to help you out and your late. Even though it was an accident.
12. I've been told by bankers and attorneys, that even one day after the due date is bad. It establishes a "slow pay" record, and that's bad when seeking other/more credit.
13. I was one day late and got phone calls 7 straight days telling me this could ruin my credit rating , and it was all calls that came from the people from india, why can't they hire americans to do that job.....
14. No. Late bill payments do not show up on credit until they are 30 days late or more. Depending on the type of bill however, it might effect the interest rate on the account. Credit Card companies are notorious for raising rates and charging fees at the slightest blip, even on late payments on bills other than your account with them. On mortgages, you usually have a 15 day grace period. Most utilities would not consider this a big deal if you have a good history with them.
15. It should not hurt the rating now because it usually takes a while before it's reported to credit bureaus but there may be late fees and if it's a credit card his interest rate may increase. You and your brother should both learn about how credit scoring works. There is a lot of confusion surrounding it. Many people don't understand what affects it and what doesn't.
16. Most give you a ten day grace period and some actually very few give you a thirty day grace period. So no but like the one guy said I wouldn't make a habit of it. Best thing to do is to call them and inform them you are going to be a few days late. Most are cooperative seeing as they didn't have to call you. As long as I call my mortgage company and inform them we are going to be a few days late then they do not report to the credit agencies. Most companies are pretty reasonable about it.
17. No. Credit reporting agencies only report 30-60-90 day reports and major delinquencies. If you want to check your credit report you can go to www.freecreditreport.com or go to your personal banking institution. Freecreditreport.com will only give you the basic report and will probably leave some things off but you can pay a fee to see the whole thing. Banks will also charge a fee.
18. They can report it late, they don't have to wait 30 days but if it is a Credit Card and he has a great interest rate, you just jeopardized it and it can increase up to 25 -28% and yes that will hurt is credit big time !!!!!