if I don't pay a credit card bill on time what will happen?

Question

if i send in a payment, say, like a week or two late, what will happen? what if i tell the credit card company that i don't have the money now but I'll try or will be making a late payment? will it affect my credit score, and how? and will it make the interest rate go more up? please help!

what if this happens more than once? what will the credit card company do?

oh and i want to also know how the credit card comapny would help a poor person like me- would they lower my interest rate or payments?

Answer 1

interest and penalty.....ruin your credit history and the interest rate might go up....upto a certain amount....

Answer 2

You're in for a world of hurt if you can't at least make the minimum payment on time each month. They will charge you a $39 late fee each and every time you are late. Plus they can hike up your interest rate to 30%. You can try calling them to try to extend your payment due date but really there is not much they can do. You need to find a way to pay it on time. Otherwise they are going to start calling and harassing you and eventually send you to collections. This will ruin your credit score and affect anything you want to use credit for in the future: such as buying a car or a house, or even renting an apartment. Sorry to be so negative here but these are the cold hard facts. Try to make your payments on time and you won't have to deal with any of this.

Answer 3

This can make your credit score drop sigificantly, but you might get away with it once. Tell your credit card company you forgot all about it and you've sent in your payment and they should get it shortly!

Go to this website below and read it all, especially the "how credit scoring works" section. You will have a better understanding of how this all comes together and I would also sign up for a 3 in one credit monitoring service where you can keep an eye on your credit score.

Too many late payments will cause your interest rate to go up, maybe even double!

I used this website to clean up my credit reports and boost my score from 485 to 720 in a little over a year!

Answer 4

Unfortunately there is no grace period, there used to be but no more. First they will charge you a late fee, hopefully that does not put you over the limit as then they will charge you an over limit fee. Next as being late they might raise you interest rate, outrageously for the next 6 months. Yes this will affect your credit score, slightly, more if you go over 30 days. Why not set up to make payments online? Takes the delay of the mail system out of the picture

Answer 5

If you are a week or two late the credit card company will charge you a late fee and may raise your interest rate or reduce your available credit. The late payment wont be reported to the credit bureau until you are at least 30 days late.

Answer 6

What will happen depends largely on your agreement with them. You need to read the small printed section about interest rates and late payments. On some cards interest does go up if you make several late payments. It is best if you can at least pay the minimum.

Answer 7

Just hold the phone GRASSHOPPER. I have a brother who is 50 years old with a paid up house, and 2 new cars and boat. He took early retirement and has 80K coming in a year. He owes over 6K a month in credit card bills. He just stopped paying all of them. He plans to pay cah for any needs and lives comfortable. Creditors can do nothing. They write it off after 6 months of non payment. Sure he can get no credit and his credit score is in the crapper. Why should or would he pay all his income for bills. He is living life. Hop away naysayers

Answer 8

I hate to tell you that if you pay you cell phone bill late...credit card companies can use that as a reason to increase your intrest. So, yes...paying your bills late can affect your credit score and they can also raise your intrest rates on you.

It is better to make your minimum payment than to send it in late. Better still not to use credit cards too much if at all.

Answer 9

Late payments can trigger interest rate hike & penalty.

Best to call credit card company & work out something ASAP. Try to make the minimum payment or send as much as you can.

You can also ask the credit card company to lower your interest rate. It never hurts to ask.

Do your best to pay off this credit card so you are in a stronger position to negotiate.

Consider joining a credit union that offers a credit card. Credit unions often have lower banking fees & credit card fees/penalties. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20020701a.asp

For more information: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5054056/
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Yourcreditrating/P56621.asp

Answer 10

You have a grace period of about 15 days after the due date. After that, you will have a late fee added on. If you continue to not pay, they'll start calling and eventually send it to a collection agency to where they will hound you and hound you. If you still don't pay, they will sue you and get a judgment against you. Then to satisfy that judgment, they can garnish your wages, put a lien on your bank account and ultimately, any property you may own. Plus, your credit will be in the toilet. Yes, you can call them and ask them to work with you, but ultimately they don't care about your situation. They want their money and that's their #1 concern and they will stop at nothing to get it.

Sorry, I'm not trying to sound mean, but I've been there. I lost my job and couldn't pay my credit card and they tried to accuse me of defrauding the company because I couldn't pay and they did all the things I said. So, I'm just being honest about what they can do.