Credit Gurus I have a question

[disneyrun]

I am a little panicked and I'm hoping someone can offer some help. I've tried googling and get conflicting information. In the past 6 months I have unfortunately paid my JCPenney statement late by 1 day TWICE! I seem to have a mental block on this account. I've solved it for myself by making sure it's on every calendar possible so this couldn't happen again but in the meantime I'm concerned about this "universal default" or "penalty rate" you hear about. I think that having paid it twice in 6 months late I would have that penalty rate at JCP on any balance for 6 months which I understand but I'm worried about other credit cards.

We do have credit card debt which we are dilligently working on and I'm terrified that this could somehow adversely change our rates making this process take EVEN LONGER! Yikes! Can anyone help me understand when universal default is used and if this scenario would activate that with any card. I feel so silly for having done this - as a note I've never paid anything else late, again it seems to be a mental block with that particular bill! Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

 

[SandrA9810]

I think the universal default comes into play when you're more than 30 days late and it's reported on your credit report.
You can call and ask them to have any late fees reversed up to three times in a calender year. But if they haven't even issued you a late fee, I wouldn't worry much about it.

Do you have online banking?? And does your bank offer online bill payments??
It's the only way I pay all of our bills. We're horrible with checks, and of course it takes them like 10 days longer for it process, so you never know when it actually comes out of the account. When I set up the bill pays, I know it will be paid to the CC 3 days later, and it's about another day for them to process it and show it on my statement. So I set up all my bills at the beginning of the month, checking with the online statements to know that they'll all be paid on time.

 

[wvjules]

If you are 1 day late then it can't appear on your credit report as a 30 day late as it is not 30 days late. If it is not on your CR as a 30 day late then you will not suffer universal default. (Which, BTW, not all credit card companies do.) You should be fine across the board however you might suffer ill effects from any GEMB cards you may have.

 

[disneyrun]

Thanks to both of you!! I can accept a penatly rate from the card (and even the issuer) I made the mistake I just didn't want to suffer on the others for it. I'm definitely looking into bill pay thru my bank just to be double sure that this late payment can't happen again. Thanks again!

 

[SandrA9810]

Well in the end, it usually is our fault for making late payments, but that's why allow for forgiveness.
The first month of moving into our new apt, money got really tight because of the higher deposit fee we weren't expecting, electric deposit, and then the first month's rent due in like 5 days. So everything got jumbled around and home depot got paid late. I called and told them that thier payment was going to be there on friday for the previous month, and that the current month would be paid on time. He said ok, and reversed the late fee charge for me.
Now the only thing that sucks, is say your payment is 100... you get hit with a late fee, so the following month you have two payments due and the late fee... so it's 240$ owed, even if they reverse the fee, it's still part of your min payment due.