Pay the missed card payment now, then ask for the late fee back

The due date went by. A few days later you notice the card was never paid, and there is a late fee on top. It is easy to picture a ruined credit record. In the United States, two facts make the problem smaller than it feels.

If a US credit card payment is a few days late, pay it today, because card companies usually tell the credit bureaus only once it is 30 days late, and then ask for the late fee to come off.

This is for a payment you can make now. If you cannot pay even the minimum, or you are late every month, read “Who this page is not for” first. If you are in the UK, read the last section: the 30-day line is a US one.

Pay first, and know the two clocks

Two of the three national credit bureaus say on their own consumer pages that a card company generally notifies them of a late payment only when it is 30 days or more past due. So a payment that is a few days late is generally not on your credit report. Once a late payment is reported, the same pages say it can stay for up to seven years, and that it weighs less as time passes. Card companies send their updates at different times, so 30 days is the usual line and not a promise.

The second clock is 60 days. The CFPB, the US consumer finance regulator, says a card company may raise the rate on the balance you already owe if your minimum payment has not arrived within 60 days after the due date. If that happens, the CFPB says the card company must restore the old rate once you make six minimum payments in a row on time.

Paying inside 30 days does not cancel the rest. The late fee can still apply. Interest keeps building on any balance you do not pay in full; the CFPB says paying in full each month is how you avoid it. One credit bureau also points out that a payment even one day late could be grounds for ending a low or zero introductory rate, so your card agreement is worth a look.

What counts as late? The CFPB says a card company generally cannot treat a payment as late if it arrives by 5 p.m. on the due date, in the time zone on your statement. If the due date falls on a day the company does not take mail, usually a weekend or a holiday, you have until 5 p.m. the next business day. The payment has to be received by then, not just sent. A card company may set a reasonable cut-off time for online payments, and an earlier one for payments made in person. If you think you paid on time and were charged anyway, say so when you call.

Then ask for the late fee to come off

The CFPB says that if your payment arrived late, you can contact your card company and ask whether it would consider waiving the late fee. That is the whole move. What follows is what people add to it.

One person says you do not need a strong excuse, that saying you forgot is often enough, and that you should wait until the fee shows on your statement before you call. Many people say a calm, polite call gets a better answer than an angry one, and one person warns that losing your temper ends it. Some people say to ask for the exact thing you want, such as the fee taken off, rather than only complain about it, because representatives tend to act on a clear request. Some people say the answer depends on your record: a card that has been paid on time before is more likely to have a slip forgiven than one with a string of late payments.

Some people say asking is low risk, because the worst answer is no. One person says it mostly rests on luck and on the card company’s own rules, which in some cases rule out a waiver.

A short call can sound like this. Say only what is true.

My payment was a few days late. I paid it on [date]. Could you take the late fee off?

If you dread calls, some people say you can send the same request as a secure message on the card company’s website or app. This site has a page called Write down what you will say before you dial for the calls you cannot avoid.

If the answer is no, some people say to hang up and try again, because a different representative may decide differently. One person warns that a representative may write a note on the account if you hang up and call back. One person says a supervisor has more authority. One person says a representative may not have the final say, because the decision is often made by the computer system. Some people also say card companies have become stricter lately, so a polite ask is not a promise, and some people say card companies limit how often they will waive a fee, so a second request soon after the first may be refused. If the answer stays no, the fee is still owed.

If it is already past 30 days

Pay it anyway, as soon as you can. The credit bureaus describe late payments in 30-day steps, and a bureau says that the faster you bring the account up to date, the better. One person suggests also asking, on the same call, for the late mark to be taken off your credit report, because it matters more than the fee. One of the bureaus says that after 30 days you can have only a late payment that is incorrect removed. So a card company that agrees to remove a correct one would be doing you a favour, and it can refuse.

Stop it happening again

Some people say to set up automatic payment for at least the minimum, so there is nothing to ask for next time. The FTC, the US consumer protection agency, warns that automatic payment can take the wrong amount, and that it can overdraw your bank account if the money is not there, which can bring a bank fee. So check each statement and keep enough in the account. The CFPB says to send payments early, because payments can be delayed. One person suggests paying as soon as the statement is ready instead of waiting for the due date, which leaves time to catch an error.

If the fee is the yearly fee

That is a different call with the same idea, but the timing differs: some people say to call before the yearly fee is charged. One person suggests asking to be moved to a version of the same card with no yearly fee, which keeps the account open. The page Pay the card off and keep it open explains why an open account can matter.

Who this page is not for

If you cannot pay even the minimum this month, do not wait for the fee. Call the card company before the next due date, say what you can pay, and ask for help. A free nonprofit credit counselor can look at the whole picture with you: in the US, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling; in the UK, StepChange or National Debtline.

If you are late most months, a waiver is not the plan. Some people warn that asking gets harder the more often you do it, and that waivers become unlikely if payments keep being missed. Automatic payment, and a call about a payment plan, are the tools.

If your card is not in the United States, the next section is the one for you.

If you are in the UK

The 30-day line above comes from US credit bureaus. This page found no UK version of it. A UK credit bureau says that if a late payment is recorded on your report, it stays for six years and weighs less as it ages. Citizens Advice says that if you pay less than the minimum you are counted as behind and may be charged late payment charges, with interest added to those charges, and it suggests a direct debit for at least the minimum so you are not late. It also says that if a letter from the card company asks for more than you can pay, you should tell the company how much you can pay, or that you cannot pay at all, and ask it to stop interest and fees if it is still charging them. A UK bureau says to contact the company as soon as possible, explain, and consider a debt advice charity such as StepChange. You can ask your card provider to take a late payment charge off. This page could not check how UK card providers treat that request.