javasaurus: (Default)
javasaurus ([personal profile] javasaurus) wrote2004-12-14 12:56 pm

Don't be late! (with your bill payments)

According to this article, it is now more important than ever to pay your bills on time. All of them. Apparrently, many credit cards and insurance companies are frequently checking your credit rating to determine whether you are a bad risk. Credit card company A may raise your rates if you are late paying credit card company B, even if you always pay company A on time! And even insurance companies might raise your rates based on credit record, even though they are not a credit industry.

Illegal? Nope.
Surprising? Potentially.
Annoying? Certainly.

[identity profile] blueeowyn.livejournal.com 2004-12-14 10:11 am (UTC)(link)
GRRRR

Of course late payments are a hit on your credit but late statements from the creditor don't affect whether or not the payment is late.

The article mentions paying bills as soon as they arrive (which does sound like a good idea but I would much rather do it every other week or maybe once a week). The fact that the grace period for credit cards is going down (the amount of time from the end of the billing cycle to when the payment is due) is a problem ... esp. when you factor in the fact that I suspect that they aren't getting any faster at sending bills out.

And that isn't touching the mortgage people (I think we got our mortgage statement (due X/1/04) on the 29th of the previous month. Yes, there is a 'grace period' on them but does it count as late? Given the timing of holidays, shipping delays due to holidays, etc. and it becomes more worrisome.i