topic Re: Late payment in Account and services

Late payment

Javier240 — Tue, 07 May 2024 20:29:58 GMT

Currently closing the online bank I used for my direct debit. Moved everything over to another bank but completely forgot about my phone.
Direct debit was due on 02/05/24, but bounced. Paid balance in full on 07/05/2024 once I realised.
Will this be shown as a missed payment on my credit file?
Tried speaking to three but nobody seems to know or want to help.

Re: Late payment

Anonymous — Tue, 07 May 2024 21:42:34 GMT

I can’t give you a rock solid yes or no on this but somewhere in the back of mind it’s telling me that you won’t get a late payment marker because you cleared it within 7 days of the due date. This isn’t to be taken as gospel so I’m going to ask @JonathanB one of the staff moderators for his input. Hopefully he can help.

Re: Late payment

JonathanB — Wed, 08 May 2024 16:00:47 GMT

Hi @Javier240,

I'll do my best to get some clarity on this. Most companies including Three do make a 2nd attempt 7 days later to take a Direct Debit, so I believe that's what @Anonymous is referring to.

I'm assuming you haven't actually had notice of a late payment at this stage from a Credit Report if this only happened a couple of days ago? I can confirm that a late payment is not as impactful to credit scores as a defaulted payment. So paying this as soon as you were aware and could do so was the best thing to do.

I'll try and get you some clarity either way, but I do have to say that marks on credit reports have to be accurate, we can only remove them when there's evidence that a bill was unpaid due to some error on Three's part.

I'll try and get a more definitive answer as soon as I can.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Late payment

Anonymous — Wed, 08 May 2024 17:00:34 GMT

Thanks @JonathanB .

Re: Late payment

Javier240 — Fri, 10 May 2024 07:43:25 GMT

Thanks Jonathan! Let me know if you find out anymore info. Just in the process of sorting a mortgage, so it’s a nightmare

Re: Late payment

Harsh270197 — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 20:14:24 GMT

@JonathanB @Javier240

Just checking on this. Did this result in a missed payment on credit file? Kind of in a similar situation right now, where my account missed the payment but my app says it’s paid and I have to wait till it reflects in my app to pay it manually or wait for the 2nd attempt.

Re: Late payment

JonathanB — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 12:30:32 GMT

Hi @Harsh270197,

We didn't get feedback from @Javier240 as to if they saw any sort of impact on their credit file specifically. My understanding of our systems is that an account only goes into our debt collection processes if the 2nd Direct Debit attempt fails one week later.

If you do get feedback from a credit reference agency about a late payment please let us know though.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Late payment

igor12345 — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 16:19:13 GMT

Hi @JonathanB,

I’m experiencing a similar issue to Javier. My direct debit was 20/06/24. The payment then bounced, and Three took it in July instead. I understood Three would make a second attempt to collect it, yet it did not; it collected it in the following month. This is now flagging up as a Missed Payment on my credit file.

I’d be grateful for some further guidance as it appears that the 2nd Direct Debit attempt was not made by Three.

I was not notified by Three about any of this and have only discovered it upon seeing it on the credit file which has made me worried and stressed since as it will have an effect on my mortgage application this year.

Thanks,

Igor

@Harsh270197 have you got any updates?

Re: Late payment

JonathanB — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 08:37:02 GMT

Hi @igor12345,

I'm sorry to hear about this. So just to clarify there the Direct Debit wasn't cancelled or the bank asked to recall any payment, the 1st attempt failed and there was simply no 2nd attempt? That's very unusual, so I'd recommend if you haven't already to raise a credit file dispute with customer services.

If our credit team agree that there was an error on Three's part then any negative marker should be removed from your credit file.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Late payment

JayChester — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 11:32:49 GMT

Hi, Jonathan

Wondering if you could help me. I'm in a similar situation, wherein I have a late payment recorded on my credit score, and it's from Three. I had a LOT of trouble getting my Three accounts back after Three updated its systems last year and I had three lines to manage. When getting the access to my lines back, proved almost impossible (i.e. I had to change all previous account credentials which kept failing, and then come up with three different emails to connect to each line, also very difficult to do and manage) I cancelled my Three accounts very, very reluctantly. While closing the accounts it seems I missed a payment and I still don't which account it was for, and ultimately paid it late. I have written a letter of goodwill that I would like Three to consider, especially since my case it related to Three's system update, to consider removing this late payment strike. Could I please get a mailing address and email that I can send this letter to?

Re: Late payment

JonathanB — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 15:10:43 GMT

Hi @JayChester,

We'd usually recommend going through customer services, so that they can double check everything is settled, and they can raise a case to our credit teams which explains any Three system or advisor error that would be a mitigating circumstance.

You could also contact credit.checking@contact.three.co.uk with your letter. Please include any dates and references you can to help the team locate the account and payment in question, and they'll check if the late payment can be removed.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Late payment

Wtfad — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 19:56:16 GMT

Hi,

I’m having difficulties paying my bills. I want to know the penalty for defaulting the 2nd attempt on direct debit? And how do I apply for an extension to pay August bill alongside September bill? Please help

Re: Late payment

JonathanB — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:18:25 GMT

Hi @Wtfad,

Did you get a chance to look at the reply to your topic: ? Another community member has shared a link about financial support. There's not a penalty in terms of a charge, but if you don't have a recurring payment method set up you lose a £5 discount per month till this is reinstated. Your line could be suspended, and late payments can harm your credit rating.

I'd recommend to get in touch, and the team should be able to help discuss options like an extension or payment plan depending on your circumstances.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: Late payment

Fimmy — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 17:32:28 GMT

Hi!, I have a direct debit but it bounced on the 26th Nov, Three made anther attempt on the 3rd Dec but bounced again, I realised this and called them the next day (4th Dec) to pay it manually. Now i'm beyond stressed that this is going to be marked in my credit file! I've been with Three for over 12 years and this is the first time this ever happened. Please help!

Re: Late payment

JonathanB — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 17:14:03 GMT

Hi @Fimmy,

I'm sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately if it's a case that the Direct Debit bounced both times due to a lack of funds then a late payment would be logged, we'd need some evidence of an error to argue for that to be overturned with our credit teams.

Late payments which are settled don't have as much impact as defaults though, it's always best to pay manually as soon as possible to minimise the impact as having a balance overdue for a long time, or completely unpaid is much more significant than missing one payment and immediately settling it.

Are you able to tell us a bit more, was there any mitigating circumstances we could perhaps point to if making a case for you?

Here's the options for customer services if you'd rather not discuss this in public forum.

Thanks,
Jonathan