How do late payments show on my report?

Late payment markers show where a payment has been reported as missed, late, or not paid as agreed when the account was set up. You may have seen them referred to as ‘negative payment entries’, or ‘markers’, because they have an undesirable affect on your credit score. And the more there are, the more your score will be impacted.

Positive payment history is shown on your Checkmyfile report with an ‘OK’ marker. Anything else normally relates to negative payment markers, and these are what will affect your credit health and ability to obtain credit.

• ‘1’ shows where a payment has been made late or missed.

• ‘2’ shows two consecutive missed payments or arrears.

• ‘3’ is three months’ arrears.

• ‘4’ four months’ arrears.

• ‘5’ five months’ arrears.

• ‘6’ six months' arrears.

The highest recorded marker you’ll see on your Checkmyfile report is ‘6’. After this, negative payment markers can lead to arrangements to pay, defaults, and so on if the outstanding balance is not repaid. All of which highlight that the lender hasn’t received payment.

Essentially, the higher the number, the more your score will be affected. They’ll stay on your credit report for six years. So, although one late payment may not seem like a big deal, it’s important to keep paying on time every month to make sure that your credit score is impacted as little as possible.