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Negative Payment Markers

Negative Payment Entries (also called Negative Payment Markers) are placed on a Credit File when an account is either not paid on time or in the manner agreed in the original arrangement. As the name suggests, these entries adversely affect your credit rating and, depending on the number and severity of the entries, may cause you difficulty in obtaining credit.

While the only positive payment entry is the ‘OK’ marker (indicating that the payment was made on time), there are a whole host of different negative payment entries, which reflect various circumstances resulting in the lender not receiving payment.

These include:

'1' – indicating that one payment was missed

‘2’ – two consecutive payments missed, resulting in two months’ arrears

‘3’ – three consecutive payments missed – three months’ arrears

‘4’ – four months’ arrears

‘5’ – five months’ arrears

‘6’ – six consecutive payments missed resulting in six months’ arrears. This entry is also the highest recorded marker for consecutive missed payments so, if seven consecutive payments were missed, the entry would still read ‘6’

‘AR’ – an Arrangement To Pay will be placed on your file if you request to pay back a different amount to what was originally agreed (usually this is a reduced amount). Many lenders do not warn customers of the serious impact of arrangements to pay, which are often regarded as serious arrears

‘D’ – a Default will be issued following a long period of non-repayment (often six months’ arrears, but this is wholly dependent on the particular lender). The default indicates that the original agreement has broken down and the borrower ceases to be a customer, instead becoming a debtor

How do negative payment markers appear on my Credit Report?

Negative payment markers will appear in the Payment History section of your checkmyfile Credit Report, along with more information about the lender reporting the marker and the amount the loan is for.

You can see for yourself what markers are being reported by checking your Credit Report. checkmyfile offers the UK’s most detailed report, with information from the 3 main Credit Reference Agencies, not just 1, so you can see what lenders see.

You can try checkmyfile free for 30 days, then for just £14.99 a month afterwards, which you can cancel online, by phone or by email.

How long do negative payment markers stay on my Credit Report?

Most late payment information will stay on your Credit Report for 6 years. Depending on the other information contained on your Credit Report, any record of late payments could adversely affect your chances of being approved for credit.

If you believe that negative information such as a late payment has been recorded incorrectly, you can dispute it. Our team of Credit Analysts can do this on your behalf.

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