Can missing a single payment affect your Cibil score?

To your surprise, even a single default in payment of any credit dues can harshly affect your cibil score. Let us understand how :

Many people believe that a single payment delay won't hurt the Cibil credit score if you can quickly catch up with the time lag. This may be partly true. It really depends on the timing of your missed payment and the severity of the payment. If it was just one or two payments that you delayed in the past, it may hurt your score temporarily. But if it is beyond that and if it is a missed payment in the last six months and if you are applying for a loan now, it could hurt you dearly.

Missed and delayed payments are things lenders frown upon.However it is important to understand the difference between minor and major defaults. Any payments that are delayed or missed less than 90 days are considered minor defaults. This is considered minor because lenders believe that such a default could be cleared.

If your delay a payment beyond 90 days or the account becomes an NPA, if your property has been repossessed by the lender or you have written off or settlements in your Cibil credit file are considered major derogatory remarks.

Both kind of defaults have different impact on your credit score and affect your loan eligibility in different ways.

So how would such a delayed payment actually affect you?

If yours is a minor default, you can actually catch up with the payment and your Cibil score will eventually bounce, though not to its original score, but somewhere close.

Your credit score however will be considerably lower as long as it shows that you are missing your payments. Lenders especially the credit card companies do frequent account reviews on quarterly basis and if they find you score deteriorating you credit card limit might be reduced. The intention behind such a practice is lenders take a call on whether or not they want to do business with you basis the credit risk they take. If they see that you are up to date on your payments, you are more likely to get better deals and higher credit limits.

So try not to miss your payments ever. If you do, catch up with it as quickly as possible.

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