A late payment to a creditor will typically not be reported as a missed payment on your credit report, with the credit bureaus using the 30, 60, 90-day rule when reporting missed payments. This means that a phone bill payment that is 30 or 60 days late isn’t going to have as serious an effect on your credit score as a payment that is 90 days past due.

Late payments to your phone carrier can still cause services to be cut. However, they won’t report as a missed payment on your credit report for anywhere between 30–90 days. Before the balance is reported and potentially sold to a collections agency, you will typically incur late fees. To further conceptualize how long you can go without paying your phone bill, it’s important to understand the policies of the major phone carriers.

Late Payment Policies of Major Carriers

· Verizon Wireless – Customers who pay their bills late will be charged a late fee of up to 1.5% per month on the balance, or a flat fee of $5—whichever is greater. This late fee can occur as early as 24 hours after the original due date. Several factors come into play before Verizon Wireless cuts service, including previous payment history. Several weeks of payment delinquency is granted, up to 60 days, before it is reported to the credit bureaus.

· Sprint – A late fee is applied when there is a previous balance of more than $10 that has not been paid by the invoice due date. Sprint will typically suspend service and send the account into collections within 30 days, harming your credit score.

· T-Mobile – T-Mobile late fees are similar to Verizon’s—there will be a $5 charge or a charge of up to 1.5% of the balance if not paid by the due date. The account can be suspended several days after its due date, up to 30 or 60 days.

· AT&T Wireless – Similar to other carriers when bills go unpaid, AT&T allows customers a brief grace period of up to 60 days to secure their finances and pay their mobile phone bill before shutting off service. During this time, however, monthly balances pile up and late fees are added.

Call Us for Debt Relief

In a pursuit to pay off phone bills, many unsuspecting consumers subject themselves to payday loans. Payday loans have notoriously high fees and pray on the desperate. Progressive Debt Relief will negotiate with the creditor to obtain better terms and conditions, empowering consumers who are struggling to pay their debts to have a renewed ability to do so. To find out more about our debt relief services or to schedule a complimentary consultation, contact us today and we’ll help you get disconnected from debt.