If you’ve arranged payment forbearance or deferment agreements with your lenders, payments that are reduced or suspended during forbearance will not be considered delinquent nor be reported, and will not affect your credit reports standing. If you qualify for COVID-19-related relief measures, you can reduce your payments without delinquencies and protect your credit score.
If you make partial payments or miss payments altogether without an arrangement with your lender (even if your missed payments are COVID-19-related) they may be reported to the credit bureaus and could appear on your credit reports as delinquent, this can affect your credit score.
If able, It’s always best to keep your debt payments current, making timely payments on mortgages and auto loans, and covering at least the minimum payment due on credit card bills as you are working through a financial hardship.
What do I do if a late payment is reported?
If a late payment or delinquency is reported in error, you should submit disputes to all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Transunion, Experian) to correct the errors and protect your credit score. If you have paper trail or documentation from the lender, it would be helpful to provide it when you submit your dispute.