A late payment can stay on your credit reports for up to seven years and could impact your credit scores during the entire period it's there. Late payments tend to have the biggest impact when they first appear, and you can work to build your credit while waiting for late payments to fall off your credit reports.

Does arrears affect credit score?

Arrears are recorded on your Credit Report for six years and will harm your Credit Rating for the full duration that they appear – regardless of whether the outstanding balance is paid or not. Arrears will only cease damaging your Credit Rating once they have been removed after the six years.

How long do arrears stay on credit?

Your credit report is a record of your payment behaviour. It tracks all your accounts and indicates where, over a period of two years, you have missed payments or gone into arrears on an account. Then after two years, this adverse information simply disappears.