If you’re late on paying your bills, your credit score is going to pay over the long term. When life gets busy, a bill can easily slip your mind. In fact, in 2022, 23% of surveyed Canadians reported missing the deadline for a bill payment. But here's the deal: If that slip lasts more than 30 days, the provider of whatever service you’re being billed for will report it to the credit bureaus, which can potentially lower your credit score by up to 100 points. If that’s you, here's what you gotta do. First off, pay that bill ASAP. The longer you wait, the more it impacts your credit score. Next, consider sending your creditor a “goodwill letter.” Explain why you were late and politely ask them to remove the negative mark. If you usually pay on time, they might cut you some slack. If you want to check for yourself if you’ve been dinged, request your credit report directly from Equifax or TransUnion, the two credit bureaus in Canada. To prevent this whole mess from happening again, do yourself a favour and set up auto payments for your bills.