What do the different payment markers on my Checkmyfile report mean?

You may see any of the following entries on your Checkmyfile credit report. This is what they mean:

‘OK’ – the payment has been made on time

‘1’ – shows where a payment has been made late or missed entirely

‘2’ – shows two consecutive missed payments or ‘arrears’

‘3’ – is three months’ arrears

‘4’ – four months' arrears

‘5’ - five months' arrears

‘6’ - six months' arrears

‘AR’ – an arrangement to pay has been made. This means making alternative payment arrangements to the original agreement you made with the lender

‘D’ – shows where an account has defaulted

‘US’ – unknown status - the account status is unknown as the lender may not be sending updates. This can happen on defaulted accounts

‘SF’ – the default has been satisfied

‘S’ – the account has been settled and closed

‘U’ – the account status is unknown, normally reported when it’s only recently been opened or no payments have been reported yet

‘NR’ – means the lender has not reported an update to the credit reference agencies

‘Q’ – shows where a query has been raised with the lender, usually in relation to a dispute

‘VT’ – is where you have voluntarily terminated the account

‘DM’ – shows where you have arranged debt management

‘IC’ – shows that an insurance claim that has been submitted to the provider

Anything other than 'OK' would usually be considered as 'Critical' or 'Important' in your Checkmyfile score factors. Payment history will stay on your credit report and affect your credit score for six years. The impact on your score will vary depending on how severe the payment marker is.

You can work on growing your score in the meantime though. Building up positive payment history will help your credit health in the future. Although you won’t see a significant change to your score straight away, you're more likely to notice a difference when negative payment entries drop off your report.