"Know what to do if you've missed a personal loan EMI payment. Get practical tips to handle the situation and stay on track with your finances."
Published: 7 May 2024
Updated: 7 May 2024
Personal loans have helped people a lot to cover their expenses without worrying about the assets they have to put back as collateral as personal loans are unsecured ones. Personal loans can be long-term and short-term depending on the borrower's capacity to repay the loan amount. Personal loans come with many helpful benefits and features, it act as a savior in times of financial crisis.
However, after availing of the personal loan a borrower's responsibility doesn't end here rather main responsibility begins after the funds are received. Borrowers must be responsible for a few things such as timely payment of personal loan EMIs is mandatory. There can be times when one is not able to repay the loan EMI on time but this can result in recursion too, so make sure to pay off the monthly installment on time to avoid these consequences. You can also check your EMI using a personal loan EMI calculator. Let us discuss these responsibilities and know about missed payments of personal loans.
There are consequences of not paying the timely EMIs, let's have a look at them one by one:
When a borrower is not able to pay the EMIs on time, then there are many lenders who ask for late fees. The late fees can vary from lender to lender depending on the loan amount and other factors, it can be between 1% and 2% of the EMI. if you have missed one month’s EMI then next month you have to pay this missed EMI plus penalty charge and the present month’s EMI too.
Late EMI payments can adversely affect your credit score, it will be marked as default (small or big) in your credit report. As a result, you have a negative credit history. As credit score is one of the important factors in availing any type of loan, so it is suggested to maintain a positive credit score. A negative credit score can become a hurdle in availing a loan next time.
In many cases, lenders find it risky when a borrower is not paying the EMI on time so few lenders take legal actions against the borrower which directly impact your credit score.
Sometimes a lender can increase the interest rate on a loan for not paying the EMI on time which increases the total cost of the loan. This increase in interest rate becomes a burden for the borrowers.
Credit bureaus can blacklist the users or borrowers whom they recognize as default, hence further making it tougher for borrowers to access any type of loan from other lenders in the future. It also results in challenges to get credit card approvals.
As discussed above you can note that missing even a single EMI has serious repercussions. As a result, it would be beneficial if you assess before borrowing a personal loan online, whether you would be able to pay the EMIs on time.
Here are a few points to help you better to make on-time EMI payments:
If you think that you will not be able to pay your EMI on time, then you must take action for it as soon as possible. Contact your lender and tell them about your inability to pay the EMI on time before the due date. You can also look forward to seeing whether EMIs can be temporarily paused. In some cases, you can also ask the lender to lower your EMI till the time you become financially stable.
If you have lost your job and do not have any other income source, then you can seek help from your lender. Lenders usually consider these situations where a borrower is facing financial issues at times. There are a few banks that provide an EMI waiver for 3 to 6 months which means no EMIs for the next three to six months. When your financial situation will be improved, you can restart by paying the EMI loan again.
It is always advised to keep the emergency funds with you to use during financial crises or emergencies. Those funds must be able to cover at least six months of your earnings. So that with these funds you can cover your bills and EMIs.
One of the best options during such conditions is to seek help from family and friends, as you can trust them and can take the funds to pay your EMIs to avoid any future consequences.
After reading the complete blog now you are well aware of the facts of what will happen if you miss your personal loan EMI. So make sure to pay your EMIs on time for a smooth tenure without any financial burden. Don't put yourself in such a situation where you need to pay penalties, damaged credit score, or any legal action against you just because you have not paid the EMI on time. And don't forget to keep the important points to avoid your loan EMIs.
Also read: Get Personal Loan for Medical Emergency
