John S Kiernan, Managing Editor
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If you see “unknown” as the payment status for a credit card or loan on your credit report, it means the credit bureau doesn’t have enough information to report a definitive status. It doesn’t necessarily mean the payment is late.
This status could be the result of your lender leaving the “manner of payment” blank when reporting account information to the credit bureau. Similarly, the account could be closed and the credit bureau just hasn’t gotten the memo yet.
How to Deal With This Status on Your Credit Report
To deal with the “unknown” payment status, you can generally just ask your lender to report updated information, then file a dispute with the credit bureau if that doesn’t work.
On the other hand, the “unknown” status is sometimes associated with fraudulent accounts opened using limited information. If you don’t recognize the account, freeze your credit reports and take a few other precautions, in addition to filing a dispute with each major credit bureau.
Unknown vs. Other Credit Report Statuses
You won’t always see the full word “unknown” written out. You may see the shorthand “UNK” and/or a symbol with an X inside of a circle. In contrast, “N/R” means not reported, and a circle with the number 30 inside means 30 days late on the bill.
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