Credit Score Secrets: How Small Things Like Paying Netflix Late Can Hurt You
And worst of all? You may never be told why you were rejected for that loan you badly needed. You just get a polite 'not eligible at the moment' message on your app.
One missed payment. A few hundred rupees. No big deal, right? Except your bank just told you that you don't qualify for that ₹6 lakh personal loan.
Not even a pre-approved credit card. Because somewhere in the shadowy backend of your financial life, your credit score took a quiet hit and nobody told you when it happened.
And the reason? Not repaying your Buy Now Pay Later dues on time. Or leaving your Netflix UPI auto-debit hanging for two weeks. Or using up 90% of your credit card limit every month.
In the age of UPI and instant credit, we are being silently judged not by friends or followers but by algorithms tracking every swipe, skip, and snooze on payment alerts.
So what exactly is this credit score thing, why does it matter so much now, and how does a ₹499 Netflix bill even show up on it?
What Is a Credit Score?
Your credit score is like a report card for your financial habits. It's a three-digit number (typically between 300 and 900) that tells lenders how 'trustworthy" you are when it comes to repaying borrowed money.
The higher the score, the more confident a bank feels in lending you money. In India, the most commonly used credit score comes from CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau of India Limited), but there are others too – Experian, Equifax, and CRIF High Mark.
According to Sujata Ahlawat, Senior Vice President of TransUnion CIBIL, 'A score of 750 and above is considered good. But even small delays, especially consistent ones can start lowering it before you realise it."
If you're using credit-based services like:
then even one missed due date can get reported to a credit bureau.
A 2023 RBI report flagged how unregulated credit services are now shaping borrower profiles. Apps often bundle up late fees and roll them into your next month's due, and that rolled-over amount, if not paid, gets tagged as a default.
'What used to be just a Netflix subscription is now essentially a microloan. And skipping it counts as a repayment failure," says Anand Kumar Bajaj, founder of PayNearby.
Spending close to your credit card limit every month say, using ₹48,000 out of a ₹50,000 limit even if you pay in full can signal you're 'credit-hungry." That lowers your score subtly but steadily.
Too Many Credit Enquiries
Ever applied for 3–4 credit cards during a shopping season because of offers? Or tried for multiple loans on aggregator apps? Every time you apply, lenders do a 'hard check" and too many checks in a short span tell the system: 'This person might be desperate for money." Even if you didn't get any of those cards.
What's New in 2025: The Algorithms Have Eyes Everywhere
Until a few years ago, credit bureaus only tracked formal bank loans and credit cards. But now?
BNPL services (Buy Now Pay Later) like Slice, Uni, ZestMoney feed your repayment history into bureaus.
Subscription platforms that partner with NBFCs (non-banking financial companies) report defaults.
Some fintech apps even create 'shadow scores" using your phone's metadata like how many times you check your account balance or how many financial apps you use.
This means even UPI-based 'Pay Later" features could affect your formal credit profile.
In fact, a 2024 study by Razorpay showed that over 28% of young salaried users in metros were unaware that their BNPL activity was affecting their credit score.
Why Should You Care?
Because in India today, your credit score affects far more than just loans. Here's what it influences:
Your credit card limits and interest rates
Loan approvals – even for something as small as a phone EMI
Rent agreements – some landlords now ask for credit history
Buy Now Pay Later limits on shopping apps
Home loans and auto loans – a lower score means higher interest
And worst of all? You may never be told why you were rejected. You just get a polite 'not eligible at the moment" message on your app.
But I Never Took a Loan. So I Don't Have a Credit Score?
That's even worse. A 'thin file" or 'no credit history" can mean you're invisible to lenders. You won't qualify for the best deals or might get outright rejected.
The best way to build a healthy credit score is to:
Start with a low-limit credit card, pay full dues every month.
Use a Pay Later app carefully not as an extension of income.
Avoid skipping even ₹10 worth of dues.
Check your score at least once a year on sites like https://www.cibil.com/ or your bank's app.
It's Like Social Credit, Without the Transparency
Many fintech critics are raising concerns that credit scores are becoming India's version of a 'social credit" system. You're being silently rated based on behaviour, but with no clear way to know what counted against you.
'We need a public digital literacy drive around credit in India. Most people under 30 don't even know they're being scored," says Naveen Kukreja, CEO of PaisaBazaar.
Credit Karma Can Bite You
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In 2025, financial hygiene is no longer optional. That ₹299 Spotify subscription? That 'ignore for now" UPI due? That mindless EMIs-on-EMIs loop?
It's all being recorded. And it's all being rated. And unlike school, there's no parent-teacher meeting to warn you. Just a door quietly shutting when you need credit the most.
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July 08, 2025, 11:29 IST
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