Quarter of Kiwis plan to skip paying bills, says survey

A survey has found 35pc of New Zealanders would skip paying the TV bill if they ran out of cash. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

One in four New Zealanders will pay their bills late over the next year, and a "staggering 20 per cent" will skip a mortgage repayment if they run short of cash, a new study reveals.

Kiwis aged 35 to 49 are most likely to pay late in the next 12 months (34 per cent), compared to 17 per cent of Kiwis aged 50-64, the research from credit reporting and debt collecting company Dun & Bradstreet shows.

The study also looked at the payment priorities of New Zealanders, with 35 per cent saying they would miss paying their TV bill if they ran short of cash.

Mobile phone bills followed at 27 per cent, while 20 percent indicated they would skip their mortgage repayment.

Low (24 per cent) and high income households (23 per cent) are more likely to miss their mortgage payments than middle income (19 per cent) earners.

Out of the 20 per cent who said they would miss a mortgage repayment, 21 per cent were women and older people and 23 per cent were high income households.

Dun & Bradstreet New Zealand general manager John Scott said many New Zealanders were unaware late payments could be listed on their credit report.

New Zealand's credit reporting laws allow payments to be listed if they are 30 days overdue.

Six out of ten or 62 per cent of Kiwis surveyed said they would be more likely to pay their bills on time if they knew their behaviour would negatively impact their credit profile.

Scott said an individual's payment history was to key in determining their credit profile and access to mainstream funds.

"Mortgage lenders, banks, utility companies, telcos and various other lenders all follow the same formula, evaluating an individual's credit history to gauge their financial personality - so it is important to have a good bill-paying record," he said.

It study highlighted a significant gap in consumer knowledge about the importance of personal finance management, Scott said.

Council rates amounted to the most significant portion of bills paid late during the last 12 months, with 42 per cent of New Zealanders saying they paid it 30 or more days past its due date.

Three in ten Kiwis said they had paid their credit card 30 or more days past its due date, while 27 per cent paid their TV account past 30 days.

The primary reason cited for late payments was that individuals did not have enough money, while a smaller percentage said they forgot to pay.

"A late payment, or worse, recurring late payments, have disapproving effects on an individual's credit history and can cause long-term damage that takes years to amend."

Scott said businesses should be ready to chase overdue accounts as it was important for them to maintain a strong cash position in the current economic climate.

The Dun & Bradstreet survey was conducted online with 1000 participants.